ASHEVILLE - About 60 people experiencing homelessness will find greater freedom in a quarantine shelter in a West Asheville hotel, according to local advocacy group Homeward Bound.
This new non-congregate housing opportunity will succeed the emergency group shelter at Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, a program designed to protect the most vulnerable in the homeless community during the pandemic.
Unlike the shelter at Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, which required participants to remain inside once they arrived, the new program allows residents to leave the property for essential travel and return.
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More: Coronavirus: Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville to shelter some of city's homeless
City of Asheville government will release more information on the initiative after a May 12 City Council meeting, according to city spokeswoman Polly McDaniel.
60 hotel rooms
The initiative at Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, which began April 8, was a collaboration between the city of Asheville, Buncombe County, Homeward Bound and several other community partners.
Through a cost-sharing program with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the city will be responsible for 25% of the cost for up to 60 hotel rooms at the Red Roof Inn on Crowell Road.
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Twenty-eight of those rooms will go to people who sheltered at Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, according to Meredith Switzer, executive director of Homeward Bound.
Twenty-two of the original 50 participants won't move to the Red Roof Inn — some because they found long-term housing, and some because they realized the program wasn't a "good fit for them," Switzer said. Others were veterans who were able to access housing in hotels earlier through other pandemic initiatives, she added.
Thirty-two more hotel rooms will be made available to new clients starting May 13, Switzer said.
This program is designed to serve the "most vulnerable" of Asheville's population without housing, Switzer said — "those who (are) most at risk for contracting COVID-19 and having a really poor outcome because of chronic health conditions."
More: Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, community helpers keep homeless services alive | OPINION
Life in the non-congregate shelter
Homeward Bound will provide on-site case management to their homeless clients, Switzer said, and the Dale Fell Community Health Center will handle medical needs as necessary.
In contrast to the shelter at Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, participants will be able to leave and return to the shelter, Switzer said.
More: Asheville hotel rooms open for healthcare workers who come in contact with COVID-19
"We just ask that they limit leaving (the) property to essential travel — going to (the) doctor, pharmacy, grocery store, etc," Switzer said.
"There are common spaces, and we ask that they practice social distancing like everyone else," she said.
Three meals a day will be provided by 12 Baskets Cafe, which, in non-pandemic times, offers an "alternative gathering space" where community members across the economic spectrum can share meals donated by local restaurants and caterers. Food Connection and the YMCA will offer additional nutritional support, Switzer said.
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Games donated by the public have been a big hit with program participants, Switzer added.
"When we were at Harrah's, we had cornhole, we had puzzles and crafts," she said. "We've been able to move a lot of that over to the hotel settings so people can have activities to do."
Elizabeth Anne Brown is the trending news reporter for the Citizen Times. Reach her at eabrown@citizentimes.com, or follow her on Twitter @eabrown18.
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