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Moss

If y'all want to thank me in any way, vote me some "emeritus" or "oversight" or "advisory" position on the Board.

Moss Bliss

Sevierville, TN

You can read the article here: http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20110208/NEWS/302080027/Asheville-homeless-bagel-bakers-help-selves

From their website:

“JE was born out of the Asheville-Buncombe Living Wage Campaign, an effort that initially began in 2000, but took root in 2006.  This coalition of faith, labor, and community groups succeeded in passing the first living wage ordinance in our region, which guarantees Asheville City employees a living wage.” -http://justeconomicswnc.org/

There is also information about other programs they have on their website.

(I posted this for Wayne.  -Tom)

The Asheville Mardi Gras parade has a facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=54757104281

Excerpt:
——————————————————-

by Mackensy Lunsford

Chris Sullivan knows that Asheville suffers from a lack of locally made bagels. A volunteer with the Asheville Homeless Network, Sullivan also knows there’s a significant population of individuals that find it hard to find shelter, let alone gainful employment. Combining two area needs — one decidedly more urgent than the other — Sullivan started Home Free Bagels.
…

Continue reading the article at http://www.mountainx.com/dining/2011/011911home-free

I got off the bus today at 8:25 am.  The sign on a bank we passed said it was 31°.  I was expecting to be able to go in A-Hope and get out of the weather.  There was a chilly wind (so the effect on the body was colder than 31° – the “wind chill” was colder), and a fresh dusting of snow on the ground.  I came in back to sign in, and a staff member said “we’re full.”  (Meaning they are signing 50 people in each hour, rather than being open – “Code Purple” – where everyone can come in anytime.)  I said “it’s 31°.”  Then Heather Spencer, the Director, came out and said “it’s not Code Purple.”  I went outside to wait until 9:00 am to sign in.   What did Heather mean, it’ above 32°?  A staff member came outside and I asked him where the outdoor thermometer was, that I wanted to read it myself, and he said they didn’t have one.   So how do they know if it’s below freezing?  (Figuring out the wind chill is harder…)

“Not Code Purple.”  Well, Heather, the Mission disagreed with you.  The Western Carolina Rescue Ministries had the “Code Purple” sign in the window, meaning you can sit in the chapel.  No coffee, but you can get out of the cold.  (No, I didn’t go sit in there…)

Around 9:30 am (I was in now) Amanda was complaining to a couple of people coming in the back who were not signed in for the hour (they didn’t go to sign in, they were sneaking in), saying “I know it’s 31° out there, I know it’s cold, but were full.”  So they weren’t disputing the temperature…  Later on I asked a staff member what their Code Purple criteria was, and she wasn’t sure – she acted like she thought it was ambiguous.  Heather didn’t have any interest in telling me, she had just said “it’s not Code Purple” when I said it was 31°. (And again, she knew is was 31°, without the wind chill.)

So, Heather could let people in out of the cold, as the occupancy limit doesn’t apply in freezing weather, but she didn’t want to.  This reminds me of her closing A-Hope for a day because someone was drinking alcohol on the property, and another time because someone left trash on a nearby property.  (See other blog articles here.)  She didn’t just send the perpetrator away (if they were identified), she sent everyone away.  So what about the person that needed clean clothes from his container to change for work?  Too bad.  They weren’t letting anyone in, not even for a “container run.”  Of course there will be the occasion where a homeless person does something stupid.  Hello.  Why make everyone else suffer for it?   Imagine you are at the library, and someone uses their cell phone after being asked to turn it off, so they tell everyone to get out of the library.  Exactly.  Or, imagine the Fire Marshall and the city decide to waive occupancy limits for day and night shelters in freezing weather, and one of the shelters who put themselves on the Code Purple list (or was PUT on their because they get funding from the city) tells you, “yes, we know it’s freezing, but we have our own definition of Code Purple, and you can’t come in.”  Exactly.

A-Hope provides much needed services, and these services and the help of the staff (when they are open) is very much appreciated.

- Trying to effect change by getting the word out.

****** UPDATE:  Since the time of this article, and an e-mail to the Homeless Coalition, A-Hope has been going by the 32° definition of Code Purple.

(This article is the author’s opinion, as does not reflect any official position of of the Asheville Homeless Network.)

Here’s a picture of Patton Ave., just west of downtown, at 12:45pm today.  As you can see, the roads are in great shape, and traffic is flowing at full speed.  You can see the mist of water coming up from a tire – there’s some water at the edge of the road in places.  Water, not ice.

Employers need to depend on their workers showing up, and some workers depend on the bus to get to work.   But just like last winter, you cannot depend on Asheville’s bus service.

