WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins, Chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee, and Angus King, announced that the Breathe Easy Coalition of Maine in Portland is one of four programs across the nation that has received the inaugural Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary’s Award for Healthy Homes.  This award recognizes excellent organizations whose activities or policies showed measurable benefits in the health of lower income residents. The winners were selected by HUD, and the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), and presented at the NEHA Annual Educational Conference & Exhibition in Orlando, Florida on July 13.
 
The Breathe Easy Coalition of Maine works to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke through the promotion of strong voluntary policies that lead to reduced tobacco use and tobacco-free living throughout Maine. The coalition includes the following programs: Smoke-Free Housing Coalition of Maine, Maine Tobacco-Free College Network, Maine Tobacco-Free Hospital Network, and the Maine Tobacco-Free Behavioral Health Network.

“The State of Maine has long been a leader in adopting smoke-free policies that benefit the health and wellness of our communities,” said Senators Collins and King. "We are very pleased that HUD Secretary Castro has recognized the outstanding and successful leadership by the Breathe Easy Coalition in Portland. Their efforts have greatly reduced the exposure of our low-income residents to second-hand smoke and benefited the health of our communities across Maine.”

Senator Collins recently hosted U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Julián Castro, in Lewiston, Maine.

Led by the Breathe Easy Coalition, Maine became the first state in the nation to implement a 100 percent smoke-free policy as a threshold requirement for its state Tax Credit Qualified Allocation Plan application. All 20 of Maine’s Public Housing Authorities have adopted a smoke-free housing policy to make their buildings, including individual units and common areas, smoke-free.  Maine was the first state in the nation to protect all of its public housing tenants from secondhand smoke.  These public policies have also fostered changes in private sector housing; a recent state-wide survey found that 65 percent of Maine landlords report having a smoke-free policy and 62 percent of tenants report living in a 100 percent smoke-free building.

The other award winners included: Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium in Anchorage, Alaska; Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Missouri; and Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority in Madison, Wisconsin.  
 

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