Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence

Providence Phoenix: Providence: safer than you think?

Violent crime is down, unlike in many us cities. Can the good news last?
By: IAN DONNIS
5/18/2007

The killing season in America is about to begin.

Every year, as summer approaches in US cities, violent crime spikes as predictably as the arrival of Memorial Day cookouts. The bloodshed is well under way in some places, including Boston, which after enjoying remarkable success in reducing violence in the late 1990s, has recorded 20 murders so far this year, after 75 last year, mostly in the city’s poorest neighborhoods.

Providence, by contrast, has bucked a trend in which the number of violent crimes is increasing in many American cities. There were 11 murders in the city in 2006 — half the number of the previous year — and the fewest since 1971. And while Providence this week experienced its third homicide of 2007, its number of major crimes dropped 30 percent from 2002 to 2006, according to police figures, and the most serious violent crimes fell by 27 percent over the same period.

Providence Journal: Summer jobs can help steer youths away from violence

Sunday, May 13, 2007
By Andy Smith
Journal Staff Writer


PROVIDENCE — The Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence, based in Providence, plans to provide 60 summer jobs for Providence youths as part of its Beloved Community Summer Jobs Program this year, up from 45 jobs last year.

What’s the connection between employment and nonviolence?

P.J. Fox, operations manager for the Institute, said employment is an effective way to reduce violence.

An April 10 letter sent to members of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce asking for support, signed by Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman and Teny Gross, executive director of the institute, said that statistics show July and August are the most dangerous months for a young person in Providence.

A play about life in jail; told by those who know

Institute Streetworker, Erick Betancourt, plays Caz!

1000 lbs Guerilla Theatre is producing "House of Death" at Perishable Theatre (95 Empire Street, Providence) May 3rd – 5th and 9th – 13th.

Remaining shows:
Thursday 5/10, Friday 5/11 & Saturday 5/12 at 8pm
Saturday 5/13 at 2pm (with a discussion period after the play - great for kids to attend)
Sunday 5/13  at 7pm.

What happens when the Grim Reaper gets locked in prison?  He meets rappers Wisdom (Inphynit) and Masai-Do (Amos Hamrick), discusses addiction with Billy (Mike Messier), and contemplates humanity with Chino (Sokeo Ros), a Cambodian political prisoner.

Playing a triple role as Judge/Lawyer/Guard, actor T.J. Paolino says he is trying to “Get out of the way of the play,” the new mantra for the troupe. The comic relief is led by Jerz (JD Gonzalez) with his Ring Announcer antics and beat box skills.

This show marks the playwriting debut of Guerilla director Bruce Reilly. Written while in prison, House of Death borrows its title from Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s non-fictional account, of his own years in the Russian gulag.

Tickets are available at arttixri.com. Or call 401-621-6123.
General admission is $15, and Group Rates (6 or more) and Students are $12.   Special Student Group Rate is $8.

For more information: 1000lbsguerilla@gmail.com or Asst. Producer Jessica Russillo, 401/265-4721 or Artistic Director Bruce Reilly, 401/286-1507