Nearly 150 Community Members Trained in Vaping Prevention

[Liberty, NY] Since the beginning of the school year, Sullivan 180 has held three trainings for the evidence-based CATCH My Breath Youth Vaping Prevention Program. Two trainings took place at the Eldred Central School District; and one was hosted at the CVI Building in Liberty for agency representatives, public health staff, and social workers. These new facilitators have brought the total to almost 150 individuals trained to lead the CATCH My Breath Youth Vaping Prevention Program in schools and communities. Through a special partnership with Sullivan BOCES, all educators who completed this training receive continuing teacher education learning credits.

Over 275 Sullivan County students have graduated from CATCH My Breath and 8 programs are currently in progress, reaching more than 100 students in the Liberty, Monticello and Fallsburg Central School Districts. The CATCH My Breath program is a fun and informative program that helps students make informed decisions, set goals for themselves and learn how to resist peer pressure.

George Ross Mackenzie Elementary School held a training for their educators to be trained in CATCH My Breath, making Eldred the first school district to have a majority of their educators equipped to offer the program to their students. The teachers called the training “eye-opening” and shared that they now “know the signs to watch for to notice if a student may be vaping.”

In the 2024 CATCH Global Foundation 10-Year Annual Report, Founder and CEO Duncan Van Dusen, MPH shared that CATCH My Breath “now reaches 1.5 million youth per year and is used in 90 of the 100 largest school districts in the country. Based on our published results, we estimate that cumulatively it has prevented some 500,000 youth from initiating vaping and has helped many youth to stop vaping as well.”

Sullivan 180 will be hosting two more CATCH My Breath Facilitator Trainings on February 14, 2025 and March 14, 2025 from 12:30 to 3:30 pm at the CVI Building in Liberty. These training courses are open to anyone wanting to learn more about youth vaping trends, and those who complete the training will receive free access to the CATCH My Breath curriculum to guide students through the program. Partnering organizations including Tobacco Free Action Communities – Reality Check, Catholic Charities of Orange, Sullivan & Ulster, the American Lung Association and Restorative Management Corp. will be presenting resources and opportunities available to students and the community as well.

To register for this training or to learn more, email trainings@sullivan180.org.