Decrease in shelter beds, increase in homelessness: Consultant named amid Asheville crisis
Sarah Honosky
ASHEVILLE - A newly named homelessness consultant will enter amid an ongoing crisis as the city reports a shrinking number of shelter beds and a 21% increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness across Buncombe County.
At its May meeting, Asheville City Council approved accepting almost $73,000 to fund its contract with the Washington, D.C.-based National Alliance to End Homelessness.
A nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, the alliance is committed to preventing and ending homelessness, said CEO Nan Roman.
"The alliance is the best of the best," Emily Ball, homeless services system performance lead with the city, told the Citizen Times.
“They are a highly respected thought leader in the field of ending homelessness. They do a lot across the country to advance things that work.”
The consultant’s work will be funded by Dogwood Health Trust, and the city will oversee administrative and contracting efforts. The work is also being done in partnership with Buncombe County.
Previous coverage:
- Asheville Mayor: Homelessness 'crisis' signals need for outside consultant, RFPs now open
- Asheville considers 11 bids for homelessness consultant, HIAC forms Code Purple work group
The alliance was selected from among 11 other firms that responded to a Request for Proposals issued in February.
Not yet finalized, Ball said the contract is in process but anticipates it will be executed in the coming weeks.
Founded in 1983, the alliance has three prongs: using data, research and information to determine how to best address homelessness; policy and advocacy work; and working with communities around the country to find solutions.
Beth Bechel, the city's communication specialist, said the city could not provide the alliance's RFP submission until the contract is executed.
Work is expected to begin in June and conclude in December.
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Roman said she's watched homelessness crises exacerbated across the country, though it differs from place to place. Despite what often feels like dire straits, she said "there is a solution."
“Really, the answer is more affordable housing," she said. "That’s what is going to solve it. In the meantime, the homeless system can work on trying to get as many people into housing as possible.”
The alliance will focus on that piece: working to find solutions to address the the city's unsheltered population.
City shelter capacity sees a 'substantial' decrease
Since pre-pandemic 2020, the city has seen shelter and transitional housing beds decrease "substantially," said Ball, from 624 to 560, which encompasses emergency and non-congregate shelter, Code Purple beds and transitional housing.
Ball presented the numbers during City Council's May 10 meeting. The Housing Inventory Count is submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development along with the Point-in-Time numbers. It reflects the number and type of beds available on Jan. 25, the same night as the count.
Most significantly, Ball said, regular shelter capacity has been cut almost in half during the pandemic — from 285 beds in 2020 to 144 in 2022.
She attributed the decrease to a number of COVID-19 impacts — including decreased bed capacity to allow for social distancing, COVID-19 screening protocols slowing inflow and some programs closing altogether.
Most recently, Trinity Place, a longtime shelter for runaway and homeless youths, announced its closure in April.
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On the night of the Point-in-Time count, there were 155 open beds, and 232 people experiencing unsheltered homelessness elsewhere in the city.
"So we have a bed deficit," council member Kim Roney pointed out at the May meeting. "We don't have enough capacity for all the people experiencing homelessness as of this Point-in-Time count."
Results from the count found twice as many people unsheltered as 2021, with 637 people experiencing homelessness overall.
That is 110 more than the 2021 count, which found 527 people experiencing homelessness in Asheville, of which 116 were unsheltered.
Of the unsheltered population, 174 answered additional questions, one relating to why they are not staying in a shelter. Top answers included restrictive rules, too many people/anxiety, feeling unsafe, separation from other people and an inability to house pets.
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Council member Sage Turner said throughout the winter, the question in her inbox was often, 'Are there enough beds, or are there not?'
"It sounds like it's a fluctuating number," she said.
Other factors have strained capacity, such as the closure of emergency Code Purple shelters as weather warms and the end of non-congregate shelter programs, like those at East Asheville's Ramada Inn, which was serving 71 people in January.
The Ramada closed March 31, leaving 25 residents without housing.
“There’s a lot of complex dynamics happening here, and I think it is the right time for this national expertise to come help us understand those dynamics and help us identify what those opportunities are," Ball said.
“For our community overall, I can’t think of a better intervention right now.”
What comes next for the consultant?
Ball said the consultant will be on site in early June, and their first step will be to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment using data collection, analysis and interviews with stakeholders throughout the community, including people who are unsheltered, service providers, neighborhoods, and business and faith communities.
Roney voiced concerns about seeing a "complete ecosystem of responses" related to providing shelter and support for the city's unhoused population, meeting both the needs of the community, neighborhoods and businesses.
She asked if the contract would look at emergency shelters, managed camping and safe sleep sites.
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Ball said the city did not to want to be prescriptive with parameters, and is asking the consultant to "come help us understand what's happening in our community," with a two-phase approach.
Phase 1, which she estimates will last from June to September, encompasses a comprehensive needs assessment, including data collection, analysis and stakeholder input, and concluding with a written report and presentation to council.
During Phase 2, lasting from September to December, the alliance will help develop strategies and actionable recommendations.
Roman said the alliance will identify best practice models that could be used to address what it identifies as they key problems, from staffing and services to facilities, along with cost estimates and their feasibility.
“They want options," Roman said of the city. "Which I think is great. So we’ll present as many options as we can come up … so that the folks there in Asheville can decide what’s the best approach for them, what they think will work best, what combination of things will work best in your community.”
Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky.