From Staff Reports

ASHEVILLE — The 2025 Continuum of Care Point-in-Time count in Buncombe County “found a record number of homeless people, and officials say it’s all due to Helene,” Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) reported on March 27.

“The report showed a total of 755 homeless people, a figure that’s slightly up from 2024’s count, which was 739,” News 13 noted. “But the final count is much larger, 2,303 to be exact.”

That final count — to be reported to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — will include an additional 1,548 people, since they were being sheltered in hotels or motels paid for by an agency, a March 28 press release from Continuum of Care stated, which added that all of those people were without housing due to Tropical Storm Helene.

The count was conducted by Continuum of Care, which coordinates the homelessness response in the Asheville and Buncombe County area.

“We saw a significant increase in the number of folks who were unsheltered, people outside camping, in cars, that number is 328 of that 755,” Emily Ball, the Homeless Strategy Division Manager for the City of Asheville, said in the release, noting that “the key difference this year is that it’s all related to Helene.”

Meanwhile, City of Asheville spokesperson Kim Miller told News 13 on March 27 that, since the count was taken in the last week of January, the number of people in hotels and motels through FEMA has decreased significantly.

Continuum of Care’s count revealed these key impacts from Tropical Storm Helene:

The total number of people who were unsheltered on the night of the count was 328, a 50 percent increase from 2024. Of those, 35 percent (116 people) said they were experiencing homelessness as a result of Tropical Storm Helene.

The number of people who were in shelter or transitional housing was 18 percent lower than 2024, due in part to the loss of beds at ABCCM’s Veterans Restoration Quarters, which was heavily damaged by Helene.

Federal regulations require that Point-in-Time counts include people sheltered in hotels/motels paid for by an agency, so the final count to be reported to HUD will also include people in FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance program in Buncombe County on the night of Jan. 28, 2025, adding 1,548 people to the count without housing due to Helene.

The data was presented at the March 26 Continuum of Care meeting and will be used to help develop strategies. Ball said the Continuum of Care Board will be approving its first strategic plan in May.