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.
Last June, Umoja debuted HOPE 4 the Future, a summer camp for children and teens. In its initial season, it served 78 youths.
“It is blatantly obvious to me that there are many homeless advocates and agencies in such a small city, yet rarely do I read about collaboration and true problem-solving for the social issues among these agencies.”
“I have felt a creepy vibe when I have gone downtown because of the difficulty of finding parking and the homeless folks camped out on sidewalks.”
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.
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.
People who use mushrooms for depression or anxiety often have a clinical history of using pharmaceutical antidepressants or anti-anxiety medication. But for several reasons — undesired side effects, acclimation to the dosage or the drugs simply not working — they find those medications wanting.
Justin Shytle moved to Asheville when he was 7 years old and remembers a childhood attending Bele Chere and skating around the former Vance Monument. But at 14, their childhood came to an abrupt end when they discovered their father dead from an overdose. The experience “opened the door for my IV drug use and […]
On any day of the week, first responders in Buncombe County might be dispatched to this common scenario: A business owner or a bystander sees a woman on the sidewalk who is agitated, yelling, screaming, and pacing back and forth. Concerned, a bystander calls 911 to get this person help; it’s unclear whether she’s injured, […]
Picture books are a way for caregivers to guide children through challenging topics, like new siblings and potty training. Asheville-based child psychotherapist Jillian Kelly-Wavering wrote a children’s book to guide children ages 7-12 through another challenge: a parent’s suicide.
My Grief Is Like the Ocean is written by Kelly-Wavering and illustrated by Jessica Biles, who is based in New York. The pair worked together on the book throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and relied on Google Docs and Zoom for their collaboration.
“The time has come to ask ourselves: Why do we push children to succeed so tirelessly? And what does ‘success’ mean, anyway?”
Childhood is romanticized as the most carefree time of one’s life. But anyone who endured bullying by classmates, or was raised with an alcoholic parent, or struggled to afford basic necessities, knows childhood has never been easy. There is widespread agreement that children’s lives have become more difficult with disruptions to education and family life […]
On July 15, the federal government debuted 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, a new, easy-to-remember dialing code that operates differently from National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Buncombe County is one of the 91 counties the Office of Rural Health has designated as experiencing a behavioral health professional shortage. In fact, the 2022 departmental map designates all 16 counties of Western North Carolina as experiencing a shortage.
Asheville can feel as if dogs have the run of the place. They are seemingly in every brewery and restaurant and on every trail. Nearly all of these animals are pets that might occasionally earn their keep by barking at a black bear in the trash or chasing a gopher from the tomato patch. But […]
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted more people to focus on their health, and the city’s many natural products stores rose to the occasion.
For the uninsured and underinsured, local mental health nonprofits are filling the gap, but they struggle with funding.
“’Stigma’ has been used as an all-purpose term for the negative attitudes faced by people with behavioral health issues.”
“In order to move forward with a solution, more support must be provided to the homeless in the areas of affordable housing, mental health and substance abuse treatment and pet-friendly shelters.”
Seeking mental health support can be stigmatized in the culture at large. But for health care providers, the stigma associated with experiencing a mood disorder or feeling overwhelmed can be even more pronounced.
