Housing Authority of Portland's Steps
Toward
their No-Smoking policy - continued
Step 2. Staff education
- Began with line staff, those most affected by the change. Brought in public health experts to talk about health hazards of secondhand smoke, how smoke moves through high rises, fire hazards related to smoking as well as other maintenance costs associate with smoking.
- Talked realistically about enforcement of a no-smoking policy: Expectations of non-smokers will be heightened if a policy is in place. How will this impact workloads?
- Early in the process worked with local public health experts (American Lung Association and Multnomah County Health Department) to provide sessions for resident services staff and property management staff to help them understand smoking behavior and be familiar with cessation resources. This gave them tools to support residents who smoke and made them more comfortable with the upcoming policy.
- Provided additional education when we were actually implementing the policy, how to talk through lease enforcement, how to handle accommodation requests, etc.
Click here for Step 3: Policy Development
