As a part of our ongoing policy work in rural eastern North Carolina, we hold monthly sessions in which we listen to our community to identify priority issues and then fuse community knowledge, international best practices, and local connections to solve them.

The first half of our May session was open-ended, allowing participants a chance to highlight major obstacles to achieving their personal and professional goals. Themes that we have heard in many previous sessions rose to the top, especially people feeling a lack of time and financial resources to achieve their goals. At the systems level, we connected these issues to deficits in transportation, health care, and social infrastructure that have worsened since the pandemic. We then discussed political participation and the need for local politicians to more clearly communicate how what they are doing impacts people’s lives. Otherwise, people understandably lose interest and don’t make time for voting in their busy schedules.

Discussion highlights:

• We illuminated a lack of health care options that is contributing to and exacerbating crises of substance abuse
  • One participant shared that they knew many people who had to drive 2+ hours to Wilmington to get treatment

• We also discussed the role of substance abuse in both fueling and existing as a consequence of violent crime
  • Participants shared that substances like fentanyl are more available, and
  • We discussed the need for an inpatient center for substance use and improved transportation (even rideshare is difficult to access after 7 pm) in our area

• We highlighted the need for solutions to the substance use issue to “meet people where they are” rather than making them feel demeaned or unwelcome. We also connected substance use to the lack of mental health care, employment supports, and social opportunities
  • One participant shared “If I’m worried about food, clothing and shelter, I’m not going to be concerned about going to the doctor and participating in community activities no matter where they are. If I’m concerned about how I’m going to pay my rent because prices increase, and my salary isn’t increasing to match it, so now I have to work two jobs, I can’t focus on these larger issues. Sometimes substance use comes initially as a temporary fix or release from that pressure and before I know it, it could be laced with fentanyl and I’ve unintentionally created another problem.”

• We discussed Edgecombe and Nash county’s voting participation rates, which are near but slightly below the state average. Despite these statistics, participants saw a lack of political participation driven by the constraints above and political leaders’ failure to communicate clearly the impact of their actions
  • Participants recommended that politicians meet people where they are and make them feel welcome, with a particular emphasis on yout