Community Health and Safety

We can have a safe and healthy community by supporting and implementing wide-scale vaccine distribution and community-driven responses to violence. In Durham, 54% of adult residents are fully vaccinated against Covid. However, people of color are still behind. There are many local groups and organizations actively working to increase vaccinations in black and brown communities. DeDreana strongly supports these efforts and believes that we should provide more resources to further increase impact.

Increasing public safety will require a multifaceted approach that addresses intervention and prevention. DeDreana believes we must continue to invest in alternative forms of policing while supporting police reform with accountability. Health and safety mean more than the police. We must also ensure that our youth have access to enrichment activities and that all residents have access to quality food, quality housing, and quality health care.

• Support community-driven efforts to address public safety

• Support hiring a police chief who believes in community-oriented policing, accountability, and de-escalation & racial equity training

• Support efforts to bring a grocer co-op to downtown Durham

• Support city funding for the county My Brother's Keeper initiative and similar programs

• Support wide-scale covid vaccination, particularly efforts led by local groups and organizations

Environmental Justice

Recognizing the impact of the environment on our community is a vital step to achieving environmental justice. We cannot forget the historical effect that environmental policies continue to have on communities of color. To counter these effects and build a more resilient climate future, we must prioritize investing resources in economically depressed communities to ensure equitable access to resources.

• Prioritize investing resources in black, indigenous, and other communities of color, as well as immigrant, refugee, and other historically marginalized and economically depressed communities

Environmental Stewardship

To protect the environment for future generations, we must build healthy communities and businesses that reduce our collective carbon footprint. We must increase access and use of affordable renewable energy. We must also adopt smart land-use policies that preserve natural lands as multi-purpose open spaces. These areas can serve as sustainable amenities providing visitor destinations while also helping to mitigate the impact of climate change.

• Set aside city-owned land as a nature preserve protecting wildlife, wetlands, and floodplain forests

• Support the development of pocket parks

• Support small area growth land use planning
  

Jobs & Economic Growth

We must have shared economic prosperity to build strong, vibrant neighborhoods. DeDreana will continue to support economic policies that meet the needs of our city and create opportunities for economic mobility. As businesses continue to move into Durham, partnerships across sectors, including higher education, will be essential to building employment pathways for youth and adults. We must grow the economy by supporting existing businesses and increasing business ventures by aspiring local artists and entrepreneurs, particularly minority and women-owned enterprises. We must also create affordable commercial spaces and redevelop historically underserved communities of color without displacing long-time residents. Doing all of this will create opportunities for community wealth building.

• Use equity-driven strategies that ensure existing residents can stay in the community as neighborhood markets revive and distressed neighborhoods are stabilized

• Support nontraditional and traditional entrepreneurship for access to living-wage jobs, particularly small businesses with focus on the Fayetteville Corridor and areas throughout Durham

• Collaborate with DPS, Durham Tech, as well as community groups and organizations to provide career pathway support for youth and adults.

• Double youth apprenticeship opportunities
  

Transportation & Sustainable Housing

We must stabilize and improve the quantity and quality of Durham’s housing stock. Councilmember Freeman remains committed to this effort. We must establish a tenant’s bill of rights and create ownership opportunities for long-time and low-income residents while leveraging those opportunities to support community wealth building. DeDreana continues to support smart transportation networks and housing initiatives that benefit working families, elders, people with disabilities, and people of color, focusing on increasing the number of available housing options and preventing homelessness. We must also improve our transportation infrastructure.

Homelessness Prevention

• Support policies and funding decisions that allow more non-profit organizations and churches to work with local affordable housing investors on rehabbing existing properties and constructing sustainable housing for working families that make less than the median income

• Expand eviction diversion efforts

• Expand the long-time homeowner tax relief program to legacy neighborhoods

• Push for the use of alternative building materials, like containers or modular homes, to mitigate housing construction costs

• Expand affordable housing efforts funded through the 2019 bond to deal with the accelerating pace of the housing market

Transportation & Infrastructure Bond

• Support a GREEN and EQUITABLE transportation and infrastructure bond to improve road conditions and safety, especially in historically marginalized communities