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Our Story

History

MCP (Men Creating Peace), began holding classes in March of 2007 at Laney College in downtown Oakland. Founder and Executive Director Devon Gaster has been a member of the Alameda County Domestic Violence Collaborative
since 2006.
In 2010 MCP became a certified Court-Mandated Batterer’s Treatment and Anger Management/Intervention Program by the Alameda County Probation Department and began receiving referrals directly from the courts. With the increase in the number of participants, MCP expanded the program with separate combined 2 nd and 3 rd stage classes. MCP later began to invite survivors of violence to share their stories with the men in the program, which we call Survivor Impact classes. Through this process these courageous survivors have helped the participants develop a deeper sense of empathy and compassion for the survivor experience. Many of the participants have shared that the Survivor Impact class was the most powerful and life changing class they attended during the entire program.
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❝ I learned how my language and emotional behavior was hurtful to my partner and harmful to my relationship. I work to practice what I learned ongoing in my interpersonal relationships. ❞

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Over the next two years, MCP opened a third class in Berkeley on Saturday
mornings at Options Recovery Services. This class enabled participants who
were attending Options to take anger management and violence prevention
classes for a reduced cost. MCP further expanded the program in 2013 by
offering conflict resolution and anger management classes in the San
Francisco County Jail’s Re-entry dormitory. The following year, we began
teaching classes to men in San Quentin State Prison.


In 2015 MCP began focusing more on expanding the program in Alameda
County through diversified community outreach events as well as educational
trainings. MCP continued to provide these presentations to various community
based organizations, schools, and professional sports teams.
Today, Men Creating Peace now offers community classes at three Alameda
County locations and continues to provide trainings, program development,
expert witness testimony, and individual counseling.