Alternatives To Violence Project

Empowering people to transform violence into non-violence in their families and in their communities through workshops that make a difference.

Learn skills for your life and have the opportunity to become a trained workshop facilitator.

START YOUR AVP JOURNEY TODAY
WHAT WE DO

Peaceful Pathways to Conflict Resolution

We facilitate experiential workshops for the community.
Helping schools, social workers and professionals in discovering new and
creative ways of responding to conflict situations

We volunteer in 5 prisons across WA per year.
Participants explore strengths and skills within themselves that will enable them to deal with future conflict or
potentially violent situations in a more constructive
and pro-active manner.

Celebrating 50 years as an international, research-based not-for profit organisation.

AVP has been running workshops in WA since 1994, whilst connected to the worldwide AVP community in over 80 countries.

We don’t heal in isolation,

but in community.

……….

S. Kelley Harrell

Our Approach

AVP offers interactive experience-based workshops that help us to become more aware of the violence in our lives and how we can find creative, rather than destructive, ways of resolving conflicts.

AVP offers alternatives to violence such as:
• Building trust and self esteem
• Exploring methods of communication
• Developing cooperation
• Encouraging creative conflict resolution

LEARN MORE

Get Involved

VOLUNTEER

Train as a Workshop Facilitator

Are you seeking a purposeful volunteer opportunity, whilst improving your life and community?

DONATE

Help Our Cause

Your contributions will enable us to run our workshops and support our volunteers. Together, we can create lasting change and improve the communities we live in.

PARTICIPATE

Join a Workshop

Want to learn more? Sign up for an intro session or workshop today. Contact us if you would like to organise a custom workshop for your organisation.

Workshops that Make a Difference

Nick’s Story

Learn about how Nick, a past participant, managed to turn his life around with the help and guidance of AVP WA.

When You Hear The Word Violence

Watch inmates participating in the APV Workshop in the USA.

Get In Touch

Discover upcoming workshops

Follow AVP WA

Contact Us

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Letter To Self.

A powerful workshop exercise reflecting on our younger selves.

Testimonial

Transforming Power to me – KK – Bunbury Regional Prison

I find that TP is a set of tools or a skillset that I have to refine with regular use. I try not to assign any spiritual or religious figures or names to it.
Personally I believe that the driving force of TP is us. If I go into a situation consciously practising TP, I know that I’ll never use violence.
I cannot control others’ actions, only my own. TP is a tool used to put positivity into the universe.
Only you can decide what you may be willing to give up to choose a non-violent path, be it ego, pride, etc.
But TP can help you to decide.

To young B,
I just want to let you know you have a lot of potential and you can really succeed in life if you commit to whatever you want to be.
You are the only one in control and you can achieve anything but you have to be there for you. Always respect yourself and love yourself so then you can give the best of yourself to the people around you and be aware of drugs because if you get addicted to them they can take everything from you.

Always be strong because you are Brilliant B!!

To 15 year old me,

Don’t take life for granted. Appreciate the small things in life. Drugs do not solve problems. Learn to walk away from situations you don’t have anything to prove to anyone.
You only have one life so don’t waste it spending time in jail. Talk about things don’t let them build up it’s not weakness.

Think before you do! xoxo

To 15 year old you,

Don’t sweat the small stuff. Almost everything works itself out in the end. Time is precious use it wisely.
Never wait to do something you enjoy otherwise you might never get there or to do it.

Xxx

Negative things – don’t do drugs and finish school.
Positive things – your going to have children and grandkids so please change your ways and be more positive in your life.

Letter to my teenager self I wish I would of completed all my highschooling, not smoked dope, maybe a little drink now and then, watched who I hung around with, stop hanging with criminal peers while they’re doing crime.
Being the better me I guess I wish I could turn back time but we can’t.

Drugs and crime isn’t cool or important. Respect, love and loyalty is what you wil crave the most and what you will want to be surrounded by.
Work smart not hard and love and protect those that matter most to you.

To myself,
There are certain things I’ve learnt here that I plan on using in the future that will help me to grow and keep moving forward.

To my teenage self,

I wish I stayed in school and listened to my old man and said no to drugs. I wish I knew the things I know now back then!

To the young me,

Please stay on the right path and pick better role models to look up to and better company. Look after your two little brothers better and stay home instead of going out for months on end.
Keep playing rugby and teaching your brothers and show them the right way in life.

Stay in school and off the drugs. Stay away from criminal peers and keep playing footy and working.
Save money. Get my licence and other qualifications to help get employment.

New Book On AVP Launched

In Building peace and community: AVP around the world, 62 authors discuss AVP’s experience in 21 different countries.

By exploring ways in which AVP has adapted to different contexts, the challenges faced, the lessons learned, and AVP’s impact on individuals and communities, they demonstrate AVP’s transformative power and the hope it offers in times of growing violence.

Inspiring and revealing, this book is an important contribution to not only the AVP community but also adult education and peace and community efforts around the world.

MORE INFORMATION

Frequently Asked Questions

Please contact us if you cannot find an answer to your question.

What does AVP WA do?

AVP offers experience-based workshops that help us to become more aware of the violence in our lives and how we can find creative, rather than destructive, ways of resolving conflicts.

Who are the people in AVP WA?

We are ordinary people from all walks of life who volunteer our time and energy to help rid our communities of violence. We are not counsellors, psychologists, or therapists. All facilitators go through training with AVP before running workshops.

What is the purpose of AVP and what do you hope to achieve?

The purpose of AVP is to empower people to transform violence into non-violence in their families and in their communities.

How do you do it? What is a workshop like?

Each session in a workshop is based on a particular theme and is a sequence of activities of different kinds, such as:

Gathering: Collecting information on the topic through discussions and collaborations
Exercise: An activity, discussion or brainstorm on the theme of the session.
Light and lively: This is a game, usually with a lot of movement and laughter, which helps to balance the deeper parts of the workshop.

How is the effectiveness of workshops evaluated?

The effectiveness of our workshops is shown through the abundance of positive feedback received by former participants.

What do participants get out of the workshops?

Participants will leave a workshop with a feeling of exhilaration from having been listened to with respect, having had the goodness in themselves affirmed by others, having gained a new awareness of the presence and effects of violence in their lives and having learned strategies for resolving conflicts in positive, non-violent ways.

When and where are the next workshops and how does one register?

Workshops are scheduled throughout the year or can be organised for specific groups. AVP can also do introductory sessions of 1-3 hours.

See above for our upcoming workshops and to register.

What does AVP stand for?

AVP stands for Alternatives To Violence Project

How can I get involved and help AVP

You can do the course, become a Facilitator and help others. Please contact us if you would like to talk to us for more information.

You can also donate. If you would like to financially contribute please go here.