“This is a really hard job,” says Rutha, who requested her last name be omitted for safety reasons. “So there has to be a desire to want to help people and to want to intervene and keep children safe and support families.” That desire has been tested lately, as the investigations division has struggled with staffing shortages, peaking in May when 11 of the department’s 29 positions were vacant.
Compass Point Village, a renovated Days Inn motel on Tunnel Road, will provide one-room apartments and supportive services to 85 people, many of them considered to be chronically homeless.
As part of an interlocal agreement, the City of Asheville will administer $875,000 in county funds, as well as an equal city match, to three area shelter providers for extra beds.
APD says drones can be a force multiplier for the department, which is understaffed. However, privacy experts warn that the usage of such technology by the government needs to be proactively curtailed.
At a Downtown Commission meeting July 14, Assistant City Manager Rachel Wood said that portions of the 60-day downtown safety and cleanliness pilot have transitioned into ongoing services.
Prevention of infections is a crucial part of wound care and decreases the need for antibiotic use. But regularly accessing antibiotics, fulfilling prescriptions and taking medication can present obstacles for many people.
In the wake of a Supreme Court ruling allowing businesses to refuse LBGTQ customers and an overall hostility from certain segments of the population, planning for this year’s Pride festival is a little more complex.
The Sweeten Creek facility, which is anticipated to open in August, brings 38 additional acute behavioral care beds to Western North Carolina.
Some veterans find it difficult to adjust after military service. They might lack skills that lead to civilian jobs, and in some cases, that leads to homelessness. Recognizing those challenges, A-B Tech and the nonprofit Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry partnered to put classrooms right where they’re needed: in two transitional shelters. “To my knowledge, […]
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Veteran Medical Transport ambulance for Charles George VA Medical Center will provide transportation between facilities and after hospitalization.
Asheville has a reputation as welcoming individuals of all gender identities and sexual orientations. The city has numerous gender-affirming health care providers, social groups for the LGBTQ community and inclusive arts and culture spaces. Yet the local trans women who spoke with Xpress say they’ve continued to face bigotry in their careers, health care and social lives.
As many as 1-in-5 women experience mood changes or anxiety after experiencing trauma while giving birth, with roughly 9% being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to Postpartum Support International.
Just 11% of Black students in grades 3-8 at Asheville City Schools scored as proficient in math, with 13% proficient in reading. Rates were somewhat better in the county system, with 21% of Black pupils proficient in both subjects, but still fell well below those of white, Hispanic and Asian students.
“I wanted to address food insecurity with those who had Type 2 diabetes or hypertension and do something similar to Hello Fresh or Blue Apron, but with food pantry food,” Simuel says.
North Carolina criminalizes the possession of drug-testing equipment as drug paraphernalia. The state defines paraphernalia as “all equipment, products and materials of any kind that are used … [for] testing, analyzing … or otherwise introducing controlled substances in the human body.” But the state also exempts the possession of fentanyl test strips “for personal use.”
