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Break Free Alliance 
Ending the cycle of tobacco and poverty
- a program of the Health Education Council

 Populations Served:

Low socioeconomic Status (SES) populations

SAVE THE DATE!

The next national Break Free Alliance conference will take place on April 27-28, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Hotel Monteleone 

Description:

The Break Free Alliance engages states and key organizations serving low SES populations in tobacco control efforts and assists them with resource development and assessments, technical assistance, capacity buidling and evaluation to prevent and reduce tobacco use in low-income communities.


Mission:

The mission of Break Free Alliance is to reduce the burden of tobacco use in lowe SES populations. 


Priority Initiatives:

  • Cessation for Incarcerated Populations - Break Free Alliance collaborates with the National Commission on Correctional Health Care to assess tobacco use policies in correctional facilities and implement cessation interventions for inmates.
  • Policy Assessment Among Homeless Shelters and Transitional Living Facilities  - Break Free Alliance collaborates with the National Coalition for the Homeless to assess policy implementation in homeless shelters and transitional living facilities and to implement tobacco cessation programs for homeless populations.
  • Promising Practices from the Field: Tobacco Control Strategies for Prioirty Populations - Break Free Alliance collaborated with the National African American Tobacco Education Network to convene a antaionl conference held in the Spring of 2008 for experts working in the lowe SES and AA communities.
  • Tobacco Cessation for The Salvation Army - Break Free Alliance worked with The Salvation Army to integrate nicotine addiction into the Army's substance abuse treatment programs.
  • The Salvation Army "Tobacco and Health" Scouting Emblem Program - Break Free Alliance collaborated with The Salvation Army to develop a "Tobacco and Health" scouting emblem curriculum for the Army's after school and youth development programs.  The curriculum focuses on boys and girls in grades 5-8 and incorporates health education, media literacy and advocacy.  The Salvation Army will train youth leaders to facilitate the program and will track the number of corps community centers implementing the program as well as the number of youth served.
  • Cessation in the Rescue Mission - Break Free Alliance collaborated with the National Association of Gospel Rescue Missions to provide a cessation curriculum designed for use in the mission setting.  This curriculum is being distributed to Gospel Rescue Missions throughout the United States.
  • Cessation for Rural Alaskans - Break Free Alliance collaborated with the Rural Alaska Community Action Program to provide a cessation curriculum specific to the needs of Alaskans living in remote parts of the state.  AmeriCorps members were trained to facilitate the curriculum to small groups in community settings.
  • Cessation for Homeless Service Providers - Break Free Alliance collaborated with  Public Health, Seattle King County to distribute a cessation toolkit for use in shelters and transitional living facilities to assist the homeless and other vulnerable populations with quitting.

For More Information:

Break Free Alliance
Health Education Council
3950 Industrial Blvd., Ste. 600
West Sacramento, CA  95691

Ph: 916-556-3344
Email: jporter@healthedcouncil.org
Website: www.healthedcouncil.org
For Tobacco Control Specific Info: www.healthedcouncil.org/breakfreealliance

 

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