In most of the states where cannabis commercialization has been legalized the focus has mostly been on creating a legal profit-making system. We want to change the conversation in Burlington and focus our community instead on putting the right guardrails and supports in place to promote public health, protect youth, and advance social equity.

Our plans for the BHS Elevate campaign rollout are well underway. Learn how this is a movement that we hope will encourage students to help each other remove barriers getting in the way of living healthy lives, achieving goals, and just getting through the day.

Erin Walsh from Spark and Stitch Institute partnered with ParentIN to bring Burlington Parent’s her workshop titled “It’s Complicated: Teens, Technology and Mental Health”. In it, she shares information about the ways teens say social media and technology are helping them feel more connected to friends and support, but also explores the ways that social media use is also reducing their wellbeing.

We sat down with Heather, a new Student Assistance Professional at BHS, for an interview to introduce Heather and her work to Burlington caregivers and community.

Each November, BPHC promotes the Great American Smokeout, a national annual call to action to inspire people to quit smoking for one day. Learn more about how we celebrated the Great American Smokeout for 2023!

While many of us look forward to holiday celebrations, it is important to be mindful of increased risks this time of year. Keep reading for some tips on how to celebrate safely this holiday season.

“In 2017 I really wanted to stop smoking. I had made some other major lifestyle changes, and giving up smoking was a key piece still left to deal with. I hated being a slave to Big Tobacco and the idea that I “have to have a cigarette”.”

How many is too many cannabis retail outlets in one small city?

About 6 in 10 middle school students and around 5 in 10 high school students reported their parents had had at least one conversation with them about the risks of alcohol and drugs use in the last 12 months.  And it helped. Check out the graph above showign that more middle schoolers are understanding the negative impacts that substance use can have at their age. Keep talking about it! 

This fall we are rolling out our new Burlington high school campaign that will focus on reducing youth initiation and early use of alcohol, cannabis with THC (marijuana), and tobacco/nicotine and normalize non-use while the brain is developing.

Local policy makers are on the front lines of creating policies and zoning that can improve health outcomes for a community and reduce inequities.

The Burlington Partnership for a Healthy Community is committed to helping Burlington prevent and reduce the causes and consequences of substance misuse by supporting an environment in which all community members can thrive…

With support from the Vermont Department of Health, our coalition gathered data on all the alcohol and tobacco retail licenses in Burlington. We looked at how they advertised and placed products: