Shared concerns about crime and an understaffed Asheville Police Department fostered an unusual alliance in today’s partisan times. An advocacy group called Asheville Coalition for Public Safety formed in October, bringing together community members of all political stripes who are concerned about crime, mental health, drug use and the unhoused population.
According to the Opioid Settlement Strategic Planning Report, goals for fiscal years 2024-26 include reductions in overdose-related visits to area ERs, the jail population incarcerated for substance use-related charges and the number of behavioral health-related EMS dispatches.
Small-business owners recognize that they not only add value but are a driving force behind the popularity of this quirky city.
In 2016, Maia Hughes decided to begin recovery after 13 years of substance abuse. But it wasn’t only substance use disorder she needed to address. She had also tested positive for hepatitis C, a virus that spreads through blood.
When Phillip Cooper completed a prison sentence in 2010, he spent months applying for jobs that he was told would be available to those with a criminal record. But no one would give him a chance.
MAHEC’s program is geared toward general dentists who are likely to encounter patients with a range of issues that stem from the lack of dental care. Many patients don’t see dentists because they can’t afford it.
Last June, Umoja debuted HOPE 4 the Future, a summer camp for children and teens. In its initial season, it served 78 youths.
Mercy Urgent Care, a nonprofit urgent care network, expanded hours at two locations April 23. The South Asheville clinic, 1833 Hendersonville Road, and the East Asheville clinic, 1272 Tunnel Road, are open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. daily.
“Focusing on access to contraception so that women can plan their family — when and if they want to have a family — is really important,” says Dr. Scott.
“We’ve pretty much been doing cleanups for 50 years without really seeing any real changes,” says Asheville GreenWorks’ operations manager Chelsea Adams. “We go back to the same roads, in the same section of river and creek, every single year and do cleanups over and over and over.”
Area residents noticed when a Norfolk Southern Railway train derailed in Ohio, spewing clouds of toxic gas and later smoke. After all, Norfolk Southern trains pass through Western North Carolina.
Waynesville man shows off his bushcraft skills as a contestant on the reality show
‘Naked and Afraid.”
“Most people are really good at bringing their own water bottle,” says Kathleen Hahn from DANCECLUB Asheville.
According to the National Resources Defense Council, Americans are 4% of the world’s population but generate 12% of its solid waste. Parents are conscious of their families’ contribution to this literal trash heap.
Olivia Slosiarek was struggling to sew a collar on the bodice of a dress. “Why did you choose a supercomplicated dress?” Stina Andersen asked her young student with a smile. Slosiarek’s answer was thoughtful: She explained that something about the below-the-knee dress, depicted on a 1980s McCall’s pattern she found in Andersen’s classroom, appealed to […]
Western North Carolina Community Health Services, a federally qualified health center, will open its McDowell Health Center on April 11. Services provided include primary care, immunizations, substance abuse services, specialty referrals and other wellness resources. Family nurse practitioners Natali Cabrera and Heather Cook will staff the new location.
Technologically-connected students and their peers can be exposed to any tragic occurrence at any time, so a mass shooting at a faraway school can create terror and panic all the same.
“It takes resources to serve kids [with autism],” notes David Laxton, spokesperson for an advocacy organization called Autism Society of North Carolina. “It also takes training for the teachers and collaboration with families and other folks that are involved in those students’ lives.”
It provides a safe, homelike environment where individuals can slow down and recharge — ideally tempering their current mental health struggles into a more manageable state.
Violent and disturbing incidents downtown are leaving workers frustrated and frightened. One business owner at an Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce listening session asked the assembled crowd, “How many people have to get assaulted?”
Evictions in Asheville have returned to pre-pandemic levels, and many evictions begin when a tenant has raised concerns about housing conditions, says David Bartholomew, the nonprofit’s homelessness prevention services director.
