Regular Meeting · December 2, 2024

At the December 2 Durham City Council Regular Meeting, the HIV Coalition made an urgent plea about missed opportunity while the council approved three development projects and discussed systemic challenges facing local schools.

The most striking moment came when Dr. Haley Cunningham from the Coalition to End the HIV Epidemic in Durham publicly criticized the city for rejecting a letter of support in April 2024 that would have helped secure a $2.5 million federal grant to house homeless people living with HIV. The coalition explained the stakes plainly: Durham County has over 1,900 residents living with HIV, and African-American residents are six times more likely to acquire HIV than white residents. More than one-fifth of people living with HIV in North Carolina are homeless or unstably housed, and being unhoused at diagnosis increases the risk of death by 27 times. Cunningham noted the city accepts over $1 million in housing funds annually that remain unutilized, and called on council to partner with existing organizations to address this crisis.