By Mary Mungai
May 2, 2024
As the cost of rent and housing rises in Durham, gentrification and displacement becomes all the more common. Local leaders discuss the role supply and demand has in both the cause and the solution of this displacement. Additionally, they investigate the way we measure affordability and how that may change with time.
Read moreBy Mair Famet
April 23, 2024
The uncertain future of a historic community has left residents exhausted playing guessing games. With a total of 360 units, McDougald Terrace (MAC), Durham’s largest public housing complex, has become a hotspot for numerous issues ranging from health concerns to crime in the latter decade.
Read moreBy Emma Hall
April 22, 2024
Monday, April 22, 2024 By Emma Hall Ashley Applewhite, a real estate agent with the Jim Allen Group, said a projected decrease in interest rates by the end of 2024 should be good for the Durham housing market. “I think 2024 is really the best time right now for a lot of homebuyers to buy […]
Read moreBy Alyssa Clark
March 7, 2024
Thursday, March 7, 2024 By Alyssa Clark The Durham Fire Department is hosting its annual Sound the Alarm event, where they install new smoke alarms in homes around the community, on March 9. The event is in conjunction with the American Red Cross, which has a program that seeks out communities where there have been […]
Read moreBy Lucy Marques
Thursday, March 7, 2024 By Lucy Marques The Durham VOICE’s Lucy Marques spoke with Durham City Council member Chelsea Cook about priorities for the council, career experience, and favorite things about Durham. Cook was appointed to the council in January to fill the seat that opened up after Leonardo Williams was elected mayor, and currently […]
Read moreBy Laney Crawley
February 22, 2024
“They don’t stop after providing families with one meal, or a temporary place to stay. They go above and beyond to make sure people have a plan for their futures.”
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
October 16, 2023
Holland Bodner Published October 16, 2023 Durham citizens are facing an affordable housing crisis as companies gentrify Durham neighborhoods. This year, Durham residents saw a 6.3 percent increase in housing prices with newly developed properties. The Durham community is seeing the detrimental effects of gentrification through environmental destruction from rising temperatures, water pollution, and tree loss. […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
October 6, 2023
By: Noel Harris October 6, 2023 As reporters and supporters gather at Durham City Hall, Councilwoman DeDreana Freeman stands about ten feet away with an unforgettable presence. Council member Monique Holsey-Hyman addresses being cleared of extortion allegations before turning her attention to Freeman. She says Freeman supported her during it all. She says Freeman risked […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
February 15, 2020
The continued struggles of families displaced from McDougald Terrace have garnered national attention, but the reality on the ground is beyond what anyone on the outside could possibly imagine. Even folks who come to the community knowing the history of the situation find themselves shocked by what they discover when they arrive. On January 24, […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
January 30, 2020
Monday morning, Jan. 20, about 250 marchers gathered in front of the NC Mutual Life building for Durham’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Unity March and Rally. The group gathered for a short opening, then marched to First Presbyterian Church on East Main Street where speakers addressed the crowd from the pulpit. Every year, […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
An exhibit created through a joint effort by First Presbyterian Church and Duke University Chapel entitled “Uneven Ground” opened on Jan. 3 to highlight the history of housing inequality and racial segregation in downtown Durham. Originally commissioned in 2019 for the 150th anniversary of Durham’s founding, the exhibit now serves as a tool for reflection, […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
MLK Play Days, hosted by The W.G. Pearson Center and The Boys & Girls Club of Durham and Orange Counties, gave the displaced children from the McDougald Terrace community a place to play last Monday through Wednesday. Beginning Jan. 3, over 300 families from the McDougald Terrace community were evacuated indefinitely due to dangerous carbon […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
April 10, 2019
Urban Ministries of Durham, the largest downtown homeless shelter in the city, connects more than 6,000 people each year to food, shelter and other opportunities. Due to policy changes made in the last year and a half, people seeking shelter will no longer be turned away because they are under the influence of alcohol. Instead, […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
February 13, 2019
According to the 2017 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, about 1,200 homeless people are living in shelters or transitional housing in Durham. Robin, who asked to keep her last name anonymous to protect her children’s identity, is one of them. Robin, a veteran and National Guardsman, is staying at a shelter in Durham with her three […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
January 30, 2019
The Habitat for Humanity building site on the corner of Dowd Street and North Elizabeth Street felt surprisingly quiet for an active construction zone. Not for lack of activity — three volunteers along with the site supervisor were busy building a sizable shed in the backyard of the soon-to-be home of five. But between the […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
