Welcome to the Asheville Homeless Network by Lee James PantasThe City Fathers just wish the streets were this empty...
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Asheville
On December 6, 2005, Elaine F. Marshall, the Secretary of State of the State of North Carolina, registered Asheville Homeless Network as a Non-Profit Corporation under the laws of this State. Our 501(c)(3) IRS status was approved in September 2007, effective December 6, 2005.
From our founding in January of 2003 to the present date, Asheville Homeless Network has been the nation's ONLY stand-alone membership organization for homeless people. We are not affiliated with any organization - religious, charitable, or otherwise - although we welcome sponsors. We are a member of the Asheville-Buncombe Coalition for the Homeless (all other members are local service organizations).
We have met once a week almost every week since April of 2003. Meetings are at The Perch, inside Grove Corner Market on the Grove Arcade. Meetings are at 2:00 pm on Thursdays. Some meetings are to discuss "business" of the organization, and all are welcome, while others may be scheduled as Support Group meetings. Support Group is very personal, and should only be attended by homeless people and other regular AHN members.
February 25, 2008: We now have a Blog, which will list all updates and activities and save me from having to update the website so much. Click "Our Blog" on the menu!
Hey, Buddy, can you spare some social change? click the PayPal button and donate to AHN!
Asheville Homeless Network is raising funds to support our projects and activities. We do not have administrative costs except for paper and ink (much of which is donated), website fees ($70 per year), P.O. Box ($20 per year), and whatever we need for supplies for our programs. All worker hours are donated; we take nothing for administrative costs (we're homeless, too!). You can help us continue our growth by clicking on the PayPal button above, or mail your contribution to Asheville Homeless Network, P.O. Box 205, Asheville, NC 28802. Donations of fabric, yarn, art and craft supplies, or anything that our members can turn into income are always welcome.
We have updated our "Our Projects" page, with even more services and information available.
Asheville Homeless Network is sponsored by Asheville's Annual Science Fiction Convention
Mission Statement: The Asheville Homeless Network is a coalition of homeless people, formerly homeless people, and their allies in the Asheville Area coming together for the purpose of identifying and providing information on services in the areas of housing, food, and medical care, and other needs as identified.
Officers for 2007-8 are:
President: Gerald L. "Moss" Bliss, D.D.
Vice President: Paquita Lanaux-Jennings
Secretary-Treasurer: Alan Ditmore
The Asheville Homeless Network was born in a tent in January 2003, when Gwenn Parr (now McCourry) noticed that what organizations existed for the purpose of helping the homeless of Asheville didn't coordinate their activities effectively. Red tape and confusion made it virtually impossible for a person to access the help they needed.
Among the goals envisioned at that time were: (a) getting information to the homeless population about what help was available and where; (b) making information available about their rights and the local laws that affected them; (c) lining up organizations and churches to help individuals directly; (d) changing the public's perception of who the homeless are; and (e) educating City and County officials as to their needs.
In the years we have been operating, members of our organization have met with City officials (including Asheville's new Police Chief); networked with other organizations that help the homeless; provided craft supplies and markets for finished crafts for homeless artists; helped homeless campers find safe and legal camping spots; helped a couple stranded families pass through Asheville; and helped locate individuals who were thought to be missing and helped them re-establish contact with family members. All of this was done with no government involvement, aid, or assistance -- and with virtually no money. This website, created by Moss Bliss in April 2004, has been the central hub of information and assistance.
The 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness is a good start, and AHN had a representative on the Task Force, but there are gaping holes and it has yet to be implemented. More measures to prevent people BECOMING homeless are needed. Housing is needed now, not somewhere down the road and not just for the "worst 10% of offenders". With the planned closing of more mental health facilities across North Carolina, there will be a corresponding rise in the homeless population. Many of these people will be ill-equipped to handle the activities and stresses of day-to-day life without assistance, and will end up on our streets.
There is still much more to be done. Homelessness is not a theoretical issue to be debated in ivory towers and have inadequate funds thrown at it in ineffective ways. Studies show that the average family is only three-to-six paychecks away from homelessness. We invite help and participation from all sectors, in all forms, and promise to be there to coordinate getting that help directly where it can do the most good. Donations of fabric or other artistic materials, money, and time are welcome, and are gravely needed.
No shelter currently exists in Asheville where families can be housed together; new, repressive laws (including one which bans anyone who has ever been arrested with an open container of alcohol from entering a city park or building) need to be repealed; there are few legal places to camp out, and police and sheriff involvement is still strongly negative; and public perceptions are slow to change.
Milestones: First By-Laws adopted April 24, 2004. Accepted as a member of the Asheville-Buncombe Coalition for the Homeless June 2005. Incorporated as a North Carolina Nonprofit on December 6, 2005. Filed for IRS 501(c)(3) status March 2007.
Beginning with the August 4th, 2005 meeting, we will be meeting at The Perch, our old "haunt", inside Grove Corner Market on the Grove Arcade. Meetings will continue being at 2:00 pm on Thursdays.
View our By-Laws here - Updated November 26, 2005
Please visit: Anup Shah, Causes of Poverty, GlobalIssues.org, Last updated: Monday, July 02, 2007
