Community members blast planned homeless camp removal

CLEAN, SAFE SPACE: BeLoved, an Asheville nonprofit that works with unhoused residents, recently launched a new project to bring trash and recycling containers to camps. The Lexington Avenue camp pictured above was removed by the N.C. Department of Transportation in February, though residents have slowly returned to the site. Photo by Poncho Bermejo, courtesy of BeLoved Asheville

“Imagine having everything you own crammed into a backpack that you have to carry around,” Asheville resident and activist Victoria Estes challenged members of Asheville City Council on April 13. “Imagine not being able to come home after work and shower, wash your clothes and climb into a warm bed. Imagine the state of your mental health, knowing that you have no financial security and no one to help you.

“That is what houseless folks in Asheville experience every day,” Estes continued, going on to call the city’s attitude toward individuals living on the streets and in parks “a war on poverty.” Her critical comments, echoed by seven other callers to Council’s regular meeting, come as the city prepares to oust people without housing from several encampments on city property. 

Asheville has issued removal orders for camps at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, Aston Park, along  Cherry and Hill streets and at Riverbend Park near the Walmart Supercenter on Bleachery Boulevard in East Asheville. In March, the city announced plans to remove an encampment along the French Broad River to clear the area for greenway construction. 

The city also made headlines after a camp on Lexington Avenue under Interstate 240 was removed by the N.C. Department of Transportation on a February day with sustained temperatures below freezing. City Manager Debra Campbell addressed the incident in a Feb. 9 presentation to Council, in which she reiterated that Asheville would continue to follow the federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance to not remove any homeless camps on city property unless there was an imminent safety concern.

City leadership has received reports of violence among individuals living in the camps and heard concerns from residents in the surrounding neighborhoods that necessitate the camps’ removal, Assistant City Manager Cathy Ball told Council. Unhoused residents were given between seven and 30 days’ notice to vacate before the camps’ removal, she said. 

Kim Roney, the only member to speak on the issue, asked if Campbell or Ball knew how many people had received temporary housing. Mayor Esther Manheimer responded, saying that local shelters like Homeward Bound currently have space but “folks are choosing not to take the shelter option.” 

Roney continued her questioning, asking where the city is advising unhoused residents to go after an eviction. Staffers are “providing information” for downtown shelters, Ball said; the city is also looking into low-barrier shelters to fill the “missing link of the chain,” Campbell added. Low-barrier shelters don’t place conditions on those wishing to enter, like providing a valid form of identification or passing a breathalyzer test to determine sobriety. 

Short-term solutions include looking at partnerships with Buncombe County, churches and area nonprofits to open “Code Purple” shelters nightly, not just when temperatures dip below freezing, Ball said. Long-range goals include “providing a path to stable housing,” though Ball did not elaborate on what that might look like. 

At Council’s annual retreat and at an April 13 budget work session, members expressed their intention to use federal COVID-19 relief funds to address the homelessness crisis. No formal plans or funding amounts have been shared. 

Asheville has a reputation of being a progressive, welcoming and inclusive place, Roney said, but the city’s latest actions are an embarrassment. 

“We also have such visible disparities because we have abundant resources, and we’re in Appalachia, a place with a rich history of taking care of each other in the really rough times and sharing what we have,” she said. “We need more people, we need more solutions and we need more resources.” 

Other callers echoed Roney’s plea, calling Asheville’s “heartbreaking” and “completely unacceptable” removal actions nothing short of a “human rights violation.” 

“It’s so blatantly obvious that our community is being sidelined so that tourists can continue to be welcomed into town,” said Paul Schulman of West Asheville. “What’s being inflicted on our neighbors is completely unacceptable.”

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16 thoughts on “Community members blast planned homeless camp removal

  1. Angela Hall

    Where was all this outrage when the city decided to close the battered women’s shelters??? Many with small children and no where to go!!!

  2. Jeff

    It is more accurate to say “Vocal Community Members” than “Community Members.” Most are silent on the subject and haven’t been asked for an opinion or put themselves in front of press.

