Cancer has affected everyone in some way or form. You likely have heard about the risk of cancer from smoking cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and vaping. Did you also know there are many chemicals in our homes that may increase the risk of acquiring cancer? Cancer in Native Hawaiians is one of the top health disparities. Fran Drescher’s Cancer Schmancer program was the inspiration for Hui Mālama Ola Nā ʻŌiwi to put a local twist on detoxing homes from harmful cancer-causing chemicals. At Hui Mālama the Cancer Kine Tings Home Detox Kit teaches, encourages, and brings awareness to the Hawaiʻi Island community one household at a time.
The goal of Center for Pan Asian Community Services (CPACS) was to be a voice for the diverse community in providing a healthy built environment for all to live, work, learn, and play. In 2018, Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy, and Leadership (APPEAL) selected CPACS as a regional partner for the ASPIRE National Network, a part of CDC’s Networking2Save Consortium that works to serve priority special populations in cancer and tobacco control work. CPACS was selected based on its prior work and success in connecting with Asian American and Latino populations in the greater Atlanta metropolitan area.
Before a smoke free ordinance was put into place in Doraville, GA, there was a gap in smoke free protections for employees and also for those living in multi-unit households like apartment complexes and townhomes, where they were exposed to smoking in their properties. According to CPACS Substance Abuse Prevention Program Coordinator Camila Gomez, the main component of the ordinance was to pass something that “would protect people from smoke in their home areas because everyone has the right to breathe smoke free air where they live.” The area around Buford Highway is a multicultural corridor of Asian and Latino cultures and CPACS sought to protect the people in the area by providing the youth a voice in advocating for policy change. CPACS worked with primarily Asian American and Latino youth and community leaders to build capacity to advocate for smoke free spaces to ensure a healthier community built environment in Doraville, GA.