Our Impact

Before Truth Initiative I didn't really see tobacco control framed as a social justice issue. When I read more about the fellowship program I saw that they were really trying to equip youth with the tools to be the generation to end smoking.

Lincoln Mondy created the documentary "Black Lives / Black Lungs" as a part of the Truth Initiative Youth Activism Fellowship to to educate his peers about the history, marketing tactics and impact of the tobacco industry targeting African-Americans with menthol tobacco products.

The fellowship has really been just pivotal to who I am and how my career is going. I’ve realized that you can make policies and set up environments that can help people make better health decisions for themselves. It doesn’t matter how small your idea is or the lack of experience that you have — no idea is too small to pursue.

Katelynd Todd was a 2016-17 Truth Initiative youth activism fellow. She worked with community leaders to pass a comprehensive tobacco-free policy at two student apartment complexes in Berkeley, California.

There were many times I felt discouraged...but receiving this scholarship was like encouragement to continue with my vision.

Tobacco cessation is a passion for Ruth Juarez: First as a smoking cessation counselor, and then as part of a task force at a psychiatric hospital. Truth Initiative awarded Juarez the Dr. Alma S. Adams Scholarship to support her work of reducing tobacco use among patients.