| Watch for our new CPPW media campaign! | |
"Let's do this" - Public Health - Seattle & King County's new CPPW mass media campaign - will launch on Friday, May 27 with outdoor bus ads and our "Let's do this" website (going live on May 27 at www.letsdothiskingcounty.org).
The campaign features Mia, an 11 year-old King County resident. Mia wants to be a healthy kid, and she notices that elements of her environment make it difficult. She is trying to understand why and how things are the way they are. She asks hard questions of adults with a freshness and curious nature.
All creative materials connect health to where we live, learn, work and play. They highlight inequities in King County, illustrate some of the CPPW work to improve health, and inspire residents to get involved.
Look for other "Let's do this" products around King County, starting in June and running though October 2011. Materials include:
- Indoor and outdoor transit advertisements
- Billboards
- Four 30 second videos in English and one in Spanish
- Print, online and radio advertising
- Ethnic media print advertising
- Posters in five languages
In late June, a 'style guide' will be available to share logo, taglines and colors for our partners and grantees.
Questions or comments? Please contact Nicole Sadow-Hasenberg at 206-263-8699 or Nicole.Sadow-Hasenberg@KingCounty.gov.
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| PrideFest tackles tobacco |
 Gay City wants to reduce tobacco and improve health in the LGBT community, and their work will get a big boost at Seattle PrideFest in June.
Gay City's goal is to have 100% of PrideFest vendors implement tobacco prevention and control policies, with technical assistance from staff at Gay City. Policies include addressing tobacco use in the workplace and referring folks to Out to Quit, the Quitline or other cessation assistance.
Gay City is doing important work to educate businesses about how the tobacco industry has targeted the LGBT community. For example, Seattle Gay News (SGN) and publisher George Bakan declined to publish an ad from a tobacco retailer in the paper as a result of Gay City's efforts, and moving forward SGN will not support the targeting of LGBT persons by companies that sell tobacco products.
Along with Pridefest activities, Gay City has also launched "Our Q to Action," an education campaign that frames the social injustice of tobacco industry marketing and smoking rates in LGBT communities. Click here to learn more about the campaign. |
Safe Routes to School in King County | |
 Over the past six months, 18 schools in South King County have been working to make it easier for kids to walk and bike safely to school. The King County Safe Routes to Schools programs are an effort to promote physical activity to combat the associated health problems, which include heart disease and diabetes. As a bonus, teachers find that kids who get exercise in the morning arrive more ready to learn.
Over the past 50 years, the number of kids walking or biking to school has dropped from 50 percent to less than 15 percent. At the same time, childhood obesity rates have more than tripled.
The Safe Routes to School project is coordinated by the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, with partners from Feet First, the Nonprofit Assistance Center, the Community Schools Collaboration, and the Auburn, Highline, Kent, Renton, Seattle, and Tukwila School Districts.
The CPPW partners have had a busy spring. So far they've:
- Held 10 walking audits, in which staff from the school, district, city planning and public works, and law enforcement have joined community members, parents, and students to walk the routes used by students and brainstorm improvements.
- Trained PE instructors to teach safe biking and walking skills to their students. Instructors from the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, Feet First, and the Cascade Bicycle Club led eight teachers through a two-day workshop of classroom instruction, parking lot drills, a road ride, and lesson plans for their kids.
- Taught hundreds of kids to ride and walk safely. Using bikes and helmets provided by the Bicycle Alliance, five schools have trained fourth and fifth graders the skills to interact safely with drivers. The bikes were obtained through a combination of CPPW funds and donations or discounts from Diamondback BMX, Recycled Cycles and REI.
- Attended six trainings on Safe Routes to School techniques.
- Promoted biking and walking at family fitness and PTA nights.
Summer and fall will bring even more activities, including more walking audits and trainings, and:
- Encouragement events to get kids and families to give walking and biking a try.
- Walking maps to help spread the word about the safest routes to school.
- By John Vander Sluis, Bicycle Alliance |
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Alternatives to suspension: Schools implement multi-level approach | We know that teens who use tobacco are four times more likely to skip class and three times more likely to get Cs, Ds, and Fs. But do we know what to do about it? Many times, these students are suspended from school, decreasing their opportunities for success.
The Puget Sound Educational Service District Tobacco Prevention Program is working with eight school districts in King County to reduce teen tobacco use while keeping students in school by developing alternatives to suspension.
"Suspension is not the answer. We need to help these students make healthy decisions," explained Dr. Joe Potts, Kentlake High School principal in the Kent School District. "And now, we have a plan."
