BRIDGE BUILDING

Eliminating substance abuse would be a giant step toward curbing violence.
Just ask Cheryl Villapania.

Cheryl is a local teen who returned this week from Washington, where she
spoke to members of Congress about youth violence. Cheryl speaks from
experience. She watched her drug-abusing parents fight, and she herself was
using drugs by the time she was 11.

But that's all in the past. Cheryl and her parents are now drug-free, and
the teen has taken it upon herself help educate others about how substance
abuse and disrespect within the family can lead to violence and hatred.

Violence and hatred will be the central topics Sunday afternoon at the 2nd
Annual "Building Bridges: From Hate to Harmony" discussion, which begins at
1 p.m. at the Cabrillo Arts Pavilion, 1118 E. Cabrillo Blvd. The event is
free, and the public is invited.

Building Bridges is a multi-cultural, multi-racial communitywide
collaboration inspired by the Anne Frank in the World exhibit, which made a
stop in Santa Barbara two years ago. A local committee formed shortly
thereafter, with the mission of promoting the importance of tolerance in the
community. City and county governments last year declared October "Tolerance
Month."

Sunday's event will include presentations, living-arts performances and
music. But the focus of the day will be mid-afternoon breakout sessions to
discuss hate crimes, intolerance and issues affecting youth. The idea is to
get everyone talking in a way that increases understanding and tolerance --
and helps break down the walls that have grown up between people over the years.

Building Bridges is a celebration of differences, but in a way that shows
how differences are not so bad, and should never be an obstruction to
greater understanding.