Asheville – Results from Asheville’s 2025 Point-in-Time (PIT) count were announced at the Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care’s membership meeting on March 26. To receive HUD funding, Continuums of Care are required to locate homeless individuals, both sheltered and unsheltered, at least every other year, and these counts must occur on one of the last ten nights of January.
On the evening of January 28, 135 volunteers, including 60 Continuum of Care members, participated in the Asheville-Buncombe count. Some volunteers were stationed at locations frequented by the homeless, while others were assigned to canvass among 27 regions. To qualify as homeless, a person had to be living outdoors, in a shelter, or in transitional housing. Individuals couch-surfing at a friend’s place, staying in their parents’ basement, or incarcerated do not count. People were considered unsheltered if they were sleeping in places such as doorsteps, cars, tents, or under blankets.
Canvassers not only counted individuals; they also collected information about their demographics, reasons for homelessness, and the duration of their situation. One new question this year asked whether individuals had lost their homes due to Helene, and 35% of the unsheltered reported that they had. Another question was, “What is one thing you wish our community understood about homelessness?” Recurring themes in the responses included a desire for housing and jobs, as well as a clarification that not all homeless individuals struggle with substance abuse.
It is important to note that these numbers are only estimates. Homeless individuals are vulnerable. A family displaced by the hurricane may not want anyone to discover their situation for fear that social services will take their children away. Others may be fugitives from justice or individuals with nonconforming personalities who have phobias about living in a structured society and cooperating with authorities. In other words, they may be hiding.
One reason for the increase in numbers is that the Continuum of Care has enlisted the expertise of former homeless individuals, law enforcement, and organizations that work with the homeless. The count now extends into the following morning to capture individuals as they visit stations that serve the homeless. These stations included AHOPE, Haywood Street, ABCCM, the Peer Living Room, the Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry, the VA Walk-in Clinic, the Sunrise Drop-in Center, and the Steady Collective (a needle and Narcan distribution center).
This year, 755 people experiencing homelessness were counted, representing a year-over-year increase of 16. Those considered unsheltered totaled 328, which reflects a 50% increase. The decrease in the number of sheltered homeless individuals was largely due to damages caused when the Swannanoa River rose into the Veterans Restoration Quarters. This facility housed 142 individuals last year but has had to relocate its residents as reconstruction efforts are ongoing.
FEMA has been assisting displaced individuals by placing them in hotels through its Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program. On the night of January 28, 1,548 people were benefiting from TSA, and they will be included in the final count.
Conventional wisdom suggests that not all homeless individuals are intoxicated, violent, or mentally disturbed. However, the longer they live on the streets, the more difficult it becomes to resume a normal lifestyle. The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness reported that the lifespan of homeless individuals is 30 years shorter than that of the general population. Other studies indicate that children experiencing homelessness at any age are less likely to graduate. Asheville’s PIT count determined that among its 755 participants, 97 had serious mental illnesses, 70 had substance addictions, eight had AIDS, and 58 had experienced domestic abuse. The Continuum of Care will use data from the count to inform local government housing plans.
A Continuum of Care (CoC) is a broad-based oversight committee responsible for maintaining data on the local homeless population, planning and operating a homelessness management system, and applying for federal funds. When the program was launched in 2007 under HUD, 461 CoCs applied for funding. Ironically, the same program that counts homeless individuals now only states that it has “over 400” CoCs.