Building Partnerships in Diverse Communities:
Promising Practices from Massachusetts
1
Massachusetts Overview

2000 Census Data
 6.8% Hispanic or Latino
 5.4% Black or African American
 3.8% Asian
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Portuguese speakers are second largest linguistic
group comprising 800,000-1 million people
(www.maps-inc.org)
2
Maude Hurd
The Medical Foundation
Boston Area Tobacco Control Coalition
3
What is BATCC?

We focus on:
 Youth Access
 Tobacco Education
 Secondhand Smoke
 Health Disparities

Serve 6 Communities: Boston, Cambridge,
Chelsea, Revere, Somerville, Winthrop
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Funded by the Massachusetts Department of
Public Health/CDC
4
Our Goals
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Build diverse partnerships within the
community
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Create a diverse network of people to
support our work
5
The Big Questions
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How do we get people interested in
our issue?
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How do we get people to the table?
6
Getting People Interested
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Thought out who in the community we should partner
with (what made sense)
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Made it relevant to their work (because it is)
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Found ways to tie our issue into theirs
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Ex: Tobacco closely relates to:
 Asthma
 Cardiovascular disease
 Environmental Health
7
Our Strategy
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Assessed & knew our community & resources
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Found diverse groups & individuals interested in
and working on issues closely tied to tobacco
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Asthma coalitions, environmental groups,
cardiovascular programs
Health centers, treatment programs, physicians
Schools, faith-based organizations, GLBT
programs
Community-based & youth organizations
Culture-specific community, health, & youth
organizations
8
Our Strategy (cont.)
Contacted Potential Partners

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Created a introductory letter and partner form which
included:
 Information about BATCC & services
 Their Contact information
 Organization description
 Services BATCC provides
 Options for their participation
 Offered involvement on various levels
 Low, Medium, High
*Clearly verbalized & gave concrete examples of how tobacco
related to their issue and ways they could be involved*
9
Our Strategy (cont.)

Mailed/Emailed letter and form to Partners
identified
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Including BUAC (Boston Urban Asthma Coalition)
database

Tracked responses using database

Followed up with phone calls, personal visits,
emails
53 partners signed on in four months!
10
Getting Partners to the Table
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Held an initial meeting
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Made it easy for everyone to be involved
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Everyone committed to a goal or strategy

Everyone had a role in BATCC
11
Maintain Contact
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Found out what worked best for them, at meeting

Regular email updates
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Workgroups/Email groups around our 4 goals

Quarterly meetings
12
The Real Success…
Creating and maintaining meaningful
working relationships to affect real
change
13
Jeffrey Dinger
Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department
Tobacco Education Coalition of
Greater Cape Cod and the Islands
14
Provincetown Demographics
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3,500 year-round residents
50,000 summer residents
25% Portuguese ancestry
20% GLBT
15
Successful Partnerships Mean:
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Sharing resources

Collaborating on events

Information & resources reaching a more diverse
audience

Treatment information & resources reaching more
smokers

Partners co-writing/writing articles & getting them
printed (in their newsletters, through their media
contacts)
16
Diverse/Welcoming Community
Message on Chamber of Commerce Website
Provincetown is a very special place – special in
many different ways for many different people. It’s
the most diversely populated small town fishing
village in the world! And that includes our visitors;
Couples, Singles, Families, Short, Tall, Skinny,
Fat, Gay, Straight, Young, Old… you get the
picture! Provincetown welcomes all!
17
Tobacco Control Milestones

1989 total ban on cigarette vending machines

1998 restaurant, bar and youth access
regulations

2002 100% smokefree restaurants and bars
18
Need for Cessation Resources
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Impact of regulations on demand
Enhanced needs of P’town residents
Historic availability
Restructuring of treatment programs in
2000
Solving the problem through partnership
19
Highlights from Statement of Need
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Residents of the outermost town of Cape Cod have
long been under-served with respect to access to
smoking cessation services.
41.5% of gay adults are smokers (Stall, et al, 1999)
55% of GLBT youth smoked during previous 30 days
and 36% reported being daily smokers (YRBS,
1999)
It is understood that individuals with compromised
immune systems may be at greater risk for illness
caused by tobacco use and/or ETS exposure.
20
Partners
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American Cancer Society
Provincetown AIDS Support Group
Helping Our Women - Provincetown
Provincetown Board of Health
WOMR Radio
Provincetown Banner
Lower and Outer Cape Health Services
Lower/Outer Cape Community Coalition
Town of Provincetown
Barnstable County Health Department
Cape Cod Human Services
Cape Cod Regional Tobacco Control Program
Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program
21
Primary points
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It’s about the partnerships!

