How a Long Beach Resident Turned a Community Concern into an Opportunity for Change

What started as one resident’s idea to address youth vaping has grown into a community-driven effort promoting public health, environmental stewardship and youth engagement in West Long Beach.

Last year, the Breath of Fresh Air project received funding through Love Your Block, a resident-led community improvement initiative led by the City of Long Beach’s Office of Civic Innovation through the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University. The program empowers residents to identify local challenges, develop creative solutions and strengthen neighborhoods through community-led action.

It also supports the City’s Westside Promise Initiative, a 10-year community investment plan to address current and historic challenges facing West Long Beach, by aligning existing City efforts, strategic partnerships, and investments.

For project leader Sreymom “Linda” Suos, the inspiration came from realizing she could use the same idea as a gun buy-back program and apply it to vapes.

“So many people are vaping these days. I’ve seen younger, older adults, and so many different demographics using them,” Linda said. “I am going to use this idea to improve my community, think outside the box and make this project my own.”

After connecting with Cabrillo High School, Suos learned that confiscated vaping devices were often difficult to dispose of safely. Because vapes contain hazardous liquids and lithium batteries, improper disposal can create environmental and fire risks. What began as an effort to encourage healthier choices quickly evolved into a project focused on both public health and environmental responsibility.

To bring the idea to life, organizers partnered with Cabrillo High School and Centro CHA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting Latino communities. Together, they created an initiative that combined education, art and community engagement.

On May 21, students participated in a hands-on workshop where they transformed 24 vape disposal bins into colorful works of art featuring messages about healthy living and environmental stewardship. More than seven students took part, painting messages such as “Your Lungs Matter” and “No Vaping” while creating artwork designed to encourage positive choices and raise awareness.

The following day, students gathered for a vape exchange event held off campus. Educational materials focused on tobacco prevention and safe decision-making were distributed, and students participated in an interactive demonstration showing the impacts of smoking and vaping on lung health.

During the event, organizers collected 27 vaping devices and distributed 30 gift cards to participating students.

The impact of the project will continue beyond the two-day event. Two of the student-designed disposal bins, along with educational materials, will be distributed to schools throughout the Long Beach Unified School District to support ongoing awareness and safe disposal efforts.

In addition to encouraging healthier habits, the initiative helped build new partnerships between residents, schools, nonprofit organizations and City programs. The collaboration created opportunities for young people to engage in conversations about health, environmental responsibility and community improvement while demonstrating how resident-led ideas can create meaningful local impact.

This project reflects the core mission of Love Your Block: empowering residents to identify challenges, test innovative solutions and help shape stronger, healthier neighborhoods. Through programs like these, community members are not only improving their blocks — they are helping create new approaches to solving challenges across Long Beach.