I’ve written about these problems in the past, and have written City Counsel.  Nobody is interested in changing anything.  Here are some excerpts about winter bus service from a previous post (found here):

• Those several days in the winter when the bus wasn’t running, but the cars were doing fine, and there was no ice on the roads.  I called the main transit number one morning asking where the bus was, and the guy acted like I was supposed to know they announced on TV the previous night they would be starting the busses 4 hours late.  It was 7:45am.  I said there’s no ice, and the cars are doing fine, so why aren’t they running to get us to town?  He said the forecast was for ice.  I said well there’s no ice, so where are the busses?  He said “you got out of the wrong side of bed.”  My voice was normal.  That was his attitude.  You actually expect bus service?  I said why aren’t they on standby in case of a bad forecast.  He hung up on me.
• One day I called Mariate Echeverry, the Transportation Planning Manager, and asked her why the busses weren’t running the previous day.  She said they were expecting ice on a couple of the routes.  I said “a couple of the routes?  What about everyone else?”  She said most people get connections elsewhere from downtown and they weren’t going to run the busses downtown when they couldn’t complete a connection.  I said I see nearly everyone get off the bus downtown, and again, what about everyone else?  So you just shut everything down if one bus can’t run.  She had no response.  That was truly ridiculous.   Regarding the busses being delayed in the morning, I asked her why the busses weren’t on standby in case of no ice.  She talked about the city deciding to delay the busses the previous night.  I asked again why they weren’t on standby, and she just repeated herself, not answering the question.  (The problem of bus service starting much later in the morning, even though there was not ice, kept happening.)

That article shows up on the first page of various web-search results, so people are seeing this.  One person trying to get changes made isn’t enough.  If this is important to you, please do what you can.

Area Shelters Enact CODE PURPLE and Offer Emergency Cold Weather Services

In response to recent deadly winter weather, area shelters have come together to offer emergency cold weather services to people who are currently experiencing homelessness and would not otherwise have a safe, warm place to stay. To minimize risk to people in Asheville and Buncombe County, when the temperature falls below 32 degrees (or the equivalent with the wind chill factor) area shelters will designate a CODE PURPLE.

Extra floor, cot, and bed space will be available at overnight shelters to ensure that no one has to stay outside. Shelters are encouraging emergency workers and police to urge people outside at night to come inside.

Shelters offering CODE PURPLE services include:

ABCCM Veteran’s Quarters
www.abccm.org/vets-place.html
1329 Tunnel Road Asheville, NC 28805
828.299.8791

People seeking shelter can access the Veteran’s Quarters emergency shelter starting at 4 p.m.. The shelter will accommodate additional homeless individuals in our lobby and dining room areas.

Salvation Army
204 Haywood Street, Asheville NC, 28801
828.253.4723

The Salvation Army will offer their space for people to come inside and sit during the day.  People can come to the agency for overnight emergency shelter services  starting at 4 p.m. The Salvation Army will offer overflow spaces through the use of cots, mats, and blankets.

Swannanoa Emergency Shelter
Swannanoa Christian Ministry
828.669.9404 or Bill Walker at 828.273.0025

Purple flags will be flown at First Baptist Church in Swannanoa, Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry, and soon at Tolley Insurance in Swannanoa on days that the shelter is open. Guests are admitted to the volunteer-run, 16-bed shelter between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. with dinner being served at 6:30 p.m. Guests who arrive after 7:00 p.m. will only be admitted if they have made prior arrangements or if they are brought by law enforcement or a pastor from a local church. The shelter closes at 7:00 a.m.

Western Carolina Rescue Ministries
www.westerncarolinarescue.org
225 Patton Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801
828.254.1529

The agency will post a CODE PURPLE on the top right-hand corner of their website and post a CODE PURPLE indicator on the front door of the shelter each night that CODE PURPLE is in effect.  During CODE PURPLE, regular services are enhanced by extending the number of evening overflow spaces through the use of cots, mats and blankets, allowing clients to remain indoors throughout the day in our chapel, encouraging police, paramedics, and other agencies may bring people needing shelter after the normal “closed door” time of 6 p.m.

The above organizations and others in the community will be offering other services to assist persons experiencing homelesness throughout the cold winter months.

The CODE PURPLE effort stems from the collaborative work of the Homeless Coalition, which is a collective of agencies, faith groups, and individuals experiencing homelessness that works on an ongoing basis to address the needs of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.  Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month at 12:30. To learn more, contact co-chair Brian Alexander at brian@hbofa.org

Western Carolina Rescue Ministries (WCRM) will now be open during cold weather.

Overflow will be open when the temperature is below 40 degrees.  Up to 30 men can sleep on a mat in the chapel.  The rule that you can only stay for 3 days unless you have an approved job will not apply.

On “Cold Purple” days, when the temperature is below freezing, WCRM will be open to as many men as they can fit, and they have permission from the Fire Marshall.  On those days you can also sit in the chapel during the day, to stay out of the cold.

You still need to arrive by 6:00pm to stay there.  They start serving dinner between 4:45pm and 5:00pm, and if you arrive for dinner you cannot leave if you will be staying overnight.

There is a different program for women.  Michael Woods, the director, said today they “will be taken care of.”