Community Synergy's Anti-tobacco Project

By Jaime Cardoso

Our Organization

Community Synergy is a community organization formed by professional adolescents, artists, leaders, athletes, students, and home makers. It is located in the San Fernando Valley where music programs, drawing contests, and soccer tournaments are held. Furthermore, Community Synergy develops programs directed toward adolescents, residents, and managers of apartment buildings. The members of our organization have ample experience in developing anti-tobacco programs. Some of its members have worked in agencies that have received funding from Proposition 99 and others have been volunteers in anti-tobacco activities. Furthermore, Community Synergy has participated in a mobilization during the "San Fernando Council Meeting" conducted in November of 1998, where it was approved to name a commission that would elaborate new regulations against alcohol and tobacco advertising and self display propaganda. The students who participate in Community Synergy are adolescents from middle and high schools of the San Fernando Valley. They participate in our soccer teams, music classes, ballet folkloric classes, and above all, they are eager to mobilize against the consumption of drugs such as tobacco.

Our Experience

From May 1988, Community Synergy has worked with apartment buildings residents promoting a healthy life style. We have also promoted youth soccer teams and conducted a survey regarding second hand smoke.

Community Synergy has promoted the creation of a youth organization (Aware Teens in Action) which has participated in anti-tobacco mobilizations and as volunteers in anti-tobacco events.

With El Mesias UMC, Community Synergy has developed an anti-tobacco drawing contest with the participation of around 200 youth.

During 1998, Community Synergy organized five soccer tournaments with the participation of around 120 youth in each tournament. In that event we promoted: "Say No To Drugs."

In April and September 1998, Community Synergy organized two health fairs in Pacoima with the participation of around 300 people.

In addition, during 1998 Community Synergy developed several artistic presentations in churches, schools, and community events.

Anti-tobacco Mini-grant

Community Synergy received a mini-grant from Tobacco Control Youth Coalition. Thanks to this grant, we are able to work primarily with youth, ages 7 to 18, from sport leagues, artistic groups, apartment buildings, private schools and churches. We also are working with community leaders and adolescents from formal and informal organizations such as: Oasis Soccer League, Deportivo North Hills, Ballet Xochipilli, Shalom Music Academy, private schools, and churches. Through community leaders we are developing smoke free policies. In addition, we are working with apartment building managers in the area of North Hills where we are promoting smoke free apartment building policies.

The geographic area

Community Synergy is developing this anti-tobacco project at the Northeast and middle San Fernando Valley which include these cities: Arleta, Panorama City, Pacoima, City of San Fernando, North Hills, Mission Hills, and Van Nuys.

Our proposed project

Community Synergy is developing seven smoke free apartment building policies in North Hills, Panorama, and Van Nuys. These policies will benefit young people who are living in the apartment buildings.

Community Synergy is promoting two smoke free youth sport leagues and their sport facilities.

Through artistic performances (theater, dance and music), Community Synergy is promoting smoke free policies in auditoriums, theaters, and in two private schools and/or private art academies.

Community Synergy mobilized youth during the San Fernando Council meeting in March 1999. This Council approved in May, a new regulation regarding tobacco-alcohol billboards and self display.

In addition, Community Synergy is developing an anti-tobacco web-site for youth with updated information regarding second-hand smoke, tobacco advertisement, updated information on new regulations (to be approved) regarding tobacco, and updates on mobilizations where adolescents participation is needed. The web site will be promoted mainly in the San Fernando Cluster (around 40 schools) and the Kennedy-Monroe Cluster (around 30 schools).

Community Synergy's policy strategies and implementation of these strategies

Community Synergy is visiting to apartment buildings in North Hills, Panorama, and Van Nuys to develop one-on-one outreach with the apartment residents, primarily youth. Our goal is to develop a smoke free policy in at least seven buildings.

We also organized four large events. In the first large event participated one soccer league where we promoted an anti-tobacco policy. The second large event consisted of a mobilization in the San Fernando Council Meeting on March 1999, where new regulations for tobacco/alcohol advertising and tobacco self displays were discussed. Community Synergy developed one-on-one outreach to youth from the Northeast San Fernando Valley where we promoted participation in that Council meeting.

The third large event consisted of anti-tobacco youth party where we promoted that tobacco is no cool. The last large event is Community Synergy web-site. This web-site contains updated information regarding primarily new tobacco regulation and mobilizations. Community Synergy is promoting it in two clusters.

Project Time line

Evaluating the success of our project

Community Synergy has evaluated the effectiveness of this anti-tobacco project by collecting data which confirms that adolescents abandon high risk behavior and that shows an increase their participation in our programs, and in mobilizations against drugs and tobacco. In addition, we are evaluating this project by using forms provided by The Department of Health Services such as:

A) One-one outreach through the forms 2.1 and 2.1 A, through the number of participants in the San Fernando Council meeting in March 1999, and through the number of anti-tobacco policies implemented by apartment buildings. We take pictures and sign in sheets.

B) Our large events were evaluated through sign in sheets, pictures and through the number of anti-tobacco policies adopted by the music academies, dance, sport leagues and sport facilities for youth.

C) Community Synergy's web site is being evaluated through the number of visits of young people. This site will have a guest book where adolescents will provide us with some demographics for statistical use and opinions.

D) All of our classes (including TP2 and TO5) were evaluated through the forms 2.1 and 2.8 (post-test). Sign in sheets were filed.

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