Durham Joins Together
About Durham Joins Together
Led by Durham County Commissioner Wendy Jacobs and Dr. Wanda Boone, CEO of Together for Resilient Youth, Durham Joins Together to Save Lives (DJT) works to reduce and prevent substance misuse and overdose in Durham County. The DJT Task Force leverages different knowledge, skills, and experiences from multiple organizations across the county, working together in committees focused on prevention and education, treatment and harm reduction, continuum of care, and housing. Collaboration helps the team make a targeted impact and avoid duplicating efforts.
Click to view the Durham Joins Together Task Force Goals and Objectives for 2028.
The DJT Task Force was organized as a result of a County Leadership Forum on the issue of opioid overdose, which took place on February 27, 2018. The forum brought together 250 officials and community leaders, including representatives from:
- Durham County Department of Public Health (DCoDPH)
- Together for Resilient Youth (TRY)
- Alliance Health
- Durham Recovery Response Center
- Duke University and Health System
- Durham County Criminal Justice Resource Center (CJRC)
- Durham County Emergency Medical Services Community Paramedic
- Lincoln Community Health Center
- Office of the Sheriff
Their early organizing work contributed to their team involvement with the UNC-School of Government’s Opioid Response Project dedicated to mitigating the opioid crisis in Durham County. In support of these partnerships, DCoDPH was awarded funding to combat the opioid crisis by supporting a post-overdose response team (PORT), connecting justice-involved persons to evidence-based care for substance use disorder (SUD), and focusing on expanding peer support and housing resources for people with substance use disorder in Durham. Click to learn more about the Community Linkages to Care (CLC) Peer Support Program.
DJT Task Force Committees
Treatment and Harm Reduction
Tremaine Sawyer and Lacie Scofield, Co-Chairs
- Fosters collabroation and communication among substance use treatment and harm reduction providers in Durham
- Develops ideas and actions to increase access to treatment, peer support, and harm reduction for people with SUD and justice-involved populations
- Addresses barriers to treatments including medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD)
This committee was formerly known as the Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Committee.
Prevention and Education
Dr. Wanda Boone, Chair
- Uses the culturally competent Seven Strategies for Community Change to prevent all forms of substance use, initiate community peer support and support parents that have lost family members due to substance use
- Addresses substance use through a framework built on understanding of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and resilience.
Together for Resilient Youth is the prevention arm of DJT.
Housing
Capt. Helen Tripp, Chair
- Develops ideas and actions to address barriers and increase access to housing for people with SUD and justice-involved populations
- Works with agencies in Durham who currently do not support or allow housing to individuals taking MOUD to find ways to expand housing for this population
- Ensures that naloxone is available to individuals in all recovery housing and transitional residences in Durham
Click to view the Fact Sheet on Housing and Medication for People with Opioid Use Disorder created by the Housing Committee
DJT Task Force Meeting Materials
Each committee of the DJT Task Force meets on a monthly basis and the full task force meets quarterly. To view agendas, minutes, commitee reports, and other materials from past meetings, please visit the Durham Joins Together Resources page. Note: This page contains past materials from the Data Committee; however, that group is no longer active.
For Additional Information
Call 919-560-7765 or email drosser@dconc.gov.