Most people who support affordable housing make a financial donation, volunteer with a non-profit working in that space, or advocate for policy change. A donor we’ll call Sarah took a different approach, we hope her story inspires others to think creatively to support affordable housing and programs that increase equitable access to housing in our community.
In celebration of their Centennial, St. Mark’s Lutheran Church is sponsoring a Habitat home in New Heights.
Asheville Habitat’s single-level Aging in Place (AIP) townhome specifically designed for adults age 55+ was recently awarded “Best in Accessibility” in Habitat for Humanity International’s nationwide house design contest.
Four decades of life-changing work is punctuated with impressive statistics and heart-warming stories. For Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity on its 40th Anniversary, those statistics and stories speak to the enduring power of partnership.
We believe that everyone deserves a decent place to live and that no one should be denied housing because of how they pay their rent. We encourage you to learn more about SOID and take action by urging your elected officials to protect renters from source of income discrimination. Together, we can help make decent housing accessible to more local families.
On Friday December 9th at 3pm, Habitat’s New Heights neighborhood will be bustling with even more activity than usual. Following a short speaking program, Warren Haynes will join volunteers, supporters, and future homeowner Melissa Mitchell and her daughters to raise the first wall of their new home, the 2023 Christmas Jam House. This house is special for another reason too; it is 20-year Habitat staffer and Senior Construction Supervisor Kenny Busch’s 100th Asheville Habitat house!
To date, the annual Warren Haynes Presents: The Christmas Jam has raised more than $2.7 million for Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, constructing 40+ Habitat homes and helping to pay infrastructure and development costs of entire Habitat neighborhoods.
Future homeowner and Asheville native Melissa Mitchell is thrilled to be able to purchase a new and affordable Green Built Habitat home. Despite steady full-time employment in the healthcare field, Melissa has struggled to find decent housing for her family in the Asheville area, one of the state’s highest cost housing markets. With few options for affordable housing, the Mitchell family has had to sacrifice quality to make ends meet. Melissa has described her current subsidized rental as “shelter,” and looks forward to finally having a place she can call “home.”
With the return of the annual benefit concert, comes the return of Asheville Habitat’s signature volunteer experience, Before the Jam, Lend a Hand. Volunteers from near and far will help build new homes, work on a home repair project, and serve in the Asheville ReStore. Local restaurants including Luella’s BBQ and Mellow Mushroom and will feed the helpers, and Merrell will again sponsor the signature volunteer event.
Asheville Habitat’s Executive Director Andy Barnett noted, “Habitat has been uniquely blessed this year. We are proud to share proceeds of the Christmas Jam with BeLoved Asheville. Working with those facing chronic housing instability, their work is a perfect fit with our vision of a world where everyone has a place to call home.”
Interested in helping the causes that Warren Haynes and The Christmas Jam support? Here are a few suggestions:
By Andy Barnett, Executive Director
The beauty of our mountains and the strength of our neighbors are among Buncombe County’s greatest assets. It’s our job to take care of them. This election season, Buncombe County votes on two important ballot questions:
A “yes” vote gives Buncombe County the tools to protect our land and ensure that the people who make our community work can afford to call it home.
Bonds work! As part of the 2016 City of Asheville housing bond, Asheville Habitat received no-interest construction financing for 6 homes. Coupled with private contributions, these cost savings helped make homeownership affordable to low wage health care and hospitality workers. Habitat repaid the city when the homes sold. Those funds are now available to reinvest in promising solutions and proven strategies.
Buncombe County affordable housing bonds will be a powerful tool for a proven partner. Over the past 5 years, Buncombe County has helped Habitat improve housing for more than 450 of our neighbors. The county’s focus on housing is real. The Board of Commissioners has approved ambitious, but achievable housing goals. They have increased local resources to build, preserve, and make housing more attainable and invested in the staff needed to face our housing challenges. Buncombe County is ready to put housing bonds to work for our community!
Asheville Habitat endorses bonds for housing and open space. I encourage you to vote “yes” to help build a community where everyone has a place to call home. Learn more about the bond referendum at https://betterwithbonds.org/. Find voting information here.
Join AAHH and some of Asheville’s culinary best on Thursday 10/13/22 for a fun and delicious evening of creative cuisine and craft beverages in support of one of our region’s most pressing issues– housing.
Affectionately dubbed “The Boys,” Aaron Finkel and Steven Casciato are our exceedingly dedicated volunteers tasked with conquering piles of waivers and sign-in sheets – a task vital to the efficient operation of our large volunteer program.
If you ask Austin Brown about his favorite moment as a volunteer with Asheville Habitat, his answer might sound like a platitude: “they all are.” But that is not a brush-off.
61 Weaver Blvd. Weaverville, NC 28787
828-484-9432
Hours:
Tuesday - Saturday
10am-6pm
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32 New Heights Drive Asheville, NC 28806
904 Glenn Bridge Rd SE, Arden, NC 28704
