Let's End Homelessness Together

By Emily Ball
AmeriCorps VISTA
Asheville-Buncombe Homeless Initiative

How many homeless people do you think there are in Asheville?

I’ve been asking this question with staggering results; so far, the best guess has been almost double the real number. Each year the city does a point-in-time count, where shelters, outreach workers, and service providers all do head counts on the same night and combine their numbers to give us a snapshot of how many people experience homelessness on any given night in Asheville. 2009’s point-in-time count was….555.

Five hundred and fifty five people. That’s it.

To be sure, homelessness is a complex problem, and my intent is not to underestimate the seriousness of its contributing factors or the people who work hard to combat it. The homeless community has high rates of mental illness, substance abuse, and criminality. Low rates of education. Severe health problems. Histories short on employment and long on generational poverty.

But in a city as caring and magnanimous as Asheville, a city of 75,000 people whose shared humanity is a stronger bond than their economic divisions, I’m confident that we can find room in our apartment buildings and workplaces, our churches and community groups, our hearts and lives, for 555 of our neighbors who need our support.

Let’s end homelessness together. To find out how you can help, visit
http://www.ashevillenc.gov/residents/housing/homeless/default.aspx?id=1584.