Breathe DC, Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to ensure that every breath counts by promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing lung disease, through advocacy, education, and program services, especially in communities affected by health disparities. In keeping with its mission to promote healthy lifestyles and prevent lung disease, Breathe DC is committed to using its resources and expertise to implement evidence-based approaches to reducing tobacco use through tobacco cessation education, community outreach, partnerships, and health communication that encourages smokers to quit and promotes a smoke-free society.

The Breathe DC staff is gathering data on barriers, obstacles, and enabling factors to adopt a smoke free housing policy in the District; raising public awareness on the benefits of smoke free housing policies; and providing sustainable peer educator trainings and smoke free resources to increase residents’ readiness for the District to establish such a policy. By the initiative’s end, Breathe DC staff will be prepared to offer a model smoke free policy and program for leading the efforts toward smoke free public and private multi-unit housing in the District of Columbia.

Breathe DC’s Home Healthy Home project, funded by the DC Department of Health, is designed to:

1. Work with property managers and owners in the District to adopt and implement a voluntary smoke-free housing policy within their multi-unit properties; and
2. Work with property managers and owners who have already adopted a smoke-free policy around compliance issues by offering technical assistance and training by way of workshops, cessation classes, educational materials and the Breathe DC Smoke-Free Housing Toolkit.
3. Emphasize to property managers and owners that by adopting a smoke free policy, they can: save money, minimize fire hazards, and reduce tenant complaints while improving the health of their tenants, visitors and people that work in their buildings.

Types of presentations they offer:

• “Go Smoke-Free Workshop” – for properties that have not gone smoke free, we  offer this workshop so that property managers and owners may better understand the cost cutting benefits of going smoke free and the health benefits for their tenants.
• “Healthy Lifestyles” – presentations for tenants/residents who are impacted by the implementation of the smoke-free policy and those individuals who desire to quit smoking.

Please visit www.breathedc.org for additional information.