Safe Haven will be an emergency shelter operating 24/7 and year-round with 36 beds for single women, women with children and up to two intact families.
Tag: Emily Ball
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Neighborhood backlash derails North Asheville emergency shelter
At first glance, the dispute between Grace Episcopal and the Facebook group members seems a clear-cut case of how social media can effect change: A concerned resident encouraged like-minded people to contact the church, they did, and the church declined to serve as a host site. Viewed through a different lens, however, the incident highlights the potential for harm that can result from jumping to conclusions — and then broadcasting them via social media.
‘Purple bag program’ for homeless seeks to address litter
Among the complaints Asheville residents have about their city, litter is one that most can agree on. A new pilot program initiated this spring by the city Public Works Department seeks to address an underserved population by the city’s Sanitation Division services: people who are unhoused.
Asheville firefighters roll out community responder team pilot
Four firefighters compose the team — two primarily reaching out to people who may be unhoused or experiencing a behavioral health issue, and two primarily meeting with downtown business owners to address their needs and concerns.
From Asheville Watchdog: National consultant offers ‘road map’ to end homelessness in Asheville … again
Local advocates say they are skeptical that yet another study will make a difference.
Asheville’s Code Purple program began Oct. 15
Code Purple will have nearly 100 beds available for emergency overnight shelter for Asheville’s unhoused population when the temperature is freezing or below. The program will also operate for two additional months in the winter and spring of 2022-23.
How is Asheville addressing panhandling?
While current city ordinances place some restrictions on panhandling, in most instances it is a legal means of making money. Bill Davis, spokesperson for Asheville Police Department, says police had received 95 calls for panhandling this year as of Aug. 17, the majority of which were requests for wellness checks out of concern for those in need.
Jubilee church hosts ‘microshelter’ for women
Monday is an important evening for the women living in the shelter at the Jubilee! Community. From 6-7:30 p.m., they break bread at the dining room table while they have “table talk.” It’s an opportunity to discuss the issues in their lives and collaborate on rules to make staying in their temporary home, the Jubilee […]
Buncombe’s unsheltered homeless population doubles in a year
Buncombe County’s latest Point-In-Time count — meant to record every resident sleeping on the streets, at a shelter or in transitional housing on a single night — found 232 unsheltered residents in January 2022, up from the 116 people counted a year before. Overall homelessness in the county increased by about 21% over the same period.
Ramada residents leave city’s temporary shelter
Since last April, 116 people in total have found a place under the motel’s roof. Local housing agencies and nonprofits have been referring those living at the Ramada to other housing before Thursday, March 31, when the city’s contract with the shelter operator ends.
APD data on homeless encampments shifts debate among Council members
During a presentation, Capt. Mike Lamb of the Asheville Police Department cited data showing that 10% of overall crime in Asheville from Jan. 1, 2020 to Jan. 9, 2022 — including 14% of violent crime and 8.5% of property crime — occurred within 500 feet of an encampment.
Council OKs Ramada proposal despite transparency concerns
With only Antanette Mosley opposed, Asheville City Council members voted Dec. 14 to approve the conversion of an East Asheville Ramada Inn into permanent supportive housing for at least 100 homeless residents — a project first floated to the public less than two weeks earlier.
Volunteers operate Code Purple emergency shelter for six nights
For more than half of nights in November, the Asheville-Buncombe Homeless Coalition called Code Purple: an emergency protocol, triggered when temperatures drop below freezing, to increase space in homeless shelters beyond normal capacity. But for all of those nights, people sleeping on Asheville’s streets had no officially designated place to go. The two Code Purple […]
Low-barrier shelter not funded by Buncombe board
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners awarded over $11 million in federal COVID-19 recovery funding Nov. 16. Those grants did not include any money toward the city of Asheville’s controversial planned purchase of a Ramada Inn for a low-barrier homeless shelter.
Homeless resource groups think big with COVID relief funds
“[The funding is] intended to be a pandemic response; it’s not actually intended to end homelessness. It just is, happily, an opportunity for us to end homelessness, because that is also a response to the coronavirus,” says Emily Ball, homeless services lead for the city of Asheville.