West Asheville Trinity United Methodist newest Code Purple homeless shelter, accepts dogs
Working to meet the community's need for more emergency shelter, Trinity United Methodist Church in West Asheville is now serving as a shelter option on Code Purple nights.
Its goal, said Amanda Pace Kollar, a Trinity volunteer and operational director of the shelter, is to serve the most vulnerable members of an already marginalized community.
Beginning Jan. 4, it was able to officially join the effort as a Code Purple shelter. With capacity for about 23 people, the church's Fellowship Hall is dotted with mattresses and blankets. Colorful art is tacked on the walls.
A charging station, arts and crafts table, and kitchen are available, and residents are able to leave belongings behind safely, with storage often a major concern for unhoused people.
“We are aiming to be a solution," said Dustin Mailman, director of family and ministries and missions at Trinity.
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The Asheville-Buncombe Homeless Coalition calls a Code Purple when temperatures are expected to drop below 32 degrees.
When called, area shelters and other organizations are supposed to offer emergency shelter overflow to the more than 500 people estimated to be experiencing homelessness in the event of severe weather conditions.
Until last week, only ABCCM Costello House and Salvation Army were available for emergency shelter.
With 50 beds, the Costello House serves single men, and Salvation Army has space for about eight women and children.
Melanie Robertson, co-chair of Trinity's staff/parish committee, said they noticed gaps in service, those who were even further marginalized and faced barriers to entry at other shelters — like couples, transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals, and people with service dogs and pets.
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The first night it was open, the shelter took in an entirefamily, parents and two boys, ages 12 and 14, Roberston said.
In the quick spiral that often precedes homelessness, Robertson said the family watched jobs fall through and savings slip away until they were living in their van with nowhere else to go.
After two nights at Trinity, and with the help of shelter partnerships with other community organizations and nonprofits, the family qualified for and was placed into a permanent housing program via the Salvation Army.
"This is what happens when we can come together," Robertson said. "We couldn't do it on our own."
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The church and its community partners have been meeting as a steering committee for the last several weeks, hoping to see agencies "get out of their silos and overlap resources," Robertson said.
In attendance at its Jan. 12 meeting were some community leaders, including Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer.
In a Jan. 13 email to the Citizen Times, Manheimer thanked the organizations offering interim measures and temporary shelter options for people experiencing homelessness. In this list, she included Trinity, ABCCM, Salvation Army and a number of other partners.
"There is agreement that our community is in need of a high access shelter, and there is also a general understanding that due to the challenge of the undertaking, collaboration is needed accomplish this goal," Manheimer said.
She said the city, Buncombe County and Dogwood Health Trust are working together to explore the best approach to a high access shelter.
In the Jan. 11 Homeless Coalition meeting, Emily Ball, homeless services system performance lead for the city, said the three entities are working to draft a scope of work for a future request for proposal.
The goal of the RFP is to hire a "national consultant" with experience in homelessness response.
Ball said there is not currently a timeline. She did not respond to questions about funding availability or the consultant's specific mission.
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"We want to make sure we get it right," Manheimer said about the collaboration.
"We are watching cities and counties around the nation scramble to try to address the intensified crisis around homelessness, we’re feeling the same urgency here. But we are also seeing concepts launched and abandoned. We need solutions for Asheville and Buncombe County that are not temporary but permanent and that better serve the community."
Trinity is 'aiming to be a solution'
Trinity's entrance into the Code Purple scene came in November, when Code Purple nights were being called with no shelter options available.
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Trinity and other community partners rallied and offered six nights of temporary emergency shelter during the week of Thanksgiving.
Beginning Jan. 4, it was able to officially join the effort as a Code Purple shelter.
Watching camps be bulldozed and encampment areas cleared, Mailman said, has laid bare the need in the community.
“We have to have those voices here," Mailman said. "we have to know what the people who are staying in those encampments, who are laying in the bed that’s directly behind you, what are their needs? Not what we think their needs are.”
In its past week of operation, the shelter has not reached capacity. On its busiest night, it had about 15 people.
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Though it has only seen nine nights of operation, Robertson said she feels as though guests have found a sense of community.
Completely volunteer-driven, the shelter does not receive any city funding and is working off of donations. Each night, various community partners have stepped up to serve dinners, or drop off needed supplies.
Among its missions, Trinity is helping connect people to permanent housing through its partners agencies.
Kollar described the joy of watching their guests open up, like Amanda, a trans woman who briefly stayed at the Costello House before finding a better fit with Trinity.
In the midst of a Jan. 13 interview with the Citizen Times, Kollar got a text. She read it aloud to Robertson who sat across from her at the low, round table in the Fellowship Hall.
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Amanda was texting her, Kollar said. She had just gotten admitted to Transformation Village, a transitional housing facility run by ABCCM.
Robertson cheered, and slammed both palms onto the table. Neither could stop laughing.
"I'm getting chill bumps up and down," Robertson said. Then, "We're just going to miss her."
Code Purple options
Asheville's Code Purple is extended through Jan. 16. Options are:
ABCCM Costello House for men, 141 Hillside St., 4 p.m. and throughout the night in addition to law enforcement and paramedic escorts after hours.
Salvation Army for women and children only, 6-7 p.m. Law enforcement or paramedic escort allowed after hours, 828-253-4723.
Trinity United Methodist Church, 587 Haywood Road is available for overnight for families, couples and other vulnerable people who are unable to access other options. Entry for overnights is 4-7 p.m. Law enforcement or paramedics after hours, 828-253-5471.
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.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Trinity United Methodist in Asheville is newest Code Purple shelter