  3. letspik

    Thank you City Council- it is now time to ask these individuals to move into space which you say is available -or to move on.
    Bleading hearts – OK– we all feel we want to help– But these “homeless” need to make choices that help themselves.. We should take an appropriate amount of
    responsibility- but they must take responsibility for themselves- We probably – in our lives- all had periods of no money- no place to stay when we were younger- and we
    decided it would be best to move in with others- to- work- and be in an area we could afford- I lived – where I could afford-
    Asheville is not a very affordable area– but it is attractive to an element that will camp- and beg- and have the life they choose– forever— if you let them..
    LOOK_ Asheville –
    These individuals are responsible for——- themselves- They make the choices–
    If- You make it too easy to stay in tents – given to them– get 3 or more meals a day at various places around town– you will have this situation continue to grow as the word continues to get out.
    Thank you for enforcing our laws. —to have this disincentive to becoming the mecca of the “homeless” in tents… some of them loving the lifestyle- go ahead and blast me-
    I lived that way a while- many of these folks- know exactly what they are doing.
    I am so sorry that we can not have Universal Health Care for all- because this is a stepping stone to being more rational -mental health counseling would significantly help this situation.
    … If you know how to give them a hand up- Asheville—-then do that-
    If they don’t take it- please encourage them to leave – to live where their ability to work at whatever level- lets the be on their path to success. Not relying on handouts and pretty much doing nothing.
    We have had probably thousands of jobs available in Asheville – and still these “campers” don’t take the jobs- can not conform to what is needed to be employed.. -? – preferring to stand at the corners begging with their signs – and I assume making some pretty good money over min wage ..
    some- stealing from stores- near where they camp. (Yes I do know) … Some involved in other crimes– drugs and personal attacks – some-now being charged…
    Thank you Asheville – for taking care of this problem as best you can- it is difficult- These “campers” are responsible for themselves.
    Don’t make the mistake – that you must “solve ” this- You can help them “up” – and when it does not work- please ecourage them — “out” .
    Again- thank you for closing the camps… it is time-

    • Barry Shoor

      I firmly agree! For a brief moment it actually feels like our elected officials are doing the right thing.

    • Jason Williams

      This is not just an Asheville problem. I’ve seen these same encampments in Charlotte, Greenville, Atlanta, and Austin over the last couple of months. To me it’s indicative of a larger National problem.

  4. Carol

    We moved after living there – AND PAYING HIGH TAXES FOR NOTHING – after 4 years. This City has very low goals for itself. Fun place to play but the presence of begging, do-nothing homeless-by-choice was stressful on the daily. We had more personal crime interaction in 4 years than 50 in Cleveland, Ohio. Walking along the river, we were ALWAYS confronted (and surprised!) by homeless and we found it threatening in the secluded areas between the dog park and brewery. We chose to live there but felt in the minority because: 1) we worked (whatta concept!), 2) we paid taxes but received VERY little for our hard earned dollars as storm water unchecked and unmitigated flooded $1,000 worth of soil every time it rained, 3) We were active in our City to keep it clean (yep, picking up after lazy slugs who were pooping and peeing in our pretty river) and safe , 3) making good choices to obey the law, care about others without enabling dangerous behavior that affected our residents, 4) Out-shouted at every neighborhood meeting as others screamed for ‘the poor homeless that have no place to go’. Listen, here’s the way it works. If you can’t afford housing, MOVE where you CAN afford it. If you can’t find a job because you’re unskilled for anything other than low paying work, then GET educated. Asheville is a place where miscreants go when they don’t feel like working anymore. If you can’t afford it, you can’t find work, you can’t find housing…..go where you can. Life is about choice. Seriously, where we came from? If someone aggressively walked up to your car window when you were TRAPPED on an x-way ramp waiting for the light, you’d get a bullet in the face. Stop enabling bad behavior in a city that is nearly ruined. We voted. With our feet. Good luck but please, Asheville, WAKE UP (in a good way, not a “woke” way).

  5. reuben W dejernette

    There is a saying…”Are you part of the problem or part of the solution” As indicated earlier we have all had at times wanderlust and maybe hitchhiked (Thumbed) our way across a state or a region, maybe across the country. Those were certainly fun and glorious times in our lives. I’d like to think that we all had respect for the land where we and others congregated and camped. Why is there so much refuse along our sidewalks, roads, hiking paths, I have picked up pairs of gloves, scarfs, blankets, sleeping bags, sacks of canned goods and dry pastas, shirts, pants, socks, and earlier this week an empty small keg !! When did we become a use it once and toss it society ?
    As I have hitchhiked across the U.S. and Europe I always worked at numerous odd jobs along the way to give me money for items purchased along the way…most every town in the U.S. has a washeteria !! I used the money from the odd jobs for this and to purchase food and other things. The idea was… these items purchased held value to me and as such I did not toss them aside.
    So…to the Victoria Estes and Kim Roney’s of Asheville step up…don’t just make monetary donations to a good cause or donate clothes (used or new) to a local charity and then trumpet that you do your part. Become the solution to the problem…go to one or more of the encampments and take in a few, welcome them to use your back yard to pitch their tents. Provide them with the items you indicate they are lacking, they will have a place to collect their thoughts in a protected and peaceful surrounding. There will be no reason for any intervention or eviction and harmony will prevail !! Spread this to those like-minded people in your circle and the encampments will be displaced peacefully. YOU can become the solution !!

    • Carol

      Hate to suck the good out of this, friend, but what about the unknown risk and liability of inviting someone you DON’T know into your home space? That sounds good on paper, but you don’t know what led them to the lifestyle they are currently living. I suggest you be very careful here and not put yourself, family and NEIGHBORS at risk. We pay enormous taxes to fund organizations to take this risk and probably do it better than we can. Remember, not everyone WANTS to live like you do. According to the AVL police, many WANT and desire the homeless lifestyle and make surprisingly excellent cash doing so. Moral narcissism (I know what’s right) is problematic and the key is knowing what you DON’T know. On the other hand, your story about your hitchhiking adventures is an interesting and successful example. But, do you really think most of the homeless in AVL are doing what you did? Obviously, you were raised to be respectful, grateful and a good citizen while exploring the world. Good on you, Rueben. This ‘eviction’ of homeless activity in Asheville suggests that a City that receives nearly all their funding through tourism has been affected adversely and well, now it’s a problem, huh? Don’t band-aid the problem, Asheville, fix it.

