The Office of Community Health improves health care access by partnering with community groups and agencies.
Partnering in the Community
We’ve collaborated with hundreds of civic leaders, government agencies, and grassroots and faith-based organizations. This is a partial list of our current partner organizations and initiatives:
- Center for Child and Family Health
- Durham’s Partnership for Children
- Durham Technical Community College
- East Durham Children’s Initiative
- El Centro Hispano
- Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce
- Made In Durham
- North Carolina Central University
- Partnership for A Healthy Durham
- YMCA
If you are looking for a way to connect with our community; such as, events, partnerships, etc., please contact our Community Engagement Manager, Kimberly.Monroe@duke.edu or call her at 919-681-4041.
Grant Empowers Women's Center to Expand Housing and Support Services
The Women's Center of Wake County has significantly expanded its ability to serve unhoused and vulnerable women thanks to a grant from Duke Health. The funding has enabled the center to not only increase its output of women served, but it has also allowed for a more comprehensive approach to support services, something that is increasingly important as more and more unhoused populations are experiencing mental health challenges, addiction, and trauma. "Over the last five years, The Women’s Center has housed approximately 20+ women per year," said Nora Robbins, Volunteer Coordinator. With the ongoing support and funding through the Building Healthy Communities Grant at Duke Health, we've been able to dramatically scale up our housing program. The grant has allowed the center to hire additional staff, including a housing coordinator. We are now on track to house approximately 100 women this year." This has made the process of finding safe, stable housing for clients more attainable.
One of the latest initiatives the Women’s center has been able to launch is the innovative "Safe Haven" program, providing low-barrier shelter options for women with severe mental health issues, disabilities, medically fragile and/or who may have been banned from other facilities due to SPMI. The Safe Haven program provides private contained sleeping units with curtains and personal storage, rather than traditional bunk beds. This dignity-centered approach has shown promising early results. When speaking with the Women’s Center Rep, she shared a story of one of the women they recently welcomed into the Safe Haven program. Before entering the program, she was distant and uncommunicative. However, after her first night, "she took a shower, her face was glowing, and she smiled. She's now saying hi to everyone," the representative shared. "It's huge." Beyond housing, the grant has enabled the center to offer even more support from healthcare to local partnerships and everything in between. They now bring in mobile medical units and offer incentives for women to receive preventive care like mammograms. "We make it a priority. We talk to women saying, “This is important. This is here for you,'" said Robbins.
The center has also expanded its partnerships with local organizations to provide job training, Ready-to-Rent, Safety and Stabilization, Stress Mgmt., addiction recovery support, and other services. Programs like Designed for Joy and Carroll's Kitchen offer "restorative employment" opportunities to help women build skills and work experience. The attitudes of both the staff and the women served make it clear that the Women’s Center of Wake County is so much more than a shelter. Their unique approach to care, which is centered around addressing the root causes (like mental illness, trauma, and generational poverty, etc.), while still providing for immediate needs, is transforming lives. One of the women shared "this is not only my home away from home, but it's also sisterhood. It's our protection." The Women's Center has created a strong foundation based on love and support for the women they serve, and the grant funding from Duke Health will only continue to amplify their impact, enabling them to reach new heights in the Raleigh/Wake County community.
The MaryAnn Black Summer Internship Program
Durham Teens Go Behind the Scenes at Duke Health. MaryAnn Black Internship explores 70+ careers.
Area high school students went behind the scenes with Duke health care professionals to learn about more than 70 different health care careers. Thirty-one students, from eighteen schools, pursued their interests in health care careers by completing the 2024 MaryAnn Black Internship program.
“I liked that we were always learning something…We were always moving, and I appreciated that we made the most out of our time while we were in the hospital,” said 2024 Intern Mina Zuhair.
The MaryAnn Black Internship experience is designed to expand students’ interest in the health care industry and to build a pipeline that meets the health care workforce shortages in our community. As in prior years, this 2024 education-to-career program was a collaboration between Duke Health and Durham YouthWorks.
“The internship definitely made me more interested in working in a hospital setting because I thought the only jobs in the hospital were nurses and surgeons,” said participant Nyla Littlejohn.
More than 80 Duke employees volunteered to make the program a reality.
“The internship benefitted me by connecting me to mentors and specialties that I am interested in.” - Bhadresh Amarnath, 2024 MaryAnn Black Internship participant.
