The program has evolved from a program primarily set up to do draft and military counseling and resistance to militarism and the war in Vietnam, to a broader educational-outreach program with a strong emphasis on community dialogue.
Western Massachusetts faces problems of growing economic disparity, an increased tendency to scapegoat the poor and other marginalized social groups, and a deterioration in public trust and ownership of local, state and federal government, along with increased efforts to militarize our economy and our communities.
The program seeks to empower communities to confront these problems and find lasting solutions which increase peace and build unity. AFSC-Western Mass. uses education and community dialogue to make the broader connections between militarism, economic disparity, and violence, and actively promote ways that people can break the cycle of violence which fosters these connections. Two primary goals are demilitarization of youth, and empowerment of economically oppressed people.
GO TO Home Page of AFSC Northeast Regional Office
GO TO Home Page of AFSC National Office
GO TO AFSC Video & Film Library
