Asheville Reworks $4.7M Homelessness Plan as Council Member Questions Nonprofits
City Council • AshevilleSeptember 22, 2026
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Asheville is retooling a one-time $4.7 million federal housing allocation to deliver rapid rental help for people pushed into homelessness after Tropical Storm Helene. At a Sept. 22, 2026, public hearing, one council member bluntly challenged how much of that money will reach people versus nonprofit payrolls. Days before Helene’s second anniversary, residents also pressed the city on a crumbling East Asheville cliff, urban bears and what they called unanswered calls and emails.
- HOME-ARP plan amendment would add short-term rent aid and prioritize people newly homeless after Helene.
- A council member rejects “another $60,000 case manager,” and demands a spending breakdown before any vote.
- East Asheville seniors face $3.5M–$7.8M in repairs for a cliff shedding rocks onto Azalea Road.
- Three speakers push bear conflict zones and tougher trash rules as a BBC crew films.
- Helene recovery video tallies 55 infrastructure projects and about $40M for housing.
The basics: HOME-ARP is a one-time federal American Rescue Plan housing program administered through HUD. Asheville leads the four-county Asheville Regional Housing Consortium, which includes Madison, Buncombe, Henderson and Transylvania counties.
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