A
transitional living facility that will eventually take hundreds of women,
children and intact families off the streets of Asheville and Buncombe County
is a step closer to reality. Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry
announced on Wednesday, June 22, that it is close to funding the first phase of
Transformation Village, the largest capital campaign in ABCCM’s history and one
that will have a huge impact on the community.
Rev. Gerald Davis,
the president of the ABCCM board of directors, announced during a press
conference at the Hampton Inn Asheville I-26 Biltmore Area that the ministry has
raised more than $2.6 million in cash and pledges for the campaign, the first
phase of which is estimated to cost $5.5 million. Phase One of the project will
triple ABCCM’s current capacity to house homeless women and children.
“Transformation
Village will offer shelter to homeless, to families, to single moms with
children,” Davis said. “It is the fulfillment of a dream that initiated within
our churches and has been a part of ABCCM since 2011. It is a joy that we’re
able to announce today that we are almost 50 percent toward our goal of $5.5
million. We want to celebrate that and share this news with the community.”
Transformation Village – so named in
recognition of the transformative impact it will have not only on the lives of
its residents, but on the community as a whole – will provide homeless
individuals and families a safe and secure living space and the tools they need
to eventually move on and live self-sufficiently.
“Transformation Village is our vision
of taking every child, woman and family off the street or out of a car,” said
Reverend Scott Rogers, ABCCM’s executive director. “It will have a similar
impact as the Veterans Restoration Quarters, which we founded in 2008 to take
every male veteran off the street. We know what it is like to be able to say
‘Welcome Home’ to every homeless veteran. Our dream of removing the shame of
homelessness for our veterans is now our dream for homeless children, women and
families.”
The
facility will be located on 24 acres of land near the interchange of Interstate
26 and Route 191 (Brevard Road), and across the street from the Asheville
Outlets. ABCCM purchased the land in 2015.
The site provides easy access to the bus line, job opportunities,
schools, A-B Tech, the Charles George VA Medical Center, Mission Hospital and
Buncombe County Health and Human Services.
ABCCM
currently operates Steadfast House, a 43-bed transitional living facility for
homeless women and children, including 10 beds for female veterans. There is a
waiting list of more than 300 women and children for Steadfast House vacancies.
All Steadfast House residents will eventually move to Transformation Village.
Once
the entire project is completed, there will be separate “neighborhoods” for
intact families, women with children, female veterans, domestic violence
survivors, and those recovering from addictions. The plan also calls for a
community center, outdoor green space and play areas, on-site, training
classrooms and a computer lab, and a commercial kitchen in which culinary
classes will be conducted in partnership with A-B Tech.
A
total of 60 one-bedroom units and 40 more two-bedroom units will be built with
space for playgrounds, greenways and outdoor recreational activities. Apartment
units will be clustered in neighborhoods of approximately 20 units each. The
two-bedroom units have the flexibility to convert to three and even four
bedrooms, depending on the size of the family unit.
ABCCM
plans to build the facility in two or three phases depending on funding. The
first phase will include a Community Training Center with a commercial kitchen
and offices for volunteers and staff to offer stability, life skills training,
employment training and permanent supportive housing. The building will also
include 26 motel-sized rooms for single women. The first of five neighborhoods
will be 20 two-bedroom apartment units for our moms with children. There will
also be a medical clinic.
The
second phase will build additional neighborhoods for veterans, survivors of domestic
violence and intact families. A third phase will be evaluated based on the
capacity needed to end homelessness for every child.
Male
veterans will continue to be housed at the 246-bed Veterans Restoration
Quarters in east Asheville. Transformation Village will mirror ABCCM’s
successful programs at the Veterans Restoration Quarters and Steadfast House,
which have an approximately 85 percent success rate for those who have
completed the program. At Transformation Village, each single resident or family
unit will be assigned a case manager to help them achieve their goals, and
female veterans will have their own neighborhood in order to continue ABCCM’s
commitment to end veteran homelessness.
“We
want to take people who come to us in a place of crisis and homelessness, build
up their self-confidence and give them the skills to get to a place of
independence and security,” said Mary Sczudlo, ABCCM director of homeless
services and strategic development officer. “This village will be a place of
hope for all of them. It will be more than just a shelter. It will be a place
where people will transform their lives.”
Transformation
Village will follow the Housing First approach, which embraces stable,
permanent housing as a primary strategy for ending homelessness. Housing will
be in a safe community setting that will offer residents their own kitchen,
internet access, in a home setting with supportive services that allows them
long-term stays to pursue their goals and dreams while providing a home for
their family.
Naming
opportunities include the community center, buildings in each neighborhood,
apartments, a computer classroom, gardens and playgrounds, a medical center and
a culinary center.
“We
are asking everyone to help build a strong community that ends homelessness for
every child,” Rogers said. “Our city and county government leaders agree on one
thing: we need more affordable and permanent supportive housing for our
families. With less than a 1% vacancy rate in Buncombe County, we need a place
for our families to thrive.”
You are invited this coming weekend July 1-4, 2016 from 10am-6pm to
celebrate the Grand Opening of a special kind of Native American artist
venue in Cherokee, NC. The
well-known Cherokee artist General B. Grant is introducing for the very
first time a concept of an artist working studio and gallery that will
create a new image of Cherokee as a meeting place for artists and collectors to
get acquainted on a personal level. 
