AREA PROGRAM LOOKS TO BRIDGE RACIAL DIVISIONS : DIALOGUE PROJECT TO KICK OFF SUNDAY.

Byline: Luz Villarreal Daily News Staff Writer

After months of pilot sessions and training, the city's Human Relations Commission and The National Conference is ready to begin a citywide community outreach project they hope will break down barriers, stereotypes and improve neighborhood communications.

The Neighbor to Neighbor Dialogue Program will be unveiled Sunday at a 1 p.m. news conference and workshop at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum in Griffith Park.

It's one of a number of initiatives throughout the city designed to bring people together.

Others include proposals for a neighborhood conventions and councils and a diversity dialogue series already under way in Pacoima between Latino and African-American residents.

The idea behind the Neighbor to Neighbor program is to have residents participate in face-to-face dialogue sessions throughout the city dealing with cultural differences, values and respect. Trained facilitators will lead each group of participants in four, two-hour sessions in the comfort of residential homes, schools or community centers.

It's not a coincidence the program comes at the heels of the 1992 riots, Proposition 187, and the O.J. Simpson trial, officials said.

``We needed to have a much more in-depth way to connect people,'' said Christopher McCauley, executive director of the Human Relations Commission. ``Neighbor to Neighbor is working to stitch this city back together.''

The city teamed up with The National Conference, formally known as the National Conference of Christian and Jews, a 69-year-old nonsectarian human relations, education and training organization dedicated to fighting racism.

Organizers hope to have at least two Neighbor to Neighbor dialogues in each of the council districts over the next nine months.

Fifty facilitators have been trained for the program and more volunteers are still needed who can speak English and Spanish, Korean, Chinese or Armenian. Volunteers are also needed to host the dialogue sessions.

Jim Leahy, a facilitator and executive director of the nonprofit Volunteer Center in Panorama City, said the program is badly needed in Los Angeles.

``With so many culturally diverse neighborhoods, we tend to isolate ourselves in our homes,'' he said. ``I think the riots showed that there wasn't communication, that there were segments of the community that were not empowered. A lot of that empowerment is just having a voice and being heard.

``What I like about this is we can get people talking together and sharing,'' he said. ``We by far have many (more) things in common with each other than we have that are different.''

David Eaton of Glendale learned this in May. He and his wife, Sheila, participated in a pilot dialogue series at Roosevelt Middle School where their 12-year-old son is enrolled.

``I felt a nice sense of community when I finished,'' the 56-year-old post office clerk said. ``There was a real sense of sharing. There were people who didn't speak English yet we managed to communicate really well.''

The series was extended to five sessions to accommodate time for translating the dialogue into Spanish, Armenian and Arabic.

Participants brought things to the meetings to share with the group such as snacks, small hand-woven rugs and photographs representative of their countries. Eaton said the dialogue sessions gave him a new appreciation for immigrants.

``It was nice to see their concerns for their family, their children's education and their feelings for how great this country really is,'' he said. ``There's an anti-immigrant sentiment running through our communities today but I'm glad to say I'm very happy to have these people here. . . . I would recommend this to people, highly.''

To sign up as a facilitator or host a dialogue in your home, call the city's Human Relations Commission at [phone].