Beginning today, Code Purple emergency shelter is available to people experiencing homelessness when the temperature is at or below 32 degrees.
Code Purple is a long-standing community initiative to create additional shelter capacity on freezing nights to ensure survival.
There are two participating shelters this year: Asheville-Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (ABCCM) will be providing Code Purple beds for men and Salvation Army will be providing Code Purple beds for women.
Code Purple is called in advance by the Asheville-Buncombe Homeless Coalition chair based on the forecast, and notification is sent out via the Homeless Coalition distribution list. Additional detail is available in the updated manual published by the Asheville-Buncombe Homeless Coalition, attached here.