Identify community needs in conjunction
with the community.
22
Resources for GLBT community
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www.gaysmokeout.net
www.bitchtoquit.com
www.lccp.org
www.trytostop.org
www.metrokc.gov/health/glbt/pubmed.htm
23
James White
Spanish American Union, Inc.
Hampden County Tobacco Free Coalition
24
Who is the HCTFC?

The Hampden County Tobacco Free Coalition is
a consortium of health and human service
activists that are dedicated to protect the public
from exposure to secondhand smoke; assist
those who want to quit smoking; and to promote
a smoke-free environment for the residents,
visitors and people, who work in Springfield, MA
Standard Metropolitan Area.
25
Area Demographics

20.2 % Current Smokers -Target Group
Male 20.2% and Female 20.1%
White Non-Latino 20.5% and Latino 19.0%
African-American Non-Latino 21.9%
27.3% are 18-24 years and 23.2% were 25-44 years
19.1% are 45-64 years and 9.2% 65 plus
26.6% High School Graduate
29.7% Less than High School Degree

16.1 % Some College and Above
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Partnership development
How did we begin?
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HCTFC included 7 boards of health, 3 youth programs,
4 tobacco treatment programs and 2 smoking
intervention programs.
Members of each modality consisted of different
racial, ethnic and gender origins. For example: youth
advisors were males - African Americans and Latinos.
Six females served as treatment counselors and
operated smoking intervention programs (3
Caucasians, 2 Latinos & an African American)
Health boards were white females. except for
Springfield’s staff who were African American males.
27
Defining the Problem

In 2001, six-month regional survey conducted by
members of our Coalition, reveals tobacco vendors
were not the only source of tobacco products for
underage smokers.

Who are the primary social sources? – young adults
age 22 & under, who smoke
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“social sources” –i.e. friends, relatives, and willing
strangers aided youth smokers to get tobacco
products.
28
Renewing Existing Relationships
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While all programs attended our monthly meetings,
the individual groups/modalities had not
effectively collaborated on tobacco control
activities except for conducting local compliance
checks and local health fairs.

