Across western North Carolina, residents are working alongside local government, churches and other organizations to identify where people are being left offline and find ways to connect them. In this episode, we look at what it takes to build that kind of community infrastructure — and what becomes possible when people have access to it….
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What does it take to participate fully in community life when so much of it happens online? In rural western North Carolina, digital access can shape whether someone can apply for a job, attend school, reach health and public services, start a business, or stay connected to their community. In this episode of Rural Narratives,…
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In Columbus County in rural North Carolina, the COVID-19 pandemic changed how Lisa Richey thought about public health. Lisa came to Columbus County as a banker nearly 40 years ago and made Lake Waccamaw her home. During the pandemic, she began to see public health differently—not as something meant for other people, but as something…
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Vicki Wiggins worries about what happens when young people grow up surrounded by violence and become “unfortunately unfazed” by it. In Hertford County, Mayors Weyling White and Yahmale Vaughan and public health leader Amy Underhill each carry experiences from their younger years into the work they do today. Weyling grew up losing people he loved…
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Lyft rideshare data shows Spanish-language riders in New Hanover County are 75% more likely to be women, and their trips are more likely to end at schools, workplaces, and grocery stores. Meanwhile, 70% of Latinos surveyed across North Carolina rely on a personal vehicle to get around — with over half of the 3,397 respondents…
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Vanessa Gonzalez is an immigration attorney in Wilmington. Many of her clients live in southeastern North Carolina.The federal offices deciding their cases do not. In this episode, Shoresides learns what that distance means in practice—and how transportation barriers may connect to health. We also speak with Kevin Chen of the Union of Concerned Scientists about…
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How do we build strong public health systems? In rural Hertford County, North Carolina, the answer begins with people. These stories emerged from community story circles, where neighbors gathered to share their experiences and listen to one another. Through four personal stories, you’ll hear how a childhood vision screening changed one woman’s future, how a…
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What does health look like in a rural community? In Columbus County, North Carolina, it looks like a long drive to specialized medical care. It looks like a neighbor sleeping outside in freezing weather. It looks like local leaders building trust, sharing information, and finding ways to help people live longer, healthier lives. In this…
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Poet Delthea Simmons had a license, a car on its last legs, and a hometown she loved. What she didn't have was reliable transportation—so she organized her shopping, her work, and eventually her exit from Wilmington around rideshare apps. In this episode, Shoresides asks whether her story is part of a pattern. Lyft driver Jace…
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Across the country, communities are confronting a new challenge: what happens when the growing demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure collides with local concerns about land, water, energy and quality of life? North Carolina is at the center of that debate, with at least 20 proposed data center projects across the state. In Edgecombe County, residents…
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