If you are a Durham resident, please consider signing the Have a Heart Campaign.
The Holistic Empathetic Assistance Response Team (HEART) program was launched in June 2022 by the Community Safety Department of the City of Durham. HEART is designed to provide care to Durham residents during nonviolent mental health crises or quality of life concerns. They offer crisis call diversion, care navigation, and community response. During the pilot phase, HEART workers have delivered aid, supplies, community resources, and much more to community members in over 4,000 responses, taking an average of 5.47 minutes to arrive at the scene. Learn more at www.heartdrm.com.
Breastfeeding families in Durham can benefit greatly from the HEART program. Mental health is an essential component of breastfeeding and parental health, and it should be treated with the same level of importance as physical health. The HEART program provides access to skilled, compassionate, unarmed care in crisis situations, which can greatly improve the mental health of breastfeeding families. When a breastfeeding parent is experiencing a mental health crisis, HEART responders can provide immediate support and follow-up care, which can be crucial in preventing harm to themselves or their infants.
All of Durham deserves access to fully-funded, 24/7 citywide access to HEART. This is why the Have a HEART campaign was launched. The campaign is uniting small businesses, houses of faith, agencies, organizations, and individuals to call for fully funded 24/7 citywide access to HEART. Breastfeed Durham encourages all members of the community to support this campaign by signing the petition, sharing it in their networks, and joining the Have a HEART coalition rally on March 20th and June 5th.
In addition to funding for the HEART program, there needs to be substantial investments in longer-term solutions like accessible mental healthcare, substance use services, affordable housing, youth programs, public transit, parks and recreation, and good job opportunities. These investments will help to address the root causes of mental health crises and improve the overall wellbeing of Durham residents, including breastfeeding families.
In conclusion, the HEART program is a critical resource for breastfeeding families in Durham, and it is essential that it be fully funded and available 24/7 citywide. Breastfeeding parents must have access to comprehensive mental health care, and the HEART program is an important component of this care. We encourage all members of the Durham community to support the Have a HEART campaign and to advocate for investments in longer-term solutions that address the root causes of mental health crises.
Sign here: https://durhambeyondpolicing.ourpowerbase.net/civicrm/petition/sign?sid=14