Asthma Awareness Month 2016 Coalition Toolkit

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May is Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month, an important opportunity for Childhood Asthma Leadership Coalition member organizations and their partners to raise awareness of the important role public policy plays in helping children with asthma stay healthy.

This year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is set to release its smoke-free housing regulations, an important change in HUD policy that restricts smoking in public housing throughout the country. Smoke is one of the most common triggers of childhood asthma and children who suffer from asthma should never be around second or even third-hand smoke.

Part of this year's Asthma Awareness Month toolkit focuses on the new HUD regulations -- asking administrators and policymakers to do more to protect children from tobacco smoke, and encouraging parents and caretakers to keep their homes smoke-free for the benefit of their children.

We can help parents and policymakers around the country see that decisions in Washington and state capitals have an important impact on the health of local children. We encourage you to use this toolkit to observe Asthma Awareness Month and to customize it to fit the needs of your organization.

This toolkit offers ideas and examples you can use in your community. Feel free to use any or all of these resources:

  • Traditional Media
    • A sample op-ed that connects Medicaid’s future with the health of local children and urges congressional representatives to take a stand for children’s health
    • A tipsheet on pitching newspaper opinion editors
    • A tipsheet for messaging and framing your argument

 

The toolkit was developed by First Focus for Coalition members. If you have questions or need extra help, please feel free to contact the First Focus communications team. If you use the toolkit in your Asthma Awareness Month outreach efforts, please share examples of your work to make it even easier for other Coalition members to get involved.