Advocacy to Action: A Shared Vision for a Healthy Durham

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You Matter: Health in All Policies

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Overview
Every zoning vote, transit plan, or policing budget impacts the health of our communities, but Durham lacks a formal process to assess how these decisions shape health outcomes. We need to embed health equity into the DNA of city decision-making.

 

Why It Matters to Durham
Durham has some of the deepest health disparities in North Carolina. Yet there is no consistent way to evaluate whether new policies will widen or reduce these gaps. Cities like San Francisco and Minneapolis have implemented Health Equity Impact Assessments to ensure local policies promote well-being, not unintended harm.

 

Policy Goals

• Create a citywide tool to evaluate health impacts of major policies

• Center health equity in areas where Council has direct influence: housing stability, community safety, pedestrian infrastructure, and development patterns

• Make health equity a measurable part of how Durham governs

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Youth Mental Health & Well-being

 

Overview
Young people in Durham are facing rising levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and isolation—real health concerns that affect their ability to learn, grow, and thrive. Their well-being must be treated as a public health priority, not just by schools or nonprofits, but through direct City Council leadership. We need to prioritize youth mental health and well-being as a core part of Durham’s equity work.

 

Why It Matters to Durham
Durham’s youth, especially Black, Brown, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ young people, are experiencing growing mental health challenges. Yet youth mental health is not consistently prioritized in how we plan city budgets, train crisis response teams, or invest in community partnerships. Cities like New York and Boston have elevated youth voices through advisory councils, expanded crisis teams to better serve young people, and supported peer-led, culturally responsive mental health spaces. Durham has the opportunity, and the responsibility, to do the same.

 

Policy Goals

• Create a Youth Mental Health Advisory Council to bring youth voice into city decisions

• Expand HEART training to better support youth experiencing mental health crises

• Support partnerships that provide accessible, culturally responsive, peer-led mental health workshops focused on BIPOC, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ youth

 

Protecting Immigrant Access to Care & Safety

 

Overview
In times of heightened immigration enforcement, fear can keep families from seeking health care, education, or safety services. When people are afraid to seek medical help, support services, or shelter, the entire community’s health suffers. Local government must take a stand to protect access to vital services for all residents regardless of immigration status.

 

Why It Matters to Durham
Durham is home to thousands of immigrant families who contribute to our schools, economy, and culture. Yet recent ICE activity has increased fear. Public health officials have documented a chilling effect, with clinics, shelters, and even school out of concern for deportation. Cities like Seattle, LA, and Chicago have passed ordinances ensuring public services remain safe to access without immigration enforcement.

 

Policy Goals

• Pass a City Council resolution affirming that immigration status should never be a barrier to accessing city services, followed by a legally binding ordinance

• Ensure public spaces like clinics, schools, and shelters are protected access zones

• Require city staff to receive training on immigrant rights and inclusive service practices, and partner with trusted organizations like Siembra NC to deliver community education and build trust

 

Housing Justice & Renter Protection

 

Overview
More than 50% of Durham residents are renters, and that number continues to grow as the city rapidly develops. But as new construction rises, so do rent prices, and too many residents are being pushed out. In a city that’s growing forward, we need to make sure it’s growing with the people who call it home. Housing isn’t just a building, it’s a foundation for health, safety, and stability.

 

Why It Matters to Durham
Durham consistently ranks among the highest cities in North Carolina for eviction filings. Many neighborhoods, especially historically Black and immigrant communities, are facing displacement due to rising rents, lack of legal protections, and investor-owned housing. If we don’t act, the Durham we love risks becoming unlivable for the very people who shaped it. 

 

Policy Goals

• Pass a Tenant Bill of Rights that includes clear anti-retaliation protections, maintenance standards, and organizing rights distributed in multiple languages

• Strengthen and fund Durham’s Eviction Diversion Program, expanding eligibility and advocate for building a permanent city-supported eviction prevention office

• Adopt a Right to Counsel ordinance to guarantee free legal representation for low-income tenants facing eviction, in partnership with Legal Aid and local law schools
   

Building a Beautiful, Connected Durham

 

Overview
Everyone deserves to live in a city that feels good to walk through, move through, and be part of. But for too many Durham residents, that’s not the reality. From missing sidewalks to unsafe intersections to underfunded public art, our public spaces don’t always reflect the beauty or care our communities deserve. As a City Council member, I’ll work to make Durham safer, beautiful, and more connected because infrastructure is health, too.

 

Why It Matters to Durham
More than 1 in 4 Durham households doesn’t have access to a car, yet sidewalks and safe bike lanes are still missing in many neighborhoods. Pedestrian and cyclist deaths have increased in recent years, and Durham’s infrastructure planning hasn’t kept up with community needs. While GoDurham buses are currently fare-free, we must ensure this continues and build toward expanded fare-free options for all who rely on transit. At the same time, local artists, especially Black, Brown, and immigrant creatives, struggle to access public art funding or have a voice in how our city looks and feels. Cities like Austin, Oakland, and Richmond have shown that investing in fare-free or low-cost transit, creative placemaking, and safer streets improves not just connection, but health, equity, and local pride.

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Policy Goals

• Expand sidewalk construction and protected bike lanes, prioritizing historically underserved neighborhoods and accelerating project delivery timelines

• Launch a City Artist Corps to commission local artists, especially BIPOC artists, for murals, bus shelters, sidewalks, and public spaces, integrating equity into every project

• Continue supporting GoDurham’s fare-free policy beyond 2025 and pilot additional fare-free routes to make transit a permanent tool for health equity and opportunity

 

Building a Stronger Local Economy

 

Overview
Small businesses are vital to Durham’s health, not just economic health, but community health. They create jobs, build culture, and connect neighborhoods. But today, too many local, Black, Brown, immigrant, and first-generation entrepreneurs face barriers: limited access to capital, complicated permitting, rising commercial rents, and few chances to grow through city contracts. City Council has celebrated Durham’s growth, but we must go further to ensure that opportunity is truly equitable and accessible to all.

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Why It Matters to Durham

Small businesses make up over 90% of Durham’s economy, yet ownership remains inequitable: Black residents are 37% of the population but own fewer than 10% of employer businesses.
Rising rents and displacement threaten not just housing but the businesses that anchor our communities and provide pathways to health, wealth, and opportunity. Cities like Atlanta and Minneapolis have expanded access to capital, reformed procurement, and streamlined support for entrepreneurs. Durham has the energy and talent to do the same but we need stronger tools to make it real.

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Policy Goals

• Create a Small Business Equity Fund to provide grants and low-interest loans for first-generation, immigrant, and minority-owned businesses, helping them survive rising rents and market pressures

• Pass a Local and Minority Business Preference Policy to prioritize Durham-based and minority-owned firms in city contracting decisions

• Expand small business navigation support inside city government with dedicated staff to help entrepreneurs access permits, licensing, funding, and procurement opportunities