Individuals displaced by Hurricane Helene and who were living in hotels paid for by the Federal Emergency Management Agency made up more than two-thirds of this year鈥檚 Point-in-Time count, the annual effort to count the number of people experiencing homelessness in Asheville and Buncombe County.
This year鈥檚 count shows more than triple the number of people experiencing homelessness as compared to the previous year, due primarily to displacement from Helene.
Emily Ball, the city of Asheville鈥檚 homeless strategy division manager, said this year鈥檚 numbers would have looked vastly different had it not been for the historic natural disaster.
鈥淚t is possible that without Helene, the 2025 count would have been lower than the 2024 count,鈥� Ball said at Wednesday night鈥檚 meeting. 鈥淗elene has had a significant impact on homelessness in our community and the CoC.鈥�
Need help with housing after Hurricane Helene? Check out our guide.
The Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care, a planning body tasked with developing a community-wide response to homelessness, released the results on Wednesday during its monthly meeting at Harrah鈥檚 Cherokee Center in Asheville.
This year鈥檚 count provides the first snapshot of data on homelessness after Helene devastated much of the region in late September.
A total of 2,303 people were identified in this year鈥檚 count, which was conducted by volunteers and city staff on Jan. 28 and 29. That鈥檚 far higher than and 2023鈥檚 total of 573 people.
But about two-thirds of this year鈥檚 total 鈥� or 1,548 people 鈥� were and living in hotels paid for by FEMA under its Transitional Sheltering Assistance program. Individuals not in the TSA program made up about one-third of the total, or 755 people.
Communities that receive funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development are required to conduct a Point-in-Time count at least once every two years.
A total of 135 volunteers helped conduct this year鈥檚 count, up slightly from last year. FEMA provided aggregate figures for the number of people living in hotels paid for by the agency through the TSA program, Ball said. Individuals who were homeless before a disaster are typically not eligible for TSA, .
Sharp rise in unsheltered population due to Helene
The annual Point-in-Time count categorizes homelessness into two types. 鈥淪heltered鈥� refers to people who are living in emergency shelters or other forms of temporary housing. 鈥淯nsheltered鈥� refers to people who are living in environments unsuitable for habitation, such as in vehicles, tents, or outdoors.
Of the 755 unhoused people identified in this year鈥檚 count who were not in hotels paid for by FEMA, 427 people were sheltered and 328 were unsheltered. Last year, 520 people were sheltered and 219 were unsheltered.
Staff said this year鈥檚 18% decline in the number of people who were sheltered is likely due to the loss of bed capacity at some facilities, such as the Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry鈥檚 Veterans Restoration Quarters, which from the hurricane.
Volunteers and staff asked the unsheltered individuals several questions about their situation. Helene played a significant role, Ball said.
鈥淭hirty-five percent of people who were unsheltered reported that their homelessness was due to Helene,鈥� Ball said. She added that it is a 鈥渃ritically important鈥� time for action by the Continuum of Care, and that the group鈥檚 board is working on an action plan that will be presented this spring to guide its work going forward.
Last year, the Continuum of Care changed its methodology to provide a more accurate count of the region鈥檚 homeless population. The same methodology was used this year, Ball said.
There were few major shifts in . One difference is that there were fewer families in this year鈥檚 count compared with last year. Individual adults made up 89% of last year鈥檚 count; this year, the number rose to 98%. The figure does not include people staying in hotels paid for by FEMA.
Volunteers and staff also asked respondents to answer the question, "What is one thing you wish our community understood about homelessness?"
Among the responses:
"We're not bad people, just trying to survive."
"That when you have a health condition the last place you should be is on the street."
"We are not a disease."
"This is hard. You have all kinds of friends until you don't have a home then all those people are gone."
You can read the full list of responses . Data on the results of this year's count can be found .
