City of Durham NIS Community Engagement

Volunteers will canvas Durham County neighborhoods for health information

Durham, NC - May 1, 2019 - Community volunteers will hit the pavement starting May 29, 2019, to assist the Durham County Department of Public Health (DCoDPH) and Partnership for a Healthy Durham (PHD) with the 2020 Community Health Assessment. Conducted every three years, the assessment identifies community assets, needs and health priorities in Durham County.

Sponsored by Durham County

Register here.  If you are registering multiple people at once, please fill out separate registrations so that we have contact information for each participant. This is a free event but registration is required and will close when full.  Please feel free to share this email with your networks. 

The Durham County Board of Elections will be holding educational seminars about voter photo ID requirements that begin in 2020. The six sessions will be held at various spots between May & August. All are invited to these free seminars. English and Spanish sessions will be held. The community is invited to attend the following seminars:

• North Regional Library – May 30th (6 – 8 p.m.)
• South Regional Library – June 20th (6 – 8 p.m.)
• East Regional Library – July 18th (6 – 8 p.m.)
• Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship – August 22nd (6 – 8 p.m.)

 The following events will be presented in Spanish:

 Durham County Health and Human Services Building – July 23rd (10 a.m. – 12 p.m.)

• Durham County Health and Human Services Building – July 23rd (4 p.m. – 6 p.m.)

 More information can be found here: https://www.dconc.gov/Home/Components/News/News/6107

The Draft Fiscal Year 2020 Durham and Orange County Work Plans are now available for comment through May 30, 2019. These fiscal year 2020 draft work plans are derived from the multi-county transit plans. The fiscal year runs from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020.

This process budgets funding for next fiscal year in accordance with the multi-year County Transit Plans. Durham and Orange counties are committed to improving transit in the Triangle and community voice is essential to this success.

Would you like to provide comments on this year's work plans? You can find the plans here and submit your comments in the following ways: 

• Online: Submit comments here
• Email: aaron.cain@durhamnc.gov
• Mail: City of Durham Department of Transportation, Attn: Aaron Cain, 101 City Hall Plaza, Durham, NC 27701

Via a Community Group: Community organizations can also submit comments in the form of a letter on behalf of their organization

Public art. Bus shelters with solar panels. Wi-Fi hotspot picnic tables. Sidewalks. Pedestrian crossings. Now is your chance to voice your priorities and vote  in the first-ever participatory budgeting process for projects that will soon impact your neighborhood!

Ways to vote:

1)    Vote Online  - Residents and students can vote online using the PB Stanford Online Voting Platform

2)    Vote at a PB Pop-up Voting Site- Pop-up sites will be located throughout the City in order to meet residents in their communities. Visit our events page to find a voting site near you.

Ways to get involved:

1)      Volunteer to Host a PB Voting Site. If you are interested in bringing the PB election to your neighborhood in May, PB staff can provide training and materials to support your organization’s PB voting site. Voting sites can be held at community recreation centers, churches, schools, etc. The site host will attend a PB training session prior to their event to learn the voting process and to pick up an outreach kit! Host will be responsible for staffing voting sites and assisting with advertising and marketing for the event. Contact Robin Baker at robin.baker@durhamnc.gov, or call (984) 227-3395 to set up a voting site near you!

2) – Volunteer to be a Poll Worker. Sign up here to help PB Durham reach 10,000 voters!

Información en español esta abajo. 

http://www.durhamtry.org/LOCK-IT-DROP-IT

Drop off locations: 

Durham County Justice Center 510 South Dillard Street,

Durham County Sheriff's North 11821 U.S. 501 North, Rougemont

Durham Police Department District 2 Substation, 5285 N Roxboro Rd

Durham Police Department District 3 Substation, 8 Consultant Pl

Durham Police Department Headquarters, E. Main St

Carolina Behavioral Care Pharmacy, Ben Franklin Road

Email wanda.durhamtry@gmail.com to receive a free home use medication lock box or disposal bag while supplies last.

Raafe-Amaad Purnsley has been renting a unit in Durham for almost a year. In that time, he and his roommate have dealt with mold, broken furniture, and faltering air conditioning units.

Now, it’s nearing time to renew their lease, and their landlord is raising their rent.

“Due to increases in the market,” Purnsley says, “our rent is going up without discussion of all these issues we’ve been having.”

Purnsley says they haven’t complained out of fear of retaliation. They don’t want to lose their lease and don’t know where they would live if they did. After a neighbor asked the property managers if her unit was up to code, the landlord ended up choosing not to renew her lease. Purnsley worries what will happen if he brings up similar concerns — and like Purnsley, his neighbor identifies as LGBTQ, adding to his fears about retribution.

New Website, https://secondchancedriving.org, to Help Residents Regain Driving Privileges

DURHAM, N.C. – Durham residents in need of help expunging charges and convictions and restoring their driving privileges now have a new program to help them get back on their feet.

According to the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, approximately 1-in-5 adults in Durham County have a revoked or suspended driver’s license. According to data from the City of Durham Innovation Team (I-Team), 80 percent of those with revoked or suspended licenses are African American and Hispanic, and many of the these suspensions stem from unpaid tickets that are on average 16 years old with some more than 30 years old. 

Beginning today, the City of Durham-funded Durham Expunction and Restoration (DEAR) Program is officially opening its new office to the public and launching a new website to help these residents restore their driving privileges, which can help remove barriers to employment and housing.