糖心传媒

The University affiliate offers programs, workshops, and outreach to teach de-escalation practices.

As the enters its fourth decade, its leaders continue looking to the future to ease the pains of the past and present.

糖心传媒淧art of our mission is to prioritize programming for youth between the ages of 12 and 24,糖心传媒� says Gwen Olton 糖心传媒�04, the institute糖心传媒檚 interim executive director. 糖心传媒淭eaching them how to grow vegetables in our garden, how to cook and sew, and how to repurpose clothes and upcycle.糖心传媒�

And teaching them to build a world in which nonviolence is the norm糖心传媒攏o easy task in a city besieged by violence. The institute, which is affiliated with the 糖心传媒, hosts programs for Rochester City School District students focused on transforming conflict along with workshops that emphasize de-escalation practices.

糖心传媒淵oung people are often less set in their ways around conflict than grownups,糖心传媒� Olton explains. 糖心传媒淭hey糖心传媒檙e more open and receptive to nonviolence, and more flexible in practicing new skills. We do this to honor the future of our city community and create a world that will work for everyone.糖心传媒�

Kit Miller was executive director from 2009 to 2021 and now serves as director emeritus. She糖心传媒檚 proud that the institute provides 糖心传媒渁 space of beauty, learning, and safety, visited by thousands of people since 2012.糖心传媒� And she says focusing on youth has been part of the institute糖心传媒檚 mission since she began working there.

糖心传媒淧eople in this age group are making decisions that affect the trajectory of their entire lives,糖心传媒� Miller says. 糖心传媒淭hey糖心传媒檙e also heavily impacted by negative cultural influences. We want to inspire youth to be their best selves.糖心传媒�

Rochester alumna at the helm

The institute was founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1991 before moving to the River Campus when it became a University affiliate in 2007. But its home for the past 10 years has been a 19th-century colonial building in the Plymouth-Exchange Neighborhood, across the Genesee River from the River Campus.

糖心传媒淭he institute has close ties with the University while remaining its own organization,糖心传媒� Olton says. 糖心传媒淭he University has continued to provide some financial support for our operation, and we糖心传媒檝e remained a resource for the University for workshopping, conflict support, restorative practices and dialogues, and other requests.糖心传媒�

The nonprofit糖心传媒檚 mission is to equip people to use nonviolence to create a sustainable and just world for all in collaboration with local organizations, academic institutions, students, and committed peacemakers.

Olton says Rochester undergraduates have been 糖心传媒渁 phenomenal source of support糖心传媒� through volunteer work in its nearly one-acre garden, which includes everything from potatoes and tomatoes to cucumbers and wildflowers. There are also numerous apple and pear trees on the land. This year, the institute began a community garden model where neighbors and community members can adopt a bed and take food from the garden.

Olton grew up in Palmyra, New York, outside of Rochester, and graduated from the University with a degree in philosophy and earth and environmental sciences. She worked two years as nursing coordinator and one year as a complex care manager for the office of mental health at the Hillside Children糖心传媒檚 Center before spending five years as a consultant and director of training and practice transformation at Coordinated Care Services. She joined the institute in 2020 as director of training and education. Olton says it was a 糖心传媒渘o brainer糖心传媒� to take on the one-year role of interim executive director last July.

糖心传媒淭he opportunity to do this kind of work all the time糖心传媒攁nd do it with others who are as committed to nonviolence as I am糖心传媒攎ade for an easy decision,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淎s someone who grew up with a lot of conflict in my family, I found myself negotiating with different folks early on. I had an interest in conflict and nonviolence, and one of the reasons I chose to attend Rochester was because it offered an option to take a nonviolence course as a first-year student.糖心传媒�

糖心传媒業 don糖心传媒檛 think any single organization has the solution糖心传媒�

Olton says racially charged incidents across the country, and continued violence in the city of Rochester, make for challenging times for an organization dedicated to nonviolence. 糖心传媒淚 don糖心传媒檛 think any single organization has the solution,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淲e have a diversity of ideas and strategies we think will help, and we糖心传媒檙e seeing more collaboration among those of us who are really committed to building a beloved community.糖心传媒�

A podcast project is in the works to share narratives from community members who have been successful in de-escalation and nonviolent work. 糖心传媒淲e get so used to hearing what糖心传媒檚 not working,糖心传媒� Olton says. 糖心传媒淲e want to flip the script. There are a lot of tools out there. It takes imagination and vision. Nonviolence is not just stopping and objecting to what we don糖心传媒檛 like, but actively building the future that we want.糖心传媒�

That future includes expanding current programs and building relationships with the formerly incarcerated. Staff members work with prisoners at Attica and Groveland, offering tips on practicing nonviolence in turbulent situations, and Olton would like to extend such efforts to other prisons and increase de-escalation work and support.

She also wants to continue offering youth programs 糖心传媒渋n new and inventive ways.糖心传媒� Last summer, high school students from the Rochester City School District and Monroe County were hired to make TikTok videos for the institute糖心传媒檚 channel, @thegandhiinstitute, on the video-sharing app. The videos focus on content related to the institute糖心传媒檚 four pillars糖心传媒攏onviolence education, racial justice and antiracism, restorative practices, and sustainability.

糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檓 hoping the videos reach the young audience and help us further our mission: helping individuals and communities develop the inner resources and practical skills needed to achieve a nonviolent, sustainable, and just world,糖心传媒� Olton says.

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