Love Shared in Prisons

Imagine if you can a group of hard core felons sitting in a circle with a Quaker volunteer, silently contemplating the goodness in their fellow inmates. At the end of the meeting, all clasp hands and, again in silence, radiate calm amongst themselves. In their weekly meetings the individuals share their stories with each other, offering simple words of affirmation, support, and love to each in turn. Many who participate are transformed, re-entering society with renewed hope and positive energy. Others remain incarcerated, but spend their remaining years working to spread love among their fellow prisoners.

Scenes like this take place in prisons throughout the United States every week. Amidst the news that more and more men and women (mainly people of color) are entering our overcrowded prison system, these small steps toward healing are not often noted.

The Alternatives to Violence Project has been working in prisons, and in communities, throughout the world for decades. Its volunteer coordinators now include scores of former inmates such as Ray Rios of Brooklyn, who chairs the organization in the United States. Ray’s life was transformed by AVP, and he continues to dedicate his time to its furtherance here and abroad.

AVP is a remarkably simple and successful vehicle for teaching the most damaged and hopeless among us the power of love as an alternative to the enmity that is so pervasive in our society. It is so powerful that even violent criminals succumb to its transformational effects.

Remarkably, the participants in AVP do not necessarily become Quakers or learn about the spiritual dimensions of that faith. Yet they experience something spiritual in their troubled lives that can often transform their hatred into respect for their fellow humans. They re-enter society with confidence and a fierce desire to do good.

Imagine, as John Lennon did, a world in which the alternative to violence was peace.