Transforming Lives at Transformation Village 

There was a point in Laura Forman’s life when she yearned for healing fellowship. Living with Hepatitis C and experiencing substance use, homelessness and lack of support or structure, she was in dire need of safety and refuge. Though she had earned her BA, there was a ten-year chapter of her life in which she struggled to put it to use. She desired routine in her life; she wanted to live by a schedule and get back into the habit of productive work.   

That’s when she found Transformation Village, a program of Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (ABCCM). Transformation Village serves as transitional housing for unhoused women and mothers with children. Here, with support from Dogwood Health Trust and many other funders, lives are transformed through counseling, training for living wage employment, and help with reintegration into the community. Residents receive health care, healing, hope, and a home.  

“God led me to Transformation Village right on time, and I really did transform while I was there,” Laura says.  

While at Transformation Village, she participated in a substance abuse intensive outpatient program to help guide her through the journey of recovery. She also began Hepatitis C treatment and was excited to restore her physical, mental and spiritual health.   

Eager to rebuild structure in her life, she worked hard in the kitchen at Transformation Village until she was afforded an opportunity to work part-time in retail at the Asheville Mall. Through faith, discipline and commitment, her part-time retail job led to a full-time, salaried administrative position that allows her to put her BA degree to use.  

“I am now clean and sober 105 days and counting, I’m almost finished with my Hep C medication, and I have a job that I like that includes benefits,” Laura reports. “God has opened all these doors, and I have walked through.” 

Within a year of arriving at Transformation Village, 8 out of 10 guests find a good job and resettle into permanent housing. Not only that, 97% are still sober, housed and working two years after leaving. The success of this impactful program is partially thanks to ABCCM’s multiple community partnerships and network of over 800 volunteers, many of which come with lived experience. Laura looks forward to volunteering with the shelter in the future.  

“For now, I am working and getting back into the swing of things,” she says. “My health and mental wellness have been restored, and it’s all thanks to Transformation Village.”