AACOH, Inc.

 Who We Are

Board Members:

Vacant - Chairperson 

Minister Michael Langford, Vice Chairperson,
Executive Director, Cincinnati UMADAOP

Sylvia Kendrick, Treasurer
Retired, Certified Public Accountant

Dr. Amy Ferketich, Member-At-Large
Assistant Professor The Ohio State University, College of Public Health

Victoria Wilder-Crews, Program Chairperson
Retired, Division of Prevention Chief, Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services

Vacant - Secretary, Media/Public Relations, Finance/Resource and Membership

 

Founded: December 6, 2000.

Non-profit status, 501(c)(3) in May 2003; confirmed June 2007.

Geographical priority areas: Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Lorain, Lucas, Mahoning, Montgomery, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, and African Americans living in Souteastern Ohio (Appalachia) in 29 counties.

 
AACOH's goal is to foster collaborative relationships to enhance local communities' ability to overcome health disparities within the African American community.

Objectives focus on: Coalition Building; Grant Programs; Training Programs; and Broker to Services

To contact us or to make a contribution:            
          AACOH, Inc.
          P. O. Box 185

          Columbus, Ohio 43216-0185
          E-Mail: aacoh4us@aol.com

          1-866-612-2264 or
          1-866-61-AACOH

Our Accomplishments

Summer 2001 through Spring 2002:  Conducted a preliminary statewide assessment to obtain tobacco-related information from some health and social service providers in Ohio:

 
1.      The types of tobacco-related activities people are conducting (238 Respondents):

• 19% Literature Distribution
• 16% Secondhand Smoke
• 21% Cessation
• 19% Policy
• 16% Advocacy
• 9% Media 

2.      Of those not currently involved in tobacco use prevention, 82% versus 18% were interested in learning more. (52 respondents)

3.      Regarding developing an African American statewide coalition or network, the most frequent comment summaries of 85 respondents were:

•  (28) would support a statewide coalition.
•   (16) thought it should be expanded to other populations.
• (15) thought it should focus on prevention/support programs.
•  (9) thought it should focus on sharing information and training.

4.      Looking at participation in an African American statewide coalition/network without funding for tobacco programs, 50.4% versus 49.6 % would do so (117 Respondents).

Starting May 2002:  AACOH board and network members conducted four meetings in various priority cities to engage advocates in the statewide movement and recruit network members.  The sessions help AACOH learn about the local communities' work and new agencies learn about AACOH's purpose.  AACOH Network meetings have occurred in Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, Cincinnati, Akron, Cleveland, Gallipolis and Warren.   

November 14, 2003: AACOH held its 2nd biennial workshop for 43 attendees focusing on statewide network building and secondhand smoke policy at the local level.  Bill Robinson from the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network (NAATPN) provided the blueprint for further developing AACOH's network. Network member speakers shared their experience of working on secondhand smoke issues in Cleveland, and Dayton. The SmokeLess States Project Director presented on passing Toledo's ordinance.

April 1, 2004 & December 1, 2004: On two occasions AACOH has worked in partnership with other communities of color for the Special Opportunities Grant funded by Robert Wood Johnson. The purpose was to work with the Cleveland area AACOH network member agency, Greater Cleveland Health Education & Service Council, Inc. (GCHESC), to provide ethnic-specific media support such as print ads, Op-Eds, and radio spots for the passage of a smoke free local ordinance in Cleveland.  GCHESC is handling the program aspect.  These activities occurred from April 1, 2004 to September 30, 2004, and from December 1, 2004 to November 30, 2005.

March 9, 2004:  A Blueprint Team was established to further develop the organization by revisiting the mission, vision, goals and objectives for network advancement, and future funding opportunities.

February 2005: AACOH partnered with Ohio Partnership for Prevention on the Ohio Tobacco Tax campaign to advocate for a .75 cents increase in tobacco taxes.  The Ohio Legislative Black Caucus was educated about the campaign's position and network members raised awareness in the African American community through radio talk shows and collected 30% of the endorsements.  Print advertisements were developed and placed in African American newspapers in various cities statewide.

November 4, 2005: AACOH held its 3rd Biennial Workshop focusing on smoking cessation for Ohio's African American communities. Over 80 people attended to learn about culturally-specific cessation programs that can be replicated, the affects of menthol tobacco use, and the options available to help persons quit tobacco use.

January 2006: AACOH received a Community Investment Grant from the American Cancer Society to implement a cessation campaign and collect tobacco use data among employees at Delphi in Dayton, Ohio for Kick Butts Day on April 5, 2006. Partners working with AACOH on this project include the American Cancer Society-Montgomery County Area Office, American Lung Association of Ohio, Sankofa Corp., Ohio Tobacco Risk Reduction Program, and Combined Health District Montgomery County.

October 2006: AACOH partnered with the Ohio Sickle Cell and Health Association to conduct a focus group on tobacco in Toledo, Ohio among persons affected by Sickle Cell.

November 9, 2007:  AACOH partnered with the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation, National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer-Columbus Chapter, Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, The CEASE Project, University of Akron, Ohio SOPHE, and the Ohio Department of Health to implement its 4^th Biennial Workshop titled Health and Tobacco Advocacy: Improving Health Outcomes in the African American Community. The Keynote speaker, Ms. Margie Eugene-Richard, sole African American Goldman Environmental Prize Winner in 2004, spoke about her 15 year community organizing effort to protect her Norco, Louisiana community from the dangerous environmental emissions of the Shell plant and a Motiva oil refinery owned by a Shell subsidiary. She shared similar strategies we can use for protecting our community from the tobacco industry, with both industries being of comparable magnitude. Other speakers included Dr. Vernellia R. Randall, University of Dayton, who gave the legal perspective on the history of health disparities and tobacco industry targeting; Dr. Sharon Wilson, Esquire, Beasley School of Law, Temple University, discussed the Rules and Tools of Non-Profit Elected Official Education; and Makani Themba-Nixon, Executive Director, The Praxis Project, provided a framework on tobacco use prevention advocacy relating to social justice in public health. State Representative Tracy Heard gave the Proclamation and Thomas "Eddie" Joyce, Program Administrator for the Ohio Department of Health Diabetes Program, gave the welcome in Health Director, Alvin D. Jackson, M. D.'s stead. There were 60 attendees.

December 11, 2007: AACOH held its first planning meeting after being awarded a $49,000 planning grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to partner with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) to pursue local ordinances to address tobacco licensure and charity care through a youth campaign. This initiative is one of 12 projects supported by Tobacco Policy Change: A Collaborative for Healthier Communities and States, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).  There were 55 applicants.  Other partners include local Neighborhood Area Commissions, American Cancer Society; the Columbus Urban League's APLAT (African American Peer Leadership Alliance against Tobacco); the C.E.A.S.E Project (Changing Environment and Attitudes for Smoking Elimination); the Columbus Black Nurses' Association's M.O.N.I. (Mentoring of Ohio's Nurses' Institute) Youth Program, Somali Smokeout Program, and UMADAOP of Franklin County.  Youth Access and Charity Care ordinance campaign plans were created for the city of Columbus, Ohio.

The AACOH-ACORN campaign: Columbus Youth Rise Up for Tobacco Licensure and Charity Care, held three community trainings that educated over 100 people.  These trainings were:

May 17, 2008:  A Chronic Candy training was led by George E. Crawford of the Stop Chronic Candy Coalition in Atlanta, Georgia to educate the community about marijuana flavored candy currently being sold in the U. S. and in Columbus, Ohio.

July 11, 2008: ACORN, Columbus, Ohio hosted a Charity Care forum called Getting Sick Shouldn't Mean Going Broke: Protecting Uninsured and Underinsured people from Unaffordable Hospital Bills. Speakers included Barbara Clark Donald Coulter of ACORN Columbus; Cathy Levine of UHCAN Ohio; Renee Markus-Hodin of Community Catalyst, Boston, MA. Two community members spoke about their challenges with hospital debt and the toll it has taken on their quality of life.

July 28, 2008: The National African American Tobacco Prevention Network's West Regional Director, LaTanisha Wright presented a Follow the Signs training to help attendees better understand tobacco industry tactics to attract African American smokers and the relationships they have with community tobacco retailers.