Press release from City of Asheville:
Homeless Initiative Advisory Committee has convened community members to respond to homelessness together as appointed by Asheville City Council and Buncombe County Commissioners.
In January 2023, the community received a set of recommendations from the National Alliance to End Homelessness about how to improve outcomes for people experiencing homelessness. A key recommendation from NAEH was to restructure the Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care (CoC) to expand HIAC’s work into a broader and more inclusive community-based planning body to collaborate on homelessness response, including a new elected Board to lead community efforts.
Under HIAC’s leadership, a Governance Work Group developed and managed a transition process to restructure the Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care, creating a new governance charter, establishing a new CoC Membership body, and supporting the CoC Membership in electing a new Board to assume the responsibilities that HIAC previously held. The CoC now has 384 members, and its new Board was elected in April 2024 and will complete the CoC’s first strategic plan in January 2025. Many former HIAC members are part of the CoC as Board members, appointees on committees or work groups, and in the general membership.
To consolidate homelessness efforts from the City of Asheville, Buncombe County, and the community through the new CoC, HIAC members voted at their July 25, 2024 meeting to recommend that City Council formally dissolve HIAC as an advisory committee of the City and County. On November 12, 2024, City Council approved that recommendation, and HIAC’s work is now concluded.
Many thanks to all community members who have contributed HIAC service since 2008, and particular thanks to the most recent HIAC members whose vision and leadership helped transform how our community works together on homelessness response.
To continue to engage in community work on homelessness, all stakeholders are encouraged to join the Continuum of Care. Membership is open on an ongoing basis, and members are able to vote on any changes to the governance charter and in elections of Board members, in addition to being eligible to serve on the Board, committees, or work groups.
Thank you for your continued partnership in ending homelessness!
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