Jacob Oakes, who directs Pisgah Legal Services’ immigration program and manages its Afghan Asylum Project, calls the latest influx of evacuees an “unprecedented situation” and a “learning experience” due to its breadth and magnitude.
Tag: Pisgah Legal Services
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Around Town: ‘The Asheville View’ welcomes back a live audience at ACT
‘The Asheville View’ welcomes back a live audience. Plus, a local resident launches a craft podcast, Pisgah Legal Services raises money to help kids, and veterans share their stories at a Hendersonville event.
Local nonprofits talk climate impacts
Uncertainty is a fact of life at nonprofits, especially with regard to funding. But local organizations are increasingly attuned to another uncertainty: how to prepare for the consequences that climate change will have on their work.
Local nonprofits poised to start accepting cryptocurrencies
In the world of philanthropy, digital currencies are all the rage. “Don’t leave your donors hanging without an option to donate cryptocurrency,” the National Council of Nonprofits urges on its website. The Chronicle of Philanthropy sells a digital collection titled Accepting Gifts in Cryptocurrency: What You Need to Know. Other respected groups and experts also […]
Council to hear $11.7M in ARPA requests
A week after the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners doled out about $4.9 million of its own American Rescue Plan Act allotment, Asheville City Council will consider over $11.7 million in ARPA projects Tuesday, May 10.
Around Town: The Montford Moppets bring screams, thrills and laughs with horror film series
The Horror Anthology film series returns. Plus: A new book spotlights two ghostly WNC tales; “Dark Corners” podcast wraps up third season; and more!
Where credit is due
Western North Carolina residents who want to change the health insurance they receive through the Affordable Care Act, or who want to sign up for a plan through the health insurance marketplace, can do so during a special enrollment period ending Sunday, Aug. 15. And local nonprofits urge people to explore their options for potentially […]
Around town: Asheville Art in Action benefits nonprofits and creators, local actors land major TV roles and more arts news
A new initiative more sustainably helps nonprofits and artists, more live theater returns and other area happenings.
Health roundup: Top hospitals, NC children’s health outcomes worsen
Three Western North Carolina hospitals were named among the best in the country in Healthgrades’ 2021 America’s Best Hospitals. The 2021 Child Health Report Card shows the state failing in several areas, including mental health, substance use, birth outcomes and housing and economic security. Plus more health and wellness news in this week’s roundup.
WNC starts to spend $600 COVID-19 payments
The $600 checks represent the first federal assistance many in WNC have received to cope with the economic fallout of the pandemic since the first coronavirus relief package was signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27.
2020 in review: Creativity in challenging times
It’s time to celebrate the creativity of our community’s response to the pandemic, even as we acknowledge the pain, uncertainty and loss that surely still lie ahead. Community members weigh in on the successes that fill them with pride as they look back on 2020.
2020 in review: Trends in motion
Xpress Assistant Editor Daniel Walton and local community figures discuss how the year’s events have accelerated many of the issues that were already facing Western North Carolina.
Pisgah Legal Services’ annual forum will grapple with racial justice
COVID-19 isn’t slowing conversations on justice, nor will the virus stop Pisgah Legal Services from hosting the Asheville-based nonprofit’s 10th Justice Forum on Thursday, Oct. 1. Writer Clint Smith will headline the event.
NCDHHS launches mask campaign, free COVID-19 testing for uninsured
The N.C. Medicaid Optional COVID-19 Testing program will fully reimburse Medicaid providers for the costs incurred by testing people without insurance for COVID-19.
Community members prepare for coming wave of evictions
The looming eviction crisis has threatened renters for months, teasing tenants with temporary relief measures that end just when cash-strapped residents need them the most. In North Carolina, up to 42% of households are at risk of eviction.
Tenants worried as temporary evictions stay nears end
A last-minute decision to temporarily stay all eviction proceedings grants a momentary reprieve for renters unsure where their next paycheck will come from. But tenants fear they may lose their housing when courts resume hearing eviction cases at the end of June.
Nonprofits consider new fundraising techniques during COVID-19
With social distancing practices and limited crowd sizes likely the new normal for the foreseeable future, local nonprofits are reconsidering how they go about connecting with their supporters.
Collaborative community effort tackles rising health inequities
From 2010 to 2018, “Our black infant mortality rate has increased from 11.7 to 15.1 deaths for every 1,000 babies born,” Hannah Legerton told Buncombe County commissioners on Dec. 3. That means that black babies in Buncombe County are four times as likely to die before their first birthday as white babies. And since infant mortality is a leading indicator of population health, health officials say, those numbers bode poorly for the wellbeing of African American county residents. Collaborative efforts are seeking to address the underlying issues driving inequities in health outcomes.
Residents may see lower rates, plan changes for 2020 health insurance
Even as the 10-year anniversary of President Barack Obama’s March 23, 2010, signing of the Affordable Care Act approaches, many consumers still struggle to understand what the law can do for them, says Daniel Murphy of locally owned Hummingbird Insurance. “We talk to people literally every single day who say that they don’t have health […]
Local nonprofits adjust to tax code changes
Roughly 22 million fewer people claimed a tax benefit from their charitable giving in 2018 than in 2017, thanks primarily to the higher standard deduction threshold established under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. According to a study by Giving USA, inflation-adjusted individual charitable contributions decreased by 3.4% from 2017 to 2018.
Biz briefs: Business Inclusion Office announces new name, office hours
The diversity of Western North Carolina’s business community comes through in this week’s business roundup. From a new luxury campground to equitable business contracting opportunities, check out what’s new.