October 19, 2018
Homelessness and addiction are phenomena that have pushed so many over the edge. But the men living at the Durham Rescue Mission have high hopes for a better life. Located at 1201 East Main Street, the Mission takes in on average 300-320 men on a daily basis. The Durham Rescue Mission was launched 45 years […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
February 14, 2018
Nigel Brown said he believes it was his destiny that landed him a job where he helps people keep a roof over their heads. At Housing for New Hope, Brown leads the Rapid Re-Housing program which helps families transition from homelessness to a permanent home. This program is one of many services offered by the […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
January 31, 2018
Aleem El-Amin has not had a permanent home in 10 years. He lives under a bridge. El-Amin, like many other homeless people in the city of Durham, had the opportunity to access resources during Project Homeless Connect Jan. 25 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The Project Homeless Connect […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
November 29, 2017
Growing up as a teen in Few Gardens during the ’70s, you were not getting out of any organized street fights. If Louis, leader of the “Few Crew,” decided to test your loyalty, anything went. Aunts, mothers, cousins and brothers would take the weapons away and circle around the folks duking it out in […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
November 13, 2017
In a changing Durham, perspective is key. While recent development throughout the city has allowed many residents to prosper, there are those whose voices have been marginalized in this growing metropolis, fighting to stay on their feet as gentrification and other urban renewal projects take effect. Urban Ministries of Durham and PictureDURM have partnered […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
October 5, 2017
Affordable housing is a hot button issue in Durham. Since major downtown revitalization began nearly 15 years ago, with developments like American Tobacco Campus and Durham Performing Arts Center, cost of living has shifted dramatically throughout the city. This was the topic of discussion at the second #MayorUp mayoral forum, hosted by Aaron Mandel […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
September 20, 2017
The apartment complex on Martha street just looks like any student housing. It has a hunter-green awning that shelters a bright green door, but still looks like any other apartment complex in the neighborhood. Walk through the doorway, though, and the LIFE Skills Foundation comes alive. According to the 2016 Housing and Urban Development (HUD) […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
In December 2016, Northeast Central Durham had a new friend arrive in the community. It happened quietly, as existing landlords attempted to sell their properties. The Durham Community Land Trustees purchased the properties and started working on emergency repairs and community revitalization. What sets DCLT apart from other new landlords is that, instead of evicting […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
April 19, 2017
After 30 years of service in the Durham community, the AIDS Community Residence Association (ACRA) has helped many individuals and their families live with HIV and AIDS. Located in South Durham, ACRA Durham provides education and innovative housing for their residents. ACRA currently has two “scattered site” housing facilities which allows residents to live more […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
December 1, 2014
On the coldest day of 2014 thus far, a few hundred people gathered on the morning of Nov. 18 to celebrate the completion of a new housing development: the Denson Apartments for Veterans. The construction of the apartment building, located at 1598 Sedgefield St., was overseen and managed by CASA, an organization that builds low-cost […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
September 17, 2014
By Jordan Bailey, UNC Staff Writer; and Amber Buford, NCCU Staff Writer The Durham Housing Authority hopes to receive some federal money for much needed renovations to low income housing communities next year. The federal Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) aims to provide neighborhoods across the United States with a portion of the funds needed […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
April 16, 2014
By the end of October, residents of McDougald Terrace can expect to see a new community center and new houses on Goley Street. Twenty new apartments and two stand-alone homes are under construction for the Goley Point Development, said Shannon McLean, development director of the Durham Housing Authority. Fourteen of the apartments are public […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
April 13, 2014
A historic home in Northgate Park that once housed a children’s museum but has been empty for two years will transform into art next month. Durham artists will memorialize the home at 404 W. Lavender Ave through a Durham Parks and Recreation volunteer project. Occasional flooding has left the city-owned property in decay and poor […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
February 23, 2014
More than 75 homes in Durham received free smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms, thanks to the Durham Fire Department’s statewide “Alarm for Life” program. On Feb. 6, firefighters visited Dupree, Concord, Moline Street, and Dunstan Street to install 16 smoke alarms. They also changed and checked alarms, if needed. They helped identify potential fire hazards within a home, as well. “We aren’t typically called before […]
Read more