Subject: Spring 2004 AVP New England Report

 

Note: There was no Spring 2004 meeting, but since it was desired to provide current information to the annual AVP/USA meeting, Marianne Winship called up several New England AVP leaders and compiled this report from the phone conversations.

 

 

Maine: Tracy Booth reports that Maine is in good AVP health.  There is a core of about a dozen volunteers, putting on workshops at 3 different facilities.  2 are women’s workshops at Cumberland County Jail, and Windham Correctional.  The 3rd is a men’s prerelease at Bolduc.  A workshop is happening on average once a month, dispersed among the facilities.  Maine has some funds to do outreach and community Service announcements.  Relationships with the prisons are good.

 

New Hampshire: as reported by Judy Brophy, Mary Alice Warner, and Charles Oropallo, has workshops happening at 3 different facilities, with varying success because of shortage of volunteers, and prison red tape.  They try to do 6 workshops per year at each facility.  The prisons covered are:  Lakes Region in Laconia; New Hampshire State Prison for women in Goffstown, and the New Hampshire State Prison for men in Concord.  Hopefully things will go more smoothly as the year progresses.

 

Vermont: as reported by Alan Taplow, have not had workshops in 2004.  There had been community workshops in 2003.  I was unable to reach Judy Varner, who might have more current information.

 

Rhode Island: as reported by Bobbie Houllihan, is conducting no workshops do to shortage of volunteers.  An anger management course, which models some AVP principles, is happening in one medium security facility.

 

Connecticut: as reported by Ann Levinger, has its loyal group of Volunteers who live in Amherst MA.  They put on Workshops at Osborn Correctional Facility in Connecticut.  They occur once a month on average, due to the energy of Claude Tellier and his group.  Relationship with the facility is fair.

 

Massachusetts: as reported by Marianne Winship, has AVP workshops going on in 6 prisons, all men’s.  They include: 1 federal facility, 1 maximum state prison, 1 minimum state center, and 3 medium security facilities.  Our programs are thriving, but our volunteers are stretched thin.  We have requests from other prisons, which we cannot help with at this time.  I think our AVP success and scope peaked around 2001.  We hope to hold our Fall New England in one of these places.