Nonprofit plans to add 250 beds for homeless, boosting community outreach

By Kimberly King

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    ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — Asheville Buncombe Christian Community Ministry, which for years has provided housing for the homeless, has announced major plans to expand with a possible 250 more beds in the next two years for Asheville-area men, women and children with no place to live.

“This is one of the most exciting times,” ABCCM executive director the Rev. Scott Rogers said. “It’s going to be a huge year.”

Rogers is the spokesman, cheerleader, supporter and focused leader at ABCCM. His eyes light up when he talks about plans for a four-story building addition with 38 units for women with children on the Transformation Village campus, where 100 women transitioning out of homelessness are living and getting counseling and help.

Having come to run ABCCM in 1981, it’s all too clear the nonprofit that helps transform the lives of homeless men and women is Rogers’ calling. He deflects any credit due him, instead talking of the countless donors and 3,000-plus volunteers who make ABCCM work with its two campuses, including Veteran’s Restoration Quarters in East Asheville.

Transformation Village is near Asheville Outlets behind a gaggle of hotels that cater to overnight Asheville visitors. The irony can’t be lost that within a few thousand yards of those for-profit hotels is a village meant to help those who have struggled in life and often lived on Asheville’s streets.

Rogers said Transformation Village encompasses 24 acres and 20 are still available for growth. He said ground will be broken soon for a wing with 128 more beds in 64 units for women.

“I think the name of the facility says it all,” ABCCM volunteer Judy Martin said. “Transformation …”

Martin was delivering clothes and toys Thursday for two women and their children she’d come to know and spend time with at the shelter. The 80-year-old retired nurse has been volunteering and helping at ABCCM for years.

“They know what they’re doing,” Martin said of ABCCM’s operational staff. “They have a floor plan.”

Funding for the 38 units Scott said are coming first is from multiple partners — $1.3 million from Dogwood Trust, $999,999 from the city of Asheville and its reserve from Federal COVID Rescue funds and $1.2 million from the North Carolina Housing Financing Agency.

ABCCM was created in 1969 Rogers said, born out of the Civil Rights movement when local churches came together to help homeless women, men and children. The focus remains steadfast and Rogers for decades has remained perhaps the most respected leader in the area of homeless counseling and support.

Rogers is also focused on Veteran’s Quarters plans that include a regional Western North Carolina Veteran’s Resource Center and an additional 84 beds for homeless male veterans.

Rogers said Sen. Thom Tillis was instrumental in helping secure $10 million in federal funds to go toward the Veteran’s Resource Center and plans at the site.

Rogers said the focus is to get these initiatives completed in the next two years. He said a third phase calls for another 120 apartment units on the Transformation Village site.

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