Story submitted by Dawn L. Etzel, Hope Alive
Hope Alive is a nonprofit mental health organization in Fort Wayne, Indiana, providing comprehensive mental health treatment and temporary housing for homeless women with mental illness through our Residential Program, and providing affordable mental health counseling to the broader community through our Community Counseling Program.
In 2023, Hope Alive made the decision to become a fully tobacco-free campus and began actively providing tobacco cessation services to all residential clients. Rather than deterring women from seeking our program, residents have consistently told us that their time at Hope Alive became the perfect opportunity to finally act on a long-held desire to quit — supported by the structure, community and professional services already surrounding them. We have not lost a single resident due to our tobacco-free policy.
Building on this success, Hope Alive has expanded tobacco treatment beyond our residential setting, and the word is getting out. We are now receiving requests from individuals in the broader community seeking tobacco cessation support on their own, and have responded by offering standalone mental health counseling sessions specifically focused on tobacco cessation through our Community Counseling Program.
Has your organization gone tobacco-free? Share your story with NBHN.