The meeting this week at Hillcrest Community Center, presented by the school’s parent teacher organization (PTO), mirrored a Jan. 20 session that focused on what can be done to include every student, faculty member, staff and parent at Hall Fletcher Elementary School.
Dierdre Gilmer, Hall Fletcher Elementary PTO president, said her organization initially looked for a grant in 2014 from the Asheville City Schools Foundation for racial equity training because they noticed parents weren’t being represented properly at PTO meetings. A new initiative could change that.
The scarcity of jobs in Asheville, an already difficult job horizon for LGBTQ people, as well as difficult, intolerant home situations often mean unstable housing for these WNC youths. As Asheville becomes more and more an attractive and welcoming place for LGBTQ teens and young adults in the area as well as the country, the influx compounds the homeless situation.