In addition to learning about dozens of healthcare specialties from volunteers, the students also received general test-taking skills training, office and dining etiquette training, and receive hands-on experience while visiting areas in Duke’s School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and other campus locations.
“I liked how interactive the internship is. I’m glad we didn’t just do tours, but got hands on activities,” said Temiloluwa Yemi-Mabo.
The Duke University Health System (DUHS) has a long history of providing educational opportunities for Durham high school students, including the MaryAnn Black Summer Internship Program. The program name honors MaryAnn Black, a former State Representative, Durham County commissioner and Duke University Health System leader who for many years helped build strong connections between the health system and the local community.
Applications for the 2025 MaryAnn Black Summer Internship program will open in January 2025. To learn more about the MaryAnn Black Summer Internship Program contact Darla.wohlfarth@duke.edu.
Nourishing Durham: How Strategic Sponsorship Fuels Meals on Wheels' Innovation
In the heart of North Carolina, Meals on Wheels Durham is continuously redefining what it means to serve the community's seniors. With the support of sponsorships from the Building Healthy Communities grant, this local chapter has transformed from a simple meal delivery service into an involved support system for the elderly. Through events like their annual gala, the Durham chapter of Meals on Wheels has utilized any and all funding, becoming a catalyst for growth, innovation, and community engagement.
The annual gala serves as a powerful platform for Meals on Wheels Durham to showcase its unique programs, showing just how important the distinct needs of the community are to them. One such initiative is their comprehensive pet program. After volunteers reported various clients sharing their meals with pets, the organization quickly understood the growing need for pet services. "We realized that there was a need for us to help feed our client’s pets, too - so clients could focus on their own health," explains Jill Ullman, Director of Development and Communications. The program has since expanded beyond food provision to include mobile veterinary services, offering vaccinations, examinations, and basic pet care at no cost to clients. This approach not only ensures the well-being of the pets but also provides companionship and emotional support to the seniors, directly addressing issues of loneliness and isolation. The pet program's success has made Meals on Wheels Durham a model for other chapters, showing how a holistic approach can be so impactful to communities.
The sponsorship's value extends far beyond the event itself, creating a forum where Meals on Wheels can connect with a diverse array of potential partners - from individual donors to corporate sponsors and public officials. It is because of these connections that Meals on Wheels Durham has been able to foster crucial partnerships, such as their collaboration with the Department of Social Services and local universities like Duke, UNC, and NCCU. These relationships have been instrumental in expanding the organization's reach and resources.
In addition to the pet services program, Meals on Wheels Durham has also implemented wellness initiatives aimed at combating loneliness and isolation among seniors. Their wellness calls program, where volunteers engage in regular phone conversations with clients, exemplifies this holistic approach to care. Twice a week, volunteers reach out to clients and engage with them in friendly conversations that go beyond simple check-ins. "Wellness calls are another supplemental service we offer," explains Ullman. "they provide an opportunity to hear client concerns and ideas and share information while discreetly monitoring client wellbeing." The visibility provided by sponsored events helps attract the resources and volunteers needed to sustain and expand these vital services.
Looking to the future, Meals on Wheels Durham is focused on sustainability and growth. They've recently leased a new commissary kitchen as well as exploring job training programs to further serve the community. The gala has become a key pathway to communicating these visions to potential supporters and partners, which lays the foundation for future developments.
The organization currently serves about 550 clients weekly, but this number is bound to increase as Durham’s aging population grows. The ability for Meals on Wheels Durham to transform a simple concept - delivering meals to seniors - into a detailed and large scale community care program is nothing short of incredible, and the support from sponsors like Duke Health will help them prepare for this future demand.
Health Summits
We sponsor the annual Durham Health Summit, which raises awareness of key health issues in Durham and offers solutions that can lead to a healthier community. Each summit has a different theme, which allows us to focus on timely and important health needs.
Highlights from previous summits can be found in our archives.
Faith Based Initiatives
We have quarterly training sessions for health and wellness initiatives with local faith organizations, including programs for leaders and congregants. It’s a way to promote their role in community wellness and allows the Duke University Health System to be a part of it. These sessions offer information from Duke Pastoral Services, including topics of interest identified by local faith leaders.
For more information about the initiative, contact Kimberly Monroe at 919-681-4041 or kimberly.monroe@duke.edu.
