Tobacco-Free Communities Grant Program

African Immigrants Community Services

African Immigrants Community Services works with East African refugees and immigrants in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties with a focus on youth and adult women. They are assessing the need for commercial tobacco prevention and cessation services by engaging with East African community members through listening circles, community forums and individual stakeholder interviews. They plan to develop a multilingual multi-media community outreach and education campaign on commercial tobacco prevention and cessation. East African youth will be recruited and trained as peer educators and engage other youth in tobacco prevention.

Recent stories

11/2019 Cultural Connections Help Somalis Become Tobacco-Free

Ain Dah Yung Center

Through the Ninijanisag Program, Ain Dah Yung works with American Indian youth between the ages of 8-21 in the Twin Cities metro area, to reduce non-traditional tobacco use in American Indian youth and young adults. The Ninijanisag (Our Children) Program educates youth about traditional tobacco use and general health education, engaging them in leadership and advocacy roles for a healthy lifestyle within their cultural context. This culturally responsive program leverages the strengths of the American Indian Community, including learning respect for tobacco as a sacred medicine and understanding how to live life in a good way.

Learn more about Ain Dah Yung Center at www.adycenter.org.

Recent stories

05/2019 Traditional Tobacco Use Connects Native Youth to Culture, Community, and Health

CLUES is assessing tobacco-related health disparities and health needs of LGBTQ Latinos and Latinos living with mental illness. They will utilize their Community Health Workers to integrate cessation connections and support into existing services and networks.

Learn more about CLUES at www.clues.org.

Recent stories

2/2018 Latino Culture Informs Effort at CLUES to Help Smokers Quit

Hmong American Partnership

Hmong American Partnership works with Southeast Asian refugees and immigrants in St. Paul, and the surrounding suburbs of Ramsey County. They are assessing the community’s awareness of, and need for culturally appropriate cessation services and resources. They plan to increase the community’s knowledge of and access to resources, support, and referrals to cessation services and integrate tobacco education into their existing program services.

Learn more about the Hmong American Partnership at www.hmong.org.

Recent stories

• 09/2018 Trusted Group is Shifting Hmong Cultural Practices around Tobacco Use

Minneapolis American Indian Center works with American Indian youth in the Twin Cities metro area to develop the youth’s leadership capacities and skills. They work with native youth to educate about commercial vs. traditional tobacco, traditional uses of tobacco, tobacco industry targeting of Native people, and the harm of commercial tobacco use. They plan to increase youth skills to advocate for smoke-free spaces, identify policy issues, and develop messages in support of policy changes, including working toward a commercial tobacco-free grounds policy for their worksite.

Learn more about the Minneapolis American Indian Center at www.maicnet.org.

Morrison-Todd-Wadena Community Health Board

Morrison-Todd-Wadena Community Health Board works with residents living in Morrison, Todd, and Wadena counties. They are conducting a local tobacco community health assessment across all three counties, including an assessment engaging the Hispanic/Latino community in Todd County, which will inform a community awareness campaign. In all three counties, they are working with community organizations, businesses, and events to be tobacco free and free of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. They are also working to improve, expand, and create integrated cessation protocols into existing health care services and community networks, specifically within agencies that serve those identified as at-risk populations.

Recent stories

• 12/2018 Three Counties Partner for Tobacco-Free Communities

NAMI focuses on engaging mental health workers and people living with mental illness throughout Minnesota. They work to increase the number of mental health workers trained in smoking cessation. They also aim to increase cessation treatment/referral by mental health workers by developing and launching an accredited training for mental health workers across the state. NAMI will also assess their readiness for and work towards a commercial tobacco-free grounds policy for their worksite.

Learn more about NAMI at www.namihelps.org.

Recent stories

4/2018 Online Provider Training will Deliver Quit Services to More People with Mental Illness

Pillsbury United Communities works with African Americans and minority populations in North Minneapolis to increase culturally appropriate connections to cessation services and cultural support in existing community services, programs and networks. They are developing design thinking workshops to engage community members to identify community needs and solutions. They also plan to integrate cessation services by leveraging their existing Community Health Workers, paramedics and coordinated care teams at North Memorial Medical Center.

Learn more about Pillsbury United Communities at www.puc-mn.org.

Recent stories

3/2018 Helping Smokers Reduce Stress of Poverty Is Key to Quitting

The Shift MN program of JustUs Health works with LGBTQ youth and young adults primarily in the Twin Cities Metro. They collect, analyze and disseminate information on trends about LGBTQ commercial tobacco use. They work to raise awareness, address misconceptions, and build community support for commercial tobacco prevention and control efforts in LGBTQ communities and partner with LGBTQ youth and young people to develop leadership skills in tobacco control, cessation promotion, health equity and advocacy. They work with the new JustUs Behavioral Health Clinic to integrate cessation connections and support within the clinical setting.

Learn more about JustUs Health at www.justushealth.org

Recent stories

5/2018 Shift MN: An LGBTQ Advocate against Commercial Tobacco Use

Tobacco-Free Alliance

Tobacco-Free Alliance works with residents living in Ramsey County and nearby cities. They partner with organizations serving African American, LGBTQ, Latino and Asian American, and low income communities to reduce tobacco industry influences and access and availability of commercial tobacco products, restrict the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol, increase smoke- and tobacco-free campus policies and increase availability of smoke-free housing for those experiencing tobacco-related disparities.

Learn more about the Tobacco-Free Alliance at www.mntobaccofreealliance.org.

Recent stories

• 07/2018 Youth Voices are Powering Tobacco Law Changes

WellShare International

WellShare International focuses their work with the East African and Somali communities in various Minneapolis neighborhoods. WellShare International is conducting a community-based assessment to strengthen Minnesota’s East African community’s capacity and involvement with commercial tobacco prevention and to create a community advisory committee. They also work with organizations and businesses to create smoke- and commercial tobacco-free environments and events. They work to integrate cessation connections and support into existing services and community networks, including integration of the Minnesota Quitline Network.

Learn more about WellShare International at www.wellshareinternational.org.

Recent stories

• 02/2019 Community Education: A Powerful Strategy for Reversing Tobacco Trends

The American Lung Association in Minnesota Technical Assistance team brings over 50 years of tobacco control experience to their new role as technical assistance providers to grantees across Minnesota. American Lung Association in Minnesota has passed a wide variety of policies in many settings, including health care, community, school, multi-unit housing and worksite. Their deep organizing experience has contributed to a good understanding of the challenges and opportunities of policy work on a local level.

The Association for Nonsmokers-Minnesota is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the human and economic costs of tobacco use in Minnesota. Their core commitments are to reduce the number of young smokers and to continuously advocate for the rights and health of nonsmokers.

The BRIDGE (Bringing Information and Resources for Disconnected Groups’ Engagement) Team is a multicultural consulting team working to implement the Bicultural Healthy Living Framework, which diverse communities are using to create their own pathways to better health. The BRIDGE Team helps communities integrate their own strengths and culture into communications, community engagement, and evaluation as they work to reduce commercial tobacco use.

The Public Health Law Center provides tailored legal technical assistance to civic leaders that can make the difference between success and failure in using law and policy to improve public health across a community. The Public Health Law Center has specialized in providing legal technical assistance related to tobacco issues for over 15 years.