In southeastern North Carolina, residents in Columbus County face some of the steepest challenges to living a healthy life. They consistently have the lowest health outcomes in the state. 

Like in many rural communities, people have to put in more time and effort to access public services and healthcare systems. And a lack of access and familiarity informs how much people trust the systems meant to serve them. 

In this episode, we look at what builds trust in the systems people rely on to stay healthy — and what gets in the way. 

Guests: 

Jason Elleby, mayor of the Town of Brunswick, NC

Helen Holden, owner of Penn’s Grill in Whiteville, NC

Read more about how to talk about health, trust, and rural communities:

Talking about Health Disparities in Rural Contexts by the FrameWorks Institute explores how access, systems design, and community conditions shape health—and how to communicate these issues in ways that build understanding and support for solutions.

In this week’s episode, we visited Down Home North Carolina, a non-profit organization that builds rural, multiracial and working-class power across the state through local campaigning and community organizing. 

Guests: 

Taí Coates-Wedde, Director of Communications at Down Home North Carolina

Jon Council, western North Carolina regional campaigner at Down Home North Carolina

Voices: 

Tatiana Jones, operations manager at Down Home North Carolina 

Emily Miller, Down Home North Carolina member and Guilford County organizer 

Kate Daley, health justice campaigner at Down Home North Carolina

Todd Warren, statewide campaign strategist at Down Home North Carolina 

In our first episode, we ask: Who gets to shape the stories that define rural communities?

Welcome to Rural Narratives, a new podcast about public health in North Carolina’s rural communities. In this series, storytelling isn’t just about the news — it’s a way to listen, learn, and understand how meaning is made.

We speak with:

• Dee Davis, President of the Center for Rural Strategies

• Makani Themba, Chief Strategist of Higher Ground Change Strategies

• Mik Moore, CEO of Moore + Associates

Together, they explore how dominant narratives take shape, how culture influences politics, and why trust in public health begins with who controls the story.