ASHEVILLE – Spare Change grants announced The Asheville Downtown Association Foundation recently announced the recipients of grants from funds collected through the Spare Change for Real Change program. Spare Change collection boxes located throughout downtown serve as an alternative to giving to panhandlers. Many area businesses match funds collected in Spare Change boxes or supplement the program with significant donations. “Spare Change for Real Change was designed to reduce panhandling and channel funds to the organizations that are helping people get back on their feet,” said Dwight Butner, chair of the foundation. Receiving grants were: Homeward Bound of Asheville, $5,000 to fight homelessness. Western Carolina Rescue Ministries, $3,000 to provide services for the homeless. The Salvation Army, $2,000 to offer food, shelter, and assistance to the needy. The Spare Change program also unveiled a colorful …
A recurrent theme in many state and local plans to end homelessness is an acknowledgment that increased focus on the housing needs of ex-offenders is required if community goals are to be met. Data in this report shows that 7% of those entering a correctional facility in NC meet the definition of homeless, while 23% of those exiting the system report that they will exit into federally defined homelessness. Implications and the need for future research are addressed. Read the pdf article here.
The N.C. Interagency Council for Coordinating Homeless Programs sponsored a third annual point-in-time survey on January 15, 2006. The survey was conducted in over 80 counties. It provides a conservative, but defensible, unduplicated count of people who were homeless in our state on one given night. The survey found that there were 9,521 people identified as homeless, including at least 2,490 persons in families, 1,333 of which were children. This is a decrease over the 2004 count, partially attributable to non-participation by some local community agencies. However, in other cases, local decreases may be the result of new initiative connected to Ten-Year Plans to End Homelessness. View the full report in PDF : 2006 Point-in-Time Count