Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence

Now Hiring 16 Full Time AmeriCorps Team Members

Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence

AmeriCorps Member Service Description

Download Member Service Description 

Title:  Nonviolence AmeriCorps Team

Start Date:  August 2011

Type:  Full Time

Reports to: AmeriCorps Program Manager, with responsibility to a program director responsible for each sub-team

About the Institute

The Institute was founded by members of St. Michael’s Church team ministry in 2001 as a long-term solution to violence.

Announcing Nonviolence Education Institute

Nonviolence Education Institute:  A fellowship to enrich schools and transform lives

Download PDF - NEI Purpose

Download PDF - NEI Details

Download PDF - NEI Application

Mission

The mission of the Nonviolence Education Institute (NEI) is to bring educators and school personnel together, as fellows, to reflect and engage in the practice of nonviolence for the purpose of building and sustaining a positive school community.   

Goals

• To learn and internalize Dr. Martin Luther King’s theory of nonviolence
• To provide practical tools to implement nonviolence in educational settings across Rhode Island
• To foster effective interactions among school community members and create a safe and supportive educational         environment for all
• To create a statewide professional network of nonviolence educators and school personnel
• To reaffirm and reinforce our individual passion and motivation for working with students

Why is this important?

Ex Con Helps Reduce Prison Fights in RI

In the Providence Journal, September 13, 2010

By John Hill, Journal Staff Writer

CRANSTON — Salomao Monteiro was pacing back and forth in the cafeteria, doing what he does these days: talking about nonviolence.

Ten men, some in orange, some in beige, some in white T-shirts, sat in four rows in every other chair listening as Monteiro passed out a questionnaire. The first to finish handed his paper to Monteiro, holding it in both hands, like he was praying.

But the inmate’s hands weren’t clasped in prayer. They were shackled together.

Monteiro, who works for the Institute for the Study and Practice of Non-Violence, was in the Maximum Security Unit of the Adult Correctional Institutions. His listeners weren’t just convicts; they were from the segregation unit, locked in solitary for fighting.

How to Learn and Teach Nonviolence

Looking for a great volunteer opportunity?

Love to work with youth?

Want to learn about and teach nonviolence?

This October and November, over 3 weekends, the Institute is holding a 30-hour Nonviolence Training-of-Trainers series.

Information and an application are available by download:

Download ToT Fall 2010 Coverletter

Download ToT Fall 2010 Application

Any questions, contact Alyssa Metthe, Assistant Director of Training, at 401-785-2320 or alyssa@nonviolenceinstitute.org.

October trip to Belfast

In October 2007, Institute Director Teny Gross traveled to Belfast with Father Ray Malm, a co-founder of the Institute and a priest at Saint Michael’s Parish on Providence’s South Side; Maggie Meany, operations director at Amos House, and a trainer at the Institute; Ajay Benton, program manager for the Streetworkers Program at the Institute; and Sal Monteiro, streetworker and trainer at the Institute.

The Institute's contingent worked with adults and children in a sectarian area of Belfast that has long suffered from poverty and violence. Although violence has decreased in Northern Ireland, our trip hosts at the Forthspring Inter Community Group say sectarianism and polarization continue as problems. And, new challenges, like increased drug use and teen suicide, have emerged.

Read Julia Steiny's Providence Journal column on the trip here.

Read Teny's blog entries from Belfast, hosted by the Providence Journal here.

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.

Providence Journal: At Jenks, nonviolent resolution is fun

The Providence Journal - Friday, April 6, 2007
By John Castellucci
Journal Staff Writer

PAWTUCKET — The audience was pumped, eager to hear the rap music, poetry and songs that everyone knew would be the fun part of the program.

But first, a couple of questions.

“I’d like to know, first of all, what you think are the biggest causes of violence,” said Pam Steager, taking the stage in Jenks Junior High School.

“Peer pressure,” one student answered.

“People pushing you into it,” another student said.

“Personality,” someone else answered.

“Seeing your parents fight.”

The answers to that question and to the question that followed — “What do you think are the ways that we could be more nonviolent?” — pleased Steager, who is director of training for the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence.

Trauma Surgical Team & ISPN Streetworkers presentation

Click here for a PDF of the flyer.

Friday Aug. 25 - Graduation Ceremony

The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence
Invites you to join us as we celebrate

The 4th Annual Graduation Ceremony
for members of the
Beloved Community Summer Jobs Program
Youth working in their communities, studying nonviolence, and practicing for a bright future

Friday, August 25, 2006   4-6 pm

Peace Street Campus of The Met School*
365 Dexter Street                                  
Providence, Rhode Island                     

RSVP: (401) 785-2320 or pj@nonviolenceinstitute.org

March 2006 Nonviolence Training

In March and early April 2006, the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence again offered our Training of Trainers (TOT) program. This 5-week intensive study prepares participants to go out into the community and teach ISPN's Nonviolence curriculum.

We will hold another training in a few months. As always, we invite you to consider attending or referring someone who you think would benefit from these trainings.

Currently, we are working in school systems in Woonsocket, Pawtucket, Cranston, Lincoln and Providence. We start with 3rd grades and teach on up through high school. We also offer a variety of Nonviolence workshops to community groups, corporations, church groups... So, again, if teaching Nonviolence appeals to you, please contact us. Or, if you know someone who may be interested, please let them know about these trainings.

Curious? Click here to read about a previous training class.

Once trainers go into the classroom, we pay an hourly rate whenever possible. We think people who teach peace should be paid for theirwork.

For more information, contact Jane E. Jellison, Director of Training or Kate Mullin, AmeriCorps Vista.

Click here to download the TOT Brochure (.pdf file)

David Cartagena: 2005 graduate of Institute's Nonviolence Trainers

from the Providence Journal:

Volunteers learn ways to promote nonviolence
Trixy Ferrell, one of 14 graduates, was motivated to get involved and take the training class after her 18-year-old son was slain in April.

Friday, August 26, 2005

BY KAREN A. DAVIS
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Dressed in a light blue dress shirt and faded blue jeans, David Cartegena stood before the City Hall audience overcome with emotion and temporarily speechless.

It had been a while since he cried, he confessed to the crowd. And, he didn't know what specifically prompted him to do so yesterday.

Nonviolence Book and Media List

Nonviolence Book and Media List: Part One
Compiled by Sheila Lennon, Nonviolence Senior Trainer

click here to view the list

Beloved Community teaches Cranston kids the value of non-violence

CRANSTON HERALD   6/09/2005

By LISA DiMAIO

Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream lives on in the “Beloved Community” – a community for third, fourth and fifth graders at Edgewood Highlands where everyone is treated with respect and fairness.

More on the 3rd Training of Trainers

14 committed individuals from diverse backgrounds throughout Rhode Island participated in a 5-week training program, learning the Kingian philosophy of Nonviolence (Six Principles of Nonviolence and the Six Steps to Problem Solving).

Nonviolence training at Stop Wasting Abandoned Properties Inc. (SWAP)

ISPN conducts nonviolence training in Northern Ireland

US lessons for interface workers

Tackling the mean streets of Boston may have lessons for Belfast community workers, say their US counterparts. A group from New England is on a week-long visit to pass on advice for those working in NI's interface areas.

Special One-Day Training - Saturday, July 9, 2005

Click to get a printable version of the training flyer.