West Asheville church will host 20-bed homeless shelter during June

ASHEVILLE - A West Asheville church will house a homeless shelter beginning June 1, part of a rotating program that provides 20 beds year-round for underserved communities, such as families with children, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.

Dubbed Safe Shelter, it is a collaboration between three area churches and Counterflow LLC. It first opened in November at AHOPE Day Center, having a signed a six-month lease with Homeward Bound. It then moved to Grace Episcopal Church on Merrimon Avenue during May, and now will move into Trinity United Methodist Church on Haywood Road for June, according to shelter director Christian Chambers.

Nancy Dixon Walton, pastor at Trinity, said the model is partially inspired by Homeward Bound's Room in the Inn program, which operated for more than a decade until it ended in 2020 at the onset of the pandemic. Trinity is no stranger to hosting shelter, having first served as an emergency winter shelter in November 2021.

Chambers said the ultimate goal is to secure a permanent or longer-term home, but it's "just a matter of finding the right place and the right partner." There are other potential temporary locations being explored for July and August.

Safe Shelter clinched 12 months of funding from Buncombe County and the city of Asheville back in September. The allocation, totaling $485,500 between both municipalities, was part of $1.75 million in COVID relief funds directed toward securing immediate shelter beds.

But as that year comes to a close, Chambers said they have enough funding to continue into 2025, and are pursuing further grant funding and conversations with the city.

"We're excited to look forward to the future, continue to grow and build a real network with other providers and partners. We're looking to be permanent," Chambers said.

Early plans to offer Safe Shelter at Grace Episcopal were temporarily derailed after neighborhood residents voiced concerns. Chambers said it isn't uncommon for backlash to surround efforts to stand up shelter, but that once the shelter opened, there were no complaints.

Chambers said they are seeing "positive relationships grow" from not just talking about it, "but really just showing people: this is who we are. When we're here, the space gets better."

Most people don't even realize the shelter is there, said Dixon Walton. And if there is evidence of the shelter, she said it's that of of a cleaner, safer space.

The shelter is referral only and is fully staffed by a trauma-informed and experienced team during its open hours from 7 p.m.-7 a.m. nightly. Community health workers support guests with securing permanent housing and other needs. A form and more information can be found at counterflowasheville.com/safeshelter.

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Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email [email protected] or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Homeless shelter moves into West Asheville church June 1