Taste of Soul (TOS) is a family festival that has a little bit of everything to offer everyone. One thing you can find at TOS is information from a variety of organizations. BREATHE California of Los Angeles County (BREATHE LA) is a TOS vendor that will be educating everyone on the importance of clean air and lung health—two vital components to a healthy life.
“Founded in 1903 as an independent lung health organization called the Los Angeles Society for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis, the organization evolved to focus on the prevention and control of lung disease as it is particularly related to air pollution and smoking,” said Kara L. Karibian, MPH and director of programs at BREATHE LA.
“Today, we promote our quality-of-life initiatives through community education and awareness efforts, particularly committed to improving lung health among those most disproportionately affected by poor air quality and greater incidence of chronic lung disease.”
The 501(c)(3) local, public benefit, non-profit organization is committed to clean air and greater lung health for Los Angeles County residents. BREATHE LA’s mission is to promote clean air and healthy lungs through research, education, advocacy, and technology.
“We recognize that the identification and early detection of asthma and COPD is integral to leading a healthy life,” said Karibian.
“Increasing access to screening and education reduces the burden of chronic lung disease among at-risk and ‘difficult to reach’ populations and increases care-seeking behavior ultimately in favor of earlier and accurate asthma/COPD diagnosis and greater lung health.”
BREATHE LA presently serves over 11,000 youth ages 8-14 in throughout the region through afterschool program partnerships in Long Beach and the South Bay cities, South and Southeast Los Angeles, Central Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley and beyond. Their adult lung health programming provides necessary education and health screening opportunities to support prevention and management of chronic lung disease.
This will be their second year attending TOS and they are looking forward to sharing valuable information to the public.
“We are thrilled to be welcomed back to Taste of Soul for a second time and truly believe in the power of community organizations, meeting community members right where they are, to provide necessary information and services to keep them thriving,” said Karibian.
Be sure to stop by BREATHE LA’s booth at Taste of Soul to get valuable information on keeping your lungs healthy and other information. For more information, please visit https://breathela.org/programs/.
For more information on Taste of Soul, please visit tasteofsoul.org
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