A homeless man sleeps outside a downtown Asheville building last Sunday during a busy Memorial Day weekend. The city of Asheville had a significant increase in the number of homeless unsheltered people according to a “Point in Time” count conducted in January. The findings, which show a 21 percent increase in unsheltered people, were released at a city council meeting in May. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development requires all communities that receive HUD funding to conduct a PIT count each January to identify homeless numbers. During the May meeting, the city council approved a contract with the National Alliance to End Homelessness to develop a plan to combat the problem. Dogwood Health Trust is funding the contract.
