As cold weather continues in our region, many community members ask what can be done to help the most vulnerable among us? The City of Asheville believes addressing homelessness is a community effort, but knowing the available resources is a great place to start. The City’s Homeless Strategy Division, which falls under the Community and Economic Development Department, is leading efforts to work with the community to implement recent recommendations from the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH).
Responding to unsheltered homelessness continues to be a high priority for the City. Below is a summary of some of the most recent efforts by the City of Asheville and its partners to coordinate and facilitate resources.
Code Purple
Code Purple is a coordinated effort among Asheville and Buncombe County shelters and other organizations to provide emergency overflow shelter to people experiencing homelessness during extremely cold weather (at or below 32 degrees, including wind chill, or 33-40 degrees with precipitation). During Code Purple, participating shelters will provide more beds with fewer requirements than their typical programming. Code Purple sites will also work with participants to refer them to ongoing shelter and housing options.
The Code Purple season begins October 15, 2023 and ends April 30, 2023. Full operational details are available in the Code Purple Procedure Manual.
You can find a list of participating shelters on the City of Asheville website or the Asheville Homeless Coalition Facebook page.
The City works closely with service providers to develop and fund new shelter and housing capacity.
Recent notable updates include:
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- 43 new shelter beds (jointly funded by City and County ARPA) are all up and running.
- Compass Point Village (in the former Days Inn on Tunnel Road) which opened in mid-September is nearly fully occupied, providing permanent supportive housing for 87 people.
- Code Purple is active at ABCCM and Salvation Army, with expanded criteria this year to include nights that are 33-40 degrees with precipitation, which will mean a significant gain in shelter nights.
The updates above mean that 221 more beds are now available compared with fall of this year.
Meetings and Learning Opportunities
December 4, 2023: City/County Joint Work Session on Homelessness
The Asheville City Council and Buncombe County Commission will hold a Joint Meeting at Harrah’s Cherokee Center Banquet Hall on Monday, December 4 from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. to hear updates on implementation of the NAEH study. The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed on the City’s YouTube channel.
Community Education Series on Homelessness Continues
The Homeless Strategy Division of the City of Asheville Community and Economic Development Department invites members of the public to join them for an informative learning series focused on homelessness in our community. This monthly series will continue in December and January. View more information and register here.
- The December sessions will be held on December 7, December 11 and December 18, 2023 at the Stephens-Lee Community Center from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
- The January sessions will be held on January 3, January 10 and January 17, 2024 at the Black Mountain Public Library from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.