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Point‑in‑time count shows spike in unsheltered population tied to Helene; Continuum of Care readies first strategic plan
Summary
City staff and the Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care reported May 8 that the 2025 point-in-time count found 755 people (not including FEMA TSA participants) and that 35% of unsheltered respondents reported experiencing homelessness due to Tropical Storm Helene; the COC plans a three‑year strategic plan to guide responses.
Emily Ball, the city’s Homeless Strategy Division manager and the lead staff for the Asheville‑Buncombe Continuum of Care (CoC), presented the results of the CoC’s Jan. 28, 2025 point‑in‑time count and said Helene substantially affected the local homelessness picture.
“Thirty‑five percent of people who were unsheltered on the night of the point in time count reported that their homelessness was due to Helene,” Ball told council. The CoC counted 755 people using an expanded methodology comparable to the prior year’s count; Ball said that because FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) was operating on the night of the count, the CoC separately reported 1,548 TSA participants and will submit a combined total of 2,303 to HUD per guidance.
Ball described big shifts in where people were located: emergency shelters were steady, transitional housing totals fell—driven in part by the loss of ABCCM’s Veterans Restoration Quarters—and the number of people unsheltered rose to 328, 109 more than the prior year. The CoC asked supplementary questions to better understand origins and needs; Ball said respondents who answered reported an average of 2.3 years living in Asheville/Buncombe County and that 35% of unsheltered people answered yes that Helene caused their homelessness.
Ball described next steps: the city will submit count results to HUD when HUD announces the deadline, the CoC board will review and finalize a draft strategic plan and the board plans to adopt a three‑year strategic plan at its June 12 meeting to guide system-level actions on diversion, shelter, coordinated entry and data improvements.
Councilmembers asked about operations and data collection and about specific shelter projects under way. Ball said the CoC and staff have built governance and data committees to dig into trends (including origin and length-of-stay questions) and that project timelines vary: for example, a hotel conversion project (Ramada/Days Inn) had new wiring discovered during demolition and required revised architectural plans; staff said work is moving forward but an occupancy date was not specified.
Ball emphasized the CoC is a collaborative planning body and that the strategic plan and improved data systems are intended to coordinate multiple community partners’ responses.