The boards of health and youth programs
collaborated to conduct the initial social sources
survey as part of our regional action plan in Western
Massachusetts. It was a success! As a result, key
data was garnered about social sources in our
county. The members of our tobacco free coalition
didn’t stop there.
29
How Did We Get Here?
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Created a subcommittee consisting of youth
programs and boards of health to plan and
develop our community-based marketing
initiative.
Focus groups with human service and
community organizations that were
frequented by 18-22 year-olds to help us to
develop a strong message that would reach
our target audience.
30
Focus Group Participants
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AIC
Bay Path College
Holyoke Community College
STCC
Springfield College
Urban League of Springfield
Vietnamese American Civic Association
31
Recommendations
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Big problems require team - individual can’t
resolve alone
Collaboration with new + devise partners = revival
Accomplishments: held three diverse focus
groups, developed strong message & input from
target population.
Other achievements: “Don’t Get Her Started.”
developed a Social Sources Marketing campaign.
Published newspaper ads and distributed more
than 200 posters in English & Spanish.
Next: develop PSAs in multiple languages for
Radio & TV
32
Elizabeth Connelly-Sylvia
Center for Health and Human Services, Inc.
Partners for Clean Air
33
New Bedford
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Southcoast of Massachusetts, 60 miles from
Boston, 30 miles west of Cape Cod
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Population of close to 100,000
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50% of population does not have a high school
diploma
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Third highest smoking rate in the state
34
Portuguese in New Bedford
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Largest ethnic group in city
High rate of smoking
40% of Portuguese males smoke
Exposure to Second Hand Smoke often not viewed
as a health issue
Close knit extended families
Family life focused on children
Portuguese women make household decisions
35
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What did we hope
to accomplish?
What have we
accomplished thus
far?
What is next?
36
How did we develop partnerships?
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Built on pre-existing relationships
Networked extensively
Had already developed a “good name” with
possible partners
Met potential partners where they were at
providing them with a service they were in need
of
Developed campaign together with initial partners
from the beginning taking full advantage of each
others expertise
37
How to keep partners engaged in
promoting the project
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Continue to build on existing relationships
Conduct brief trainings on the why’s and
how to promote the Smoke Free Home
Campaign
Provide accompanying manual
Provide ongoing technical support
Rewards for participation
38
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
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Immigrant’s Assistance
Center
Greater New Bedford
Community Health Center
Center for Health and
Human Services
New Bedford
Rehabilitation Hospital
New Bedford Health
Department
Schwartz Rehabilitation
Center for Children
Quaker Fabrics
39
What did we hope to accomplish?
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Build partnerships within the Portuguese community
Protect families especially children from second hand
smoke
Raise awareness to the issue of second-hand smoke
Increase the number of smoke-free households
Provide information on quitting
Move smokers through the stages of change
Solidify partners as we move forward with regulatory
action
Prepare the community for an increase in the level ETS
regulations in the city
40
Did we do it?
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Partnered with Portuguese service providers
Protect families especially children from second hand
smoke
Raise awareness to the issue of environmental tobacco
smoke (ETS)
Increase the number of smoke-free household
Provide information on quitting
Move smokers through the stages of change
Solidify partners as we move forward with regulatory
action
Prepare the community for an increase in the level ETS
regulations in the city
41
What have we accomplished thus far?
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To date over 600 families have signed on to
the campaign with over 200 Portuguese
Speaking families
Campaign in produced in English, Spanish, and
Portuguese
Over twenty community partners promoting
the campaign
42
MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT
43
Certificado De
Reconhecimento
• Oferecido Por:
• Centro de Assistência ao Imigrante
“ Por este meio prometo que vou manter a minha
casa livre do fumo e que vou continuar a proteger
os meus filhos, familiares e amigos dos riscos do
fumo passivo.”
44
Promotional Opportunities
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Radio - Portuguese Station
Cable Access TV – Portuguese Station
Cable Access Community Bulletin Boards in the
Portuguese language
Newspaper Articles in Portuguese weekly paper
Posters in strategic locals in Portuguese
Transit Bus Service Advertising in Portuguese
T-shirts w/ logo only available in English
Monthly Raffle Prizes
Partnering with Portuguese Restaurants
45
Evaluation
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Keep it simple
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Data gathering
Data reporting
46
Data Gathering
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Developed guide
book to ensure
uniformed method of
recruitment
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Developed pre and
post evaluation
47
Data reporting
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Numbers of participants registered each
month
Number of organizations promoting the
campaign
Specific language used by participants
Initial and follow up surveys (6 months)
48
WHAT’S NEXT?
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Partner with
additional businesses
Partner with private
physician’s offices
Expand bus campaign
Expand poster
campaign into
Portuguese
businesses
Expand into Fall River
49
Closing Points
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Do your homework
Build Partnerships
Develop material
Utilize a multi-facetted approach
Do not over-extend your project
Evaluate results
50
SUMMARY
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Over 600 families signed on
Close to 300 from Portuguese Speaking families
Partnered with 20 community organizations that
serve a large percentage of Portuguese
Brought media Attention on the issue
Helped push forward Environmental Tobacco
Smoke policy changes
Improved access to treatment
Increased the number of advocates from the
Portuguese community involved in the Coalition
51
Contact Information
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Lea Susan Ojamaa
lea.ojamaa@state.ma.us
Maude Hurd
mhurd@tmfnet.org
Jeffrey Dinger
jdinger@bsheriff.net
James White
jwhite@lacasahispana.org
Elizabeth Connelly-Sylvia
pcamn@hotmail.com
52