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Transformation Village is a multi-phase project providing on-site support for homeless women and children. Phase I includes a 43,000 square foot SECU Center of Hope facility with a 100 bed residence, case management with our signature Steps to Success program with healthcare, nutrition, life-skills, continuing education by AB-Tech, and living wage jobs that leads to permanent homes.
Completion of Phase 1 and the Community Center includes 100 beds for transitional housing, a commercial kitchen and dining facility that can serve 300, a life skills and job training center offering 17 career-track programs in partnership with AB Tech Community College, a children’s enrichment center with age appropriate education/play areas, and Recovery Living services. Phase 1 allows ABCCM to provide 100 transitional housing beds (and future emergency shelter beds) that could potentially serve up to 240 women and children per year. ABCCM’s Steps to Success is designed to permanently transition residents from homelessness into safe, permanent homes. Future phases will add permanent supportive housing with 102 one-bedroom apartments and 48 two bedroom apartments.
Brief History: ABCCM’s Steadfast House was a 50-bed transitional housing facility for homeless women and children currently having 188 on the waiting list; the Transformation Village Advisory Committee cast a new vision and goal to take every homeless woman and child off the streets in Buncombe County. With this vision in place, ABCCM purchased 24 acres of undeveloped land for Transformation Village, and built a SECU Center of Hope with the Ferguson Family Education Center.
Transformation Village operations are sustained by current donations with church and volunteer support. ABCCM’s area partners include, Buncombe County Health and Human Services, VAYA Health, and the Charles George Veterans Administration Medical Center plus AB-Tech’s Continuing Education program which provides professional certifications and licenses for living wage jobs. Additionally, ABCCM will continue collaborations with area organizations such as Our Voice and Helpmate to address domestic violence and sexual trauma; Mental Health and Substance Abuse organizations who work with ABCCM’s Recovery Living Services and ABCCM’s Medical Ministry to ensure that our residents are receiving the highest level of support as they transition into their permanent homes.
More About ABCCM:
Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (ABCCM) is one of the key non-profit organizations addressing poverty, hunger, homelessness and access to health care for the uninsured and under-served in Buncombe County, serving annually around 21,764, or 1 in 12 persons in Buncombe County in 2019.
Begun as a small collaboration of churches in 1969, ABCCM has played a significant role in meeting emergency assistance needs for families in crisis, coordinating religious services and education activities at the jail, providing transitional and permanent supportive housing for the homeless through 300 beds, increasing access to health care for half the uninsured and medically underserved; as well as work readiness, mentoring and job placement services. We serve Veterans across 75 counties across NC.
ABCCM is generously supported by 300 churches of all denominations with over 6,100 trained volunteers in 2019 providing emergency assistance to anyone in need regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, or disability.
• ABCCM has a great stewardship track record where 93.1¢ of every dollar donation goes directly to service those in need, compared to the national average of 75%.
• Through the work of 6,068 volunteers, over 144,000 hours of service were given in 2019 to listen and care for every person’s needs, leading to effective short-term and long-term solutions.
• Thanks to the gifts of food, clothes, household items, furniture, medicine and time, every dollar given had an additional $2.77 of providing direct help and services.
• ABCCM serves individuals, and families in crisis regardless of race, religion, sex, nationality throughout Buncombe County North Carolina.
ABCCM CRISIS Ministry
Over 14,500 served in 2019
ABCCM’s Crisis Ministries helps fill the gaps for families who cannot make ends meet by providing nutritious emergency food boxes along with clothing, blankets, and limited financial assistance for utilities and rents to prevent heat cut-offs and families from eviction.
ABCCM Daily Bread at Sonrise, 1543 Patton Ave., Asheville, NC provides hot soup, sandwich and dessert To-Go lunches Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
ABCCM Medical Ministry
ABCCM offers the only free clinic providing medical care, medicine and dental care (temporarily suspended due to the pandemic) to the uninsured. Those without insurance of any kind are served by two pharmacies that distributed about $2.7 million in prescriptions and about $2.8 million in medical/dental care, an impact of $5.5 million in health care in Buncombe County
ABCCM – Transformation Village
ABCCM provides 100 beds of transitional housing and 6 beds for emergency shelter. Transforming lives is through four developmental phases called Steps to Success. These include stabilization with all the basic necessities provided; life skills training with 24 volunteer courses per month to choose from including Bible studies; education and professional training certifications that lead to living wage jobs and reintegration into the community with permanent housing. We are honored to report that 8 out of 10 leave us with a living wage job and permanent housing.
ABCCM – VRQ (Veteran’s Restorations Quarters)
ABCCM provides 160 beds of transitional housing and 40 beds for emergency shelter and 50 units for permanent supportive housing for a total of 250 beds. Restoring lives is through four developmental phases called Steps to Success. These include stabilization, with all the basic necessities provided; life skills training, with over 60 volunteer courses to choose from including Bible studies; education and professional training certifications that lead to living wage jobs and reintegration into the community with permanent housing. We are honored to report that 8 out of 10 leave us with a living wage job and permanent housing.
ABCCM – VSC (Veterans Services of the Carolinas)
ABCCM serves Veterans across 74 counties (half in North Carolina) in three regions – Eastern (37), Piedmont (12), and Western (25). We offer Veterans Employment and Training Services (VETS) where 450 are trained and 80% are placed into living wage career level jobs. We prevent homelessness for about 270 families a year. Veterans HOPE program outreaches to connect with the chronically homeless. Veterans Call Center responds to over 800 crisis calls a month, bringing resolution to most cases within 4.6 days.
Serving Veterans with Hope, Healing, Honor and a Home.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rev. Scott Rogers, Executive Director Office: 828-398-6911, Email: scott.rogers@abccm.org