From Staff Reports

This year’s Point in Time count in Asheville found “a total of 739 homeless people living in the city, a figure that’s up from 2023’s count,” Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) reported on April 26.

The TV station added, “The PIT showed that, of the 739 people polled, nearly 30 percent of them are unsheltered.... In total, the volunteers identified 520 people living in shelters and transitional housing — and 219 people who were unsheltered....

“Before the report was created, a projection from the city showed that the expectation was to find just over 600 people. That projection was overshot thanks to a 72 percent increase in volunteers who helped collect data...

“The latest numbers, which found more homeless (in Asheville) than in any of the previous five years, is one reason other shelters across Buncombe County are looking to expand their operations....

“During the last two days of January, volunteers met with people in the community experiencing homelessness,” News 13 stated. The count was conducted by Continuum of Care, which also coordinates the homelessness response in the Asheville and Buncmbe County.

As for the jump in homelessness numbers, Asheville Homeless Strategy Division Manager Emily Ball told News 13 on April 26, “It’s a call to action for us as a community.” 

However, COC board member Rick Freeman told the TV station. “When there was this massive outpouring of volunteers willing to look this year, it was inevitable that the number would go up... I wasn’t surprised at all.”

To that end, Ball told News 13, “We wanted an expanded methodology so that we could connect with as many people as possible,” Ball said. “This way, we get more accurate data than what we’ve had in the past.”

 A Continuum of Care board was established in late February. The group was presented with the remainder of the results on April 25.

“Our numbers are up. They have been since Covid,” ABCCM Director of Homeless Services Tim McElyea told News 13. “We’re doing 38 units as a part of the complex here. Over at the VRQ, we’re doing 96 units of apartments over there to help.”

The TV station added, “The COC will create strategies surrounding homelessness based on the statistics.Although the board is weeks old, it consists of 304 members.”

“We actually have people with all kinds of expertise who can be interviewed, put on committees and really know what’s going on,” Freeman told News 13. “I think we can go a lot faster.”

He added that those with lived homeless experience, outreach professionals and public safety staff, among others, will “help reach and help more in the city.”

“There’s not a single entity that holds all the pieces that you need in order to have an effective homelessness response,” Ball was quoted as saying by News 13. “The point of the Continuum of Care is to bring all of those folks together and allow us to move forward together as a community.”