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The City of Asheville will take over the lead role in ending homelessness in Asheville, City Council decided at its October 23 meeting. Council members voted to incorporate the Homeless Initiative, a program that coordinates local activities to implement the Asheville-Buncombe 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness, into the City’s Community Development Division.
In 2006, the Affordable Housing Coalition of Asheville and Buncombe County (AHC) became the first lead entity for this project, as recommended in the 10-Year Plan. Under AHC’s leadership over the past 18 months the Homeless Initiative has seen success that can be furthered through better coordination with other City activities and access to greater resources. Buncombe County has pledged to continue its financial support for the program. “The high level of commitment of the City and the County to this project speaks volumes about its success. We are proud to have fostered this initial stage of a program that has brought hope and housing to so many people, but fully support this move and the expanded vision that this allows. Our agency will continue to provide the critical services that prevent homelessness and serve as advisors in the implementation of the plan,” said Philippe Rosse, executive director of the Affordable Housing Coalition. The Homeless Initiative will continue to provide the same services, training, and collaborative structure when it moves operations over to the city from the Affordable Housing Coalition. On November 27 an Annual Report and Stakeholder’s meeting will review the project’s accomplishments and discuss upcoming plans. This event will be from 10 a.m. to noon at the United Way offices, 50 South French Broad Ave. “The Affordable Housing Coalition has made a great contribution to this project. Under the guidance of AHC, Homeless Initiative Coordinator Amy Sawyer has fostered collaborations, initiated best practices, and accessed additional resources that have led to measurable changes, including a decrease in the number of people experiencing chronic homelessness,” said Lance Edwards, Co-Chair of the Homeless Initiative Advisory Group (255-0696). The 10-Year Plan focuses on housing those experiencing chronic homelessness with support services to help them maintain stability. This is a significant shift away from older models for managing homelessness and helping the homeless to survive. Serving the chronic homeless, who account for a disproportionate amount of social service funding, will ultimately allow resources to be redirected to better prevent homelessness by helping people in crisis. The program has seen great initial success. In the past year, new funding for supportive, permanent housing has allowed more than 100 individuals to move from the streets to housing, where they are able to access and sustain mainstream resources, employment, and social networks. Research is underway to pinpoint the extent to which exchanging life on the streets for permanent housing enables these individuals to reduce their use of emergency services such as hospitals, shelters, public safety agencies, and the justice system. (Image provided by the City of Asheville.)
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