Ending Homelessness is a big job but if we all pitch in we CAN do it! Read below to learn how you can volunteer your time, talents, and treasures to help us address the root causes of homelessness, reducing the impact it has on our community.
How can I help?
- Know the Facts & dispel myths and sterotypes
- Make a Pledge to join the Homeless Initiative
- Volunteer
- Advocate & Educate
- Donate
A few things to keep in mind:
- Be Prepared– know when you can help, for how long, and in what way so that you will be able to identify which volunteer opportunity is for you!
- Be Consistent– service providers appreciate volunteers that can be counted on to show up. Start with a small bite-sized task and, if and when you feel ready, expand your support into a long-term commitment.
- Be Open– the coping skills and normative social behavior for surviving on the streets isn’t always the same as the skills used by someone who has housing. It is likely that some of the things people do and say will be surprising – an open heart and mind will help you navigate your differences and find some amazing similarities!
- Be Patient– many service providers are under-funded or staff members get overwhelmed with an unplanned emergency or just trying to meet peoples’ many basic needs. The more notice you can give agencies, the better. Also, remember that results are sometimes slow-coming – don’t loose hope!
- Be Year-Round – Service providers and people experiencing homelessness need support at all times of the year, not just holidays.
Volunteer: Time & Talents
- Join the Homeless Initiative in an upcoming event.
- To learn about volunteer opportunities at local homeless agencies, contact Asheville-Buncombe’s Hand’s On Volunteer Network and search under the “homeless/hunger” topic.
- Contact United Way’s 2-1-1 to learn about homeless agencies in the area that you can work with.
- If you have a special skill, consider offering a few hours of time to the Homeless Initiative offices – we can use help from students, attorneys, accountants, grant writers, web technicians, and more!
- If you want to help but aren’t sure how, click here for ideas.
Advocacy & Education: Share Your Story
Our community leaders need to hear from people like you! Your passion and experience makes you the perfect expert who can help people better understand the issues of homelessness. Here are some ways every day people like you can help inform others:
- Go to the North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness to access a guide to advocacy for step-by-step instructions on advocating for issues you care about. For a detailed list of advocacy resources, go to the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits webpage.
- Stay informed! The National Alliance to End Homelessness provides regular updates to advocates, to join their mailing list click here. Check out the Homeless Initiative’s Resources page for even more ways to stay informed.
- Join other people who care about housing issues at local, state, and national summits and conferences that bring people together to share what they’re doing and learning about homelessness. To learn more, contact Homeless Initiative staff.
- Share your personal story – your experience with homelessness, outcomes from a new project you’re doing, or something you just learned about homelessness with your friends and neighbors.
- Attend local meetings where housing issues are discussed. Speak up on the need for housing that is affordable to people who are earning low wages, or living on a fixed income due to disability or retirement. Speak up, let people hear about the importance of safe, affordable, and stable housing!
- Provide elected officials with tools, information, and resources to make informed decisions. Write or call elected officials and let them know that you care about homeless issues, and why they are important to you.
If you represent an agency or a group, make sure you talk with your colleagues to understand if there are any rules or policies regarding your advocacy efforts. Click
here to learn about non-profit advocacy rules.
Donate: Investing in Our Community
Every little bit helps! Below are some ideas for how you can donate goods, supplies, or funds. To learn more, contact Amy Sawyer.
- Help people who are moving into housing after being homeless. Create a welcome basket with your family, faith group, or office.
- Donate Goods and Supplies. Click here for a list of items that you can donate.
- Donate to the Homeless Initiative client account. This account allows the Homeless Initiative to bring the community together in the efforts to end homelessness and sponsor events and activities that promote the well being of people experiencing homelessness, and provide follow-up to participants of the events. Donations to this account are tax deductable.
- Are you a foundation or corporation? Consider joining Funders Together. Funders Together isa national network of foundations and corporations supporting strategic and effective grant making to end homelessness, created to galvanize the philanthropic leadership and dollars needed to end homelessness in America.
- Create a scholarship. Consider creating a scholarship that can be given to homeless youth graduating from high school and are seeking higher education. Or, support a person or family experiencing homelessness by raising money to contribute to a security deposit and first month’s rent.
Note: If you’re inclined to give to people on the street who ask for money, consider donating to a local agency that serves people who are experiencing homelessness instead, or dropping a donation in the Spare Change for Real Change boxes in downtown Asheville. Or, instead of money, you could carry some gift certificates to a fast food restaurant or café in your pocket that you could give to people who ask you for help on the street.
Contact Information
Homeless Initiative
Planning & Development Department
Community Development Division
Location: Asheville City Hall, 70 Court Plaza
Mailing: PO Box 7148, Asheville, NC 28802
Office hours: Monday – Friday, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Email: homelessinitiative@gmail.com
Phone: 828-515-1668