Creating a Stress Free and Violence Free Community

 “The Wright brothers appeared crazy before they flew. I have this crazy idea – a world without violence. With all the violence in the world this idea may appear to be hoping for a Utopia, but we need to dream, and we will get there,” said Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Global Humanitarian and Founder of Art of Living Foundation (AOLF). He has called for a Stress Free, Violence Free Society all around the world. 

In the Bay Area, a campaign to create stress-free, violence-free communities was initiated in early February. A Launch Event will be held on Sunday, March 24 at 4pm at the San Jose Convention Center, where Sri Sri will give a keynote address and inspire the campaigners to take action to combat violence around them through acts of non-violence. Tickets are complimentary, and everyone can register at www.stressfreeviolencefree.org. Guest speakers include Dr. James Doty, Founder of Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE); and Dave Cortese, Supervisor, County of Santa Clara. Our speakers will provide their perspective on the importance of compassionate service to build communities free of violence and stress. Musician MC Yogi will also perform at the event. 

The Campaign has been endorsed by Ro Khanna, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce in Obama Administration and Vivek Paul, ex-CEO Wipro and a VC in Bay Area, as Ambassadors. Ash Kalra, Councilmember San Jose; Raj Salwan, Councilmember Fremont; Corey Gin, Leadership and Employee Enrichment Program (LEEP), California State University East Bay are wholeheartedly championing the cause. Many community leaders, Mayors (Cupertino, Fremont, Milpitas, Sunnyvale), city officials, and activists, have confirmed participation at the March 24 event, which will be attended by over 8000 people from all over the Bay Area. 

Since its initiation in early February, the Stress Free, Violence Free Campaign has seen over 11,000 acts of non-violence by over 3000 campaigners all across the Bay Area. Non-profit organizations such as International Association for Human Values (IAHV), the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE), Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence, Carry the Vision, Silicon Valley FACES, Ever Forward Club, Vision Literacy, Stillheart Institute, Peninsula Jewish Community Center, have joined hands for the coalition, and many more are joining every day. Major Silicon Valley corporations are not only helping spread the word about the campaign but also encouraging their employees to join the campaign. Some are offering to sponsor the tickets to attend the launch event. Among the companies that have partnered are Brocade, Intel, Symantec, Bloom Energy, Cisco, Applied Materials, Juniper Networks and Nvidia. 

Over 300 volunteers are working to make this dream come true in the Bay Area. A number of pre-launch events have taken place. On March 9, there was a conference in Fremont for a “Safe and Peaceful Fremont”, which was attended by many local officials including Interim Chief Richard Lucero of Fremont Police Department, Councilmember Raj Salwan, non-profit organizations (Rodney Clark of SAVE and Gayathri Sundar of Narika), school board members (Desrie Campbell and Lily Mei of FUSD), and citizens. They all agreed that authorities alone couldn’t create a safer environment. It has to be done through a collaboration of all citizens of the city. 

In Cupertino a symposium was organized on Feb 24 on the topic "Parents Combating Stress in Teens" followed by a call for action to attendees to identify a trigger for stress in their current situation and to take an action to overcome a personal stress and to bring relief to someone stressed. The symposium drew parents from Lynbrook, Monta Vista, Saratoga and Cupertino High school. There were also parents from a few middle schools in Cupertino. The five panelists were from different backgrounds - a life coach, a PTA mother, a director of a Non-profit, a high tech industry executive, and an aerospace industry engineer. 

On Feb 10 at San Jose’s Overfelt High School, campaign partners IAHV and Carry the Vision organized a symposium Ending Violence in Our Schools - Can We Take Responsibility, which was attended by school teachers, students and parents. The Dublin Center of AOLF has been organizing Know Your Neighbor Workshops where they facilitate neighbors coming together to discuss common issues of stress, violence, safety and other issues of immediate concern. 

“In today's society one is isolated from their neighbors, which leads to disconnect from the whole society. Know Your Neighbor is a program to connect people to create belongingness and also safety for people. This program is typically attended by 10 -15 people, who all feel inspired that they too can do something and participate to make change,” said Rashmi Patel, Instructor and Program Coordinator for Dublin Center of AOLF. 

On Feb 14, the Santa Clara and Dublin Centers of AOLF hosted the One Billion Rising to end Violence - A Dance party along with a guided meditation that was attended by over 50+ people of all ages and races to stand in solidarity, in one voice, to put an end to violence among women and children. “One in three women is subjected to domestic violence at one point or another. The night was an eye opener for many who never realized that there are other forms of abuse than just physical violence,” said Rashmi. The Santa Clara event was co-hosted by Maitri a local domestic violence organization. 

Another event being organized on an on-going basis is Peace Begins with Me. These sessions are conducted in people's homes, libraries, and organizations to inspire people to take responsibility for creating a stress free and violence free community. “Peace begins from within, and participants are taught tools and techniques to cope with stress that will help them feel peaceful. Opening dialogues for people to come up with ways and ideas to create peace and harmony in both their lives and in their environment,” said Rashmi, “People feel good about having tools to manage their emotions and stress and share that the clarity and peace that they felt would help them interact differently in the world.” 

A few weeks earlier an event was also organized in Oakland, which was attended by over 200 local residents who came together to explore ways to reduce violence in their city. “This campaign is not just a movement but a revolution that has been started. It is of the people, by the people, for the people. It is about people saying enough is enough. It is about saying I don’t want another Sandy Hook, Aurora or Santa Cruz. I have to stand up now and take action. Authorities alone cannot prevent acts of violence. It all starts with me,” said Tara Edel, a volunteer for the campaign, “If not now, then when?” 

The campaign aims to lead a sustainable grassroots movement that brings together thousands of individuals, non-profit organizations, corporations, and the government in a collaborative effort to build a stress-free, violence-free community. “We want to create a community where every member feels connected to a greater whole, and empowered to create positive change around them,” said Sridhar Suri Dasika, a software engineer and a volunteer with the Art of Living Foundation who is also Campaign Manager, Bay Area, “We will do this by engaging everyday people into compassionate action, inspiring them to stand together as a collective force of change, in turn creating waves of positive change in the community.”