In 2015, ClearWay Minnesota awarded our first Community Engagement grants. This community-based funding initiative connects low socioeconomic-status (low-SES) smokers in Minnesota to tobacco cessation services.

ClearWay Minnesota recognizes that community-based organizations and entities understand how to meet the needs of the population(s) they serve. Through Community Engagement grants, we work with such organizations to help connect low-SES smokers to existing cessation services. Each organization is encouraged to devise its own approach to addressing tobacco use with the population it serves.

The following case studies showcase how this funding is helping Minnesotans in populations that experience heavy tobacco-related disparities.

Connecting People With Mental Illnesses to Cessation Services (Mental Health Resources, National Alliance on Mental Illness [NAMI] Minnesota, Resource, Touchstone Mental Health)

Culturally Competent Connections to Cessation Services (Native American Community Clinic, Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio [CLUES])

Media Approaches to Connect American Indians to Cessation Services (American Indian Cancer Foundation)