Kent is one of several districts in our region working toward changing tobacco policy. Mercer Island and Lake Washington school districts have already adopted alternatives to suspension policies and
procedures for tobacco violations. Highline, Auburn, Tukwila, Seattle and Snoqualmie Valley school districts are also working to change policies.
"I am excited about the multi-level approach of the Alternatives to Suspension plan for our school district," said Val Allen, a social worker in the Highline School District. "It is a wonderful improvement over the siloed approach of policies that focus on suspension."
In addition to addressing tobacco and drop out prevention through alternative suspension strategies, the initiative is also working to create social norm change through the development of youth task forces.
For more information on PSESD's CPPW efforts or to learn more about how to start an Alternative to Suspension plan for your district, contact Wendi Gilreath, wgilreath@psesd.org, 425-917-7818, 253-778-7818.
- Adapted from an article by Robert Rigg, Puget Sound ESD One-to-One Newsletter, Summer 2011 |
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Free nicotine patches and gum available - for a limited time! |
 Quitting tobacco just got a little cheaper - for a limited time! Washington residents who are ready to quit smoking can now receive at least two weeks of free nicotine patches or gum if they call the state Tobacco Quitline (1-800-QUIT-NOW, 1-877-2NO-FUME) this May or June.
Along with the free nicotine gum or patch, Quitline callers get personalized help from a quit coach, free follow up calls, and a free Quit Kit in the mail. Calling the Quitline can double a person's chances of quitting. More than 160,000 people have called the state quitline since it opened over 10 years ago. People without health insurance can also get eight weeks of nicotine replacement therapy, up from the usual four. Washington state residents on Medicaid are already eligible for a 12 week supply. This special nicotine patch and gum offer ends June 30, 2011, or when supplies are gone. People who are ready to quit should call now. More information about quitline services (www.quitline.com) is available online. |
| About CPPW |  In the spring of 2010, Public Health - Seattle & King County and partners were awarded a highly competitive Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) grant to advance policy, system and environment changes to create neighborhoods that foster health and reduce disease. For more information on CPPW in King County, please visit our website. If you have any feedback or suggestions on our newsletter, contact Katie Ross. |
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| Take the Soda Free Sundays Pledge | |
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More than 40 organizations and nearly 200 people have taken the Soda Free Sundays pledge
to stay away from soda and other sugary drinks for one day a week for six weeks. Have you and your organization joined?
It's easy to take the pledge at sodafreesundays.org. Then spread the word through your organization, your friends, your family and your circles of influence.
Questions? Contact Jennifer Trott at jen@sodafreesundays.org. Thanks for joining us and encouraging everyone to go soda free on Sundays! |
| Healthy King County is getting a facelift! |  |
Look for changes to the look and feel of Healthy King County over the coming days. We're updating the website's design to reflect the upcoming "Let's do this" campaign. The content will remain the same.
Stay tuned for more information about the campaign and how you can get involved. Questions? Contact Katie Ross at Kathryn.Ross@kingcounty.gov or 206-263-8781.
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| In the news | | |
Pledge to be soda free on Sundays, Mercer Island Reporter, May 11
May 9
May 8
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| CPPW partners in action |  |
Change takes time and it won't be easy, but CPPW partners have already taken steps to build a healthier King County.
May 2011
Harborview and UW Medical Center implement a campus-wide smoke-free policy on May 31.
April 2011
The King County Board of Health passes Healthy Vending Guidelines to encourage organizations to provide healthier choices in vending machines.
Workshop on smoke-free housing for people with chronic mental illness gathers 50 participants.
Childcare centers across King County turn off the TV for Screen Free Week.
Total number of affordable housing units planning to go smoke-free by March 2012 is over 9,000.
March 2011
Seattle Gay News commits to not running tobacco advertising targeting the LGBT community as part of its partnership with Gay City and One Degree Events around Pridefest.
February 2011
A CPPW-funded media campaign increases calls to 1-800-QUIT-NOW, a free resource to help people quit tobacco, by 40 percent.
January 2011
The Healthy Foods Here Produce Manual makes it easier for small grocery and convenience stores to sell fresh produce.
Highline Medical Center goes tobacco-free.
December 2010
The King County Board
of Health passes comprehensive e-cigarette regulations to protect youth in King County.
October 2010
A new education campaign spreads the word about the health impacts of consuming sugar-loaded beverages.
September 2010
CPPW partners working on comprehensive planning gain a valuable tool when the King County Board of Health adopts new Planning for Healthy Communities Guidelines to inform planning decisions and promote health by creating environments that allow people to be physically active, eat healthy food, and live in safe and healthy places.
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Made possible by funding from Public Health - Seattle & King County and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. |
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