C.H.E.F., in collaboration with its partners, the Association of Washington Housing Authorities (AWHA) and Pacific Northwest Regional Council of National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (PNRC-NAHRO), are working under a contract with the Washington State Department of Health to establish a network whose goal is to develop a no-smoking environment for public housing, promote resistance to tobacco industry marketing, identify and offer smoking cessation support and resources for public housing residents, and bring partners together to effect systems change.
The need for the Network couldn’t be greater. Smoking is a serious problem for residents of public housing, not only for the people who smoke themselves, but also for their neighbors who are impacted by second-hand smoke. In addition, smoking is a frequent cause of fires that cause injury, death, and property loss, not to mention increased maintenance costs for apartment renovation.
Since the Network will assist housing authorities in their efforts to adopt and implement no-smoking policies, change norms, and assist residents with connecting to cessation services, several housing authorities throughout Washington State have been recruited to participate in the project. The participating housing authorities include those in Bellingham / Whatcom County, Bremerton, Vancouver, Everett, Grant County, Renton, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, and Walla Walla.
If you have questions about The Washington State Public Housing Tobacco Prevention Network, please contact Julie Peterson, C.H.E.F.’s Senior Director of Public Affairs, at 1-800-323-2433, ext. 1898 or JulieP@chef.org