Putting housing first: Champagne bar hosts benefit today to end homelessne­ss

While sipping on a glass of wine or grabbing a late night coffee, residents can help fund an organization working to end homelessness locally and stopping people from spending the night in the harsh winter weather.  “Every time it is cold and I go into my own house, I think, ‘It is not OK that people in our community are sleeping outside tonight,” says Emily Ball, director of community engagement at Homeward Bound of Asheville.

Hard times come again

It is, perhaps, a sign of the times: “People are asking us for food more than money or anything else,” says Amy Sawyer, coordinator of Asheville’s Homeless Initiative. “We’re seeing more families, more children, less of the habitually homeless. Some of them still have jobs, and things were tight before, but now they can’t pay […]