  6. Face

    Maybe they can all camp in Kim Rooney’s yard. See how she likes picking up needles and human waste. In this town everyone who calls themselves an activist seems like they can’t hold down a real job.

    • Carol

      Face: Sad but true. It was our experience and I never got used to picking up a used needle by my mailbox. Reminds me of the famous quote from M. Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is eventually you run out of other people’s money”. I also found that when this subject of cleaning up the encampments arose in meetings, community gatherings etc., the Kim Rooneys spoke LOUDLY in platitudes, NEVER with facts. When questioned about AVL welcoming Charlotte’s homeless bussed into AVL, we were accused of being heartless. We saw this problem coming. This is a not-so-secret admission of the then-police chief. Charlotte buys them a one-way ticket to YOUR town with an agreement that AVL ‘will take it from there’ once they arrive. $$$$$ to people who refuse to contribute to the greater good. What the hell kind of ‘arrangement’ is THAT for the taxpaying citizen?! And then rose the cry for affordable housing. Here’s the way it works everywhere else in the world: If you can’t find something you can afford and you’re not permitted to stuff the dwelling with 10-12 of your “friends” to make rent, you have to…..move somewhere you can afford. The world owes these screamers NOTHING. I hope AVL wakes up to the fact that the city is being ruined by those who contribute little to the quality of life. Again, good luck and don’t let the Rooneys silence your voice.

  7. Carol

    Face: Sad but true. It was our experience and I never got used to picking up a used needle by my mailbox. Reminds me of the famous quote from M. Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is eventually you run out of other people’s money”. I also found that when this subject of cleaning up the encampments arose in meetings, community gatherings etc., the Kim Rooneys spoke LOUDLY in platitudes, NEVER with facts. When questioned about AVL welcoming Charlotte’s homeless bussed into AVL, we were accused of being heartless. We saw this problem coming. This is a not-so-secret admission of the then-police chief. Charlotte buys them a one-way ticket to YOUR town with an agreement that AVL ‘will take it from there’ once they arrive. $$$$$ to people who refuse to contribute to the greater good. What the hell kind of ‘arrangement’ is THAT for the taxpaying citizen?! And then rose the cry for affordable housing. Ask 100 people what ‘affordable housing’ means and you’ll get 100 different opinions. Trust me, I sat through those late-night meetings without end. Here’s the way it works everywhere else in the world: If you can’t find something you can afford and you’re not permitted to stuff the dwelling with 10-12 of your “friends” to make rent, you have to…..move somewhere you can afford. The world owes these screamers NOTHING. I hope AVL wakes up to the fact that the city is being ruined by those who contribute little to the quality of life. Again, good luck and don’t let the Rooneys silence your voice.

  8. Queen Lady Passion

    Opposition to Roney’s compassionate questions and citizens who care enough to jump hoops to appeal to Council on behalf of the homeless regarding thinly disguised motives for rousting them before every tourist season is heartbreaking and short-sighted. Activism and engagement take time; as a long-time activist, I assure you the vast majority of us “have jobs” or careers: We simply dare to maximize our wee ‘free time’ to try improve social ills. The causes and continuance of homelessness are diverse, including bad schooling (illiteracy), trauma, emotional/mental issues, rent hikes, and the pandemic whose job loss could have been anticipated and minimized. Funding for mental health has been gut while prisons proliferate; gentrification and pricey developments for non-locals abound. People may adapt to their lot like inmates become institutionalized, but homelessness is innately insecure, transient, and fraught with danger. The issue is complex, but kindness toward others is a virtue: Safety, dignity, and clean shelter are human rights and desires. Comprehend the blind by walking blindfolded; view camps to ponder how you’d feel relegated to living in such conditions. America’s bureaucracy, unregulated utilities, and money-focus are hard to navigate, and justice is rare. Remember, folks: In every life some rain falls, and but for the grace of the Gods go you.

  9. Maria C

    Happy Earth Day! The 3 R’s of RECYCLING help our Earth. The 3 R’s of RELATIONSHIPS are needed to help communicate effectively with the homeless. They are:

    RESPECT for Self.
    RESPECT for Others.
    RESPONSIBILITY for all Actions.

    Relationships are built on trust and respect. The homeless have been given many benefits and support from the community, but many (not all) blatantly litter encampments with trash, vandalize public property, and harrass local business owners, families, and most disturbing, young children. Why? Because they can. I know this because I have talked to many of the homeless – not city officials – for the real answers.

    Sometimes you have to dumpster dive (pun intended) to get the Truth.

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