Welcome to the
Asheville Homeless Network Helping the Homeless Help Themselves
by Jay Hahn

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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 (and, as of August 2008, we are a Sponsor organization of MindFreedom International). We are a member of the Asheville-Buncombe Coalition for the Homeless (all other members are local service organizations).

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 ($48 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.

From August 2007 through October 2008, AHN received $17,000 in donations; with this money we:

• held weekly meetings EVERY Thursday (other than national holidays) – many thanks to Rosanne at Grove Corner Market for lending us her space
• given out hundreds of bus tickets, dozens of monthly bus passes, and 5 annual bus passes (over $5,000)
• given away over 1,000 pairs of socks
• given away over 50 blankets
• created and given away over 150 knit caps
• paid housing or utility deposits for 8 individuals
• paid to repair 4 vehicles
• paid to get 3 vehicles out of city impound lots
• paid for gas for at least 10 individuals
• helped several individuals keep their phone service
• give out at least a dozen pair of shoes
• paid for lunch for a homeless person dozens of times
  
• maintained our informational website
• printed and distributed hundreds of copies of our two brochures, which have been borrowed from by other organizations
• provided 8 individuals with working computers (and sold the remaining equipment at a profit)
• taught 3 individuals how to work on computers
• worked closely with the City's Homeless Initiative
• attended regular monthly meetings of the Asheville-Buncombe Coalition for the Homeless
  

AHN has NOT:

• paid for office or building expenses
• paid salaries
• treated homeless people with lack of respect
• made people jump through any hoops, tangle with red tape, or asked them to do something which they were not comfortable doing

Ask yourself: What would other organizations  accomplish with $17,000?

All AHN officers and staff are homeless, technically homeless, or formerly homeless persons, and have been for all of the 5+ years of our existence.

We don't just help the homeless, we ARE the homeless.

Please donate today; your donation is tax-deductible.  We believe a donation to Asheville Homeless Network can provide more direct help for the homeless than any other potential use of your money.

President: Gerald L. "Moss" Bliss, D.D.
Vice President: Paquita Lanaux-Jennings
Secretary-Treasurer: Michael L. Paglia

Asheville Homeless Network
P.O. Box 205
Asheville, NC 28802E-mail: ashevillehomeless@yahoo.com.

PHONE NUMBER: (828) 552-0505 (cell)

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 it has been showing those holes the longer the plan is 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 has been 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 and our jails.

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.

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, approved in August 2007 and backdated to our incorporation date.

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.

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