Ramsey Tobacco Coalition
InCommons Collaboration Challenge
Ramsey Tobacco Coalition
The Ramsey Tobacco Coalition (RTC) has been working to reduce both: pro-tobacco influences on youth and secondhand smoke exposure since 1994. RTC is built on a model of community empowerment and capacity building—the Coalition provides mini-grants to partners and agencies who are, themselves, part of the diverse communities they serve. These partners learn advocacy skills while helping the Coalition meet broader goals in a culturally competent and inclusive manner. RTC is comprised of 23 active partner organizations that represent the broad diversity of the project area. Over the last two years, these organizations have come together to successfully advocate for a number of tobacco control efforts including: tobacco-free funding policies, increased enforcement of laws which limit youth access to tobacco, policies to limit tobacco advertising, and the first ordinance in the nation banning the sale of imitation tobacco products (i.e. candy cigarettes).
About You
About You
First Name
Ramsey Tobacco
Last Name
Coalition
Country
United States, MN, Ramsey County
About Your Organization
Organization
Association for Nonsmokers-MN
Organization Website
Organization Phone
651-646-3005
Organization Address
2395 University Ave W, #310, St. Paul, MN 55114
Organization Country
United States, MN, Ramsey County
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Your Story
Collaboration Title
Ramsey Tobacco Coalition
Country your work focuses on
United States, MN, Ramsey County
Describe your locally-based collaboration and the problem it sought to address
The Ramsey Tobacco Coalition (RTC) has been working to reduce both: pro-tobacco influences on youth and secondhand smoke exposure since 1994. RTC is built on a model of community empowerment and capacity building—the Coalition provides mini-grants to partners and agencies who are, themselves, part of the diverse communities they serve. These partners learn advocacy skills while helping the Coalition meet broader goals in a culturally competent and inclusive manner. RTC is comprised of 23 active partner organizations that represent the broad diversity of the project area. Over the last two years, these organizations have come together to successfully advocate for a number of tobacco control efforts including: tobacco-free funding policies, increased enforcement of laws which limit youth access to tobacco, policies to limit tobacco advertising, and the first ordinance in the nation banning the sale of imitation tobacco products (i.e. candy cigarettes).
Tell us about the community in which this collaboration took place
The Ramsey Tobacco Coalition serves Ramsey County and the neighboring cities of West St. Paul and South St. Paul. Ramsey County is both the most densely populated and racially diverse county in the state of Minnesota. Coalition partners reflect the broad diversity of the project region.
Issue Selector
Partnership
Who was involved in co-creating or implementing your collaboration (other organizations, leaders, community members, etc.)?
The Ramsey Tobacco Coalition is comprised of 23 active and diverse partner organizations including: Aurora- St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Association, Boys & Girls Clubs, Communidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio, Fourth District Minnesota Nurses, Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, Lao Family, St. Paul Department of Licensing and Inspection, and St. Paul- Ramsey County Dept. of Public Health.
To what extent does your collaboration involve partnerships that are outside or cross traditional organizational or sector boundaries?
The Ramsey Tobacco Coalition works with many different types of organizations such as: faith groups, government agencies, youth-serving agencies, and ethnic social service agencies. All of these organizations come together with the common goal of reducing tobacco use and protecting youth from the harms of tobacco.
Innovation
What makes your locally-based collaboration innovative and unique?
The Ramsey Tobacco Coalition is very unique in its approach to tobacco control. Over the last 16 years, the Coalition has always taken a cutting edge approach to regulating tobacco. Much of what the Coalition first tried is now considered tobacco control "Best Practices" and is modeled across the state and in national tobacco control policy.
Coalition-building is difficult and time consuming. Many coalitions die off quickly after they accomplish a major goal. The Ramsey Tobacco Coalition is unique in that is is still going strong 16 years after it began. Long-standing members continue to stay engaged, new organizations are recruited, and the Coalition continues to find innovative ways to protect youth from the harms of tobacco. When one policy goal is achieved, Coalition members are fired up to tackle the next big goal. All of this makes the Ramsey Tobacco Coalition unique.
Did you take risks in establishing this collaboration? Explain
With limited financial resources choices needed to be made: build a coalition/collaboration or use staff to do the work. Option one involves builds capacity to do work now and in the future. Option two can get specific tasks done without building capacity: when the money goes away, so does the work. If building the coalition fails, future funding is unlikely because there is no tangible success.
How did this collaboration differ from the normal way of doing your work?
Most public health work is done by highly trained professionals, many with research or direct service backgrounds. This collaboration involves professionals, youth and community members with no specialized training in public health advocacy.
Impact
How do you know your collaboration has been effective?
The Ramsey Tobacco Coalition has survived and thrived for 16 years. It has endured periods with adequate as well as low funding. Members with widely diverse backgrounds and needs, for example: Boys & Girls Clubs and city licensing staff, remain active and committed. Together the collaboration has worked to: eliminate smoking in most work places including bars and restaurants, reduce the sale of tobacco to minors, eliminate the sale of tobacco from vending machines and prohibit the sale of cigarette lighters that look like toys and the sale of candy tobacco (practice tobacco.) Four RTC youth were name Youth Advocates of the Year by the Center for Tobacco-Free Kids, a national advocacy organization.
What progress or impact has been made?
RTC advocacy has led to permanent policy change in Ramsey County. That change has been innovative and pioneering. Work done by the coalition has been replicated in other communities. For example, RTC worked to pass the first ordinance in the country to prohibit the sale of tobacco from vending machines. Within a decade of that first ordinance dozens of Minnesota cities passed similar ordinance.
Next Steps
How would you go about continuing, expanding, or replicating this collaboration?
Because of funding reductions, support for the work of collaboration partners has fallen to a level that makes it difficult to support the work. With additional funding coalition partners will be eligible to receive mini-grants of up to $2000 to cover expenses such as meeting costs, supplies, staff stipends, and transportation for youth. Current funding is only sufficient to support eight community collaborators although there are many more groups which would like to participate. This funding will make it possible to expand our collaboration and outreach.
Describe the current stage of implementation and desired next steps
RTC is working to reduce tobacco industry influences by reducing point-of-sale advertising aimed at youth. The RTC collaboration has expanded to include new partners including: probusiness partners who see excessive advertising as destructive to the business environment; scenic advocates who see excessive advertising as destructive to the beauty and attractiveness of the community; and those who are working to reduce crime through environmental design. Current collaboration partners will fan out to community groups, Saint Paul District Councils, neighborhood groups and other interested partners to explain the issues and recruit additional supporters prior to making a request to policy makers. The goal is permanent environmental change and the coalition is ready to lead that effort.
Ramsey Tobacco Coalition updated this Competition Entry. - 579 days ago | |
Ramsey Tobacco Coalition submitted this idea. - 579 days ago |
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