ASHEVILLE - The fire department's Community Responder Program, which began as a pilot in May 2023, is now permanent and will be the the city's first response to encampments, a role that previously often fell to Asheville police.
The fiscal year 2025 budget, adopted by Asheville City Council in June, included seven permanent positions for the Community Responder team, partially funded by Opioid Settlement dollars. An eighth position, a manager to oversee program development, was funded through a $375,000 Dogwood Health Trust grant.
“Homelessness is not a crime, it’s a crisis. And instead of sending police officers, we’re now sending these community responders," Beth Bechel, business manager with Asheville Fire Department, told the Citizen Times. "I’d say this is our true, putting our money where our mouth is, reimagining public safety for the city of Asheville.”
On the team are five certified firefighters and three civilians, among them the manager and two peer support specialists with lived experience — the latter of which have not yet been hired.
The program is intended as the city's first line of response to homelessness and support for others in crisis, working citywide seven days a week, from approximately 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Why now?
AFD created the pilot program as part of the Downtown Safety Initiative, which began as a 60-day push to create a more visible police presence in downtown Asheville. The initiative was continued beyond the initial 60 days through "new and ongoing enhancements to services," per the project page.
At the time, city leaders said it was a "data-driven" approach. It came amid escalating calls last spring around downtown safety, from business owners, residents, downtown-oriented organizations, local news outlets and council members.
A February Citizen Times investigation found despite the focus there, problems with safety are not primarily downtown. Three of Asheville's public housing units have a higher rate of violent crime than downtown, but police spent over nine times the amount of crime prevention hours in Asheville's city center than in all of public housing combined during 2023, a July investigation showed.
Recent crime numbers, reported by Asheville police in late July, showed that although overall crime has dropped in Asheville so far this year compared to the same time last year, violent crime has slightly increased. The city is still seeing a drop in violent crime after a “historic spike” in 2022, Police Chief Mike Lamb said.
What's the goal of the program?
The Community Responder Program is not focused solely downtown. Bechel said the primary goal is to "proactively interact with those in crisis."
It is intended to fill gaps, she said. It helps to make connections to resources and provide services when "no law is being broken," according to a July 25 news release.
“(Community responders) are really able to actually sit with these individuals much longer than any other team has been able to in the past. That’s the role that they’re filling that we haven’t been able to do before," she said.
In analyzing data from April 2023 to June 2024, Bechel said the department found that over half of the time community responders are providing support to meet "general basic needs." That's things like food, water and outdoor gear; wellness checks; basic first aid and wound care; basic crisis intervention and de-escalation; resource education; and transportation.
The release said the department anticipates hiring for the peer support positions in the fall. The five firefighters are on the ground now, Bechel said. To reach them, the city is directing people through APD's non-emergency number. If health or safety is a serious concern, she recommends calling 911.
Public safety professionals will dispatch the most appropriate personnel for the situation, which may include community responders.
The Community Responder Program works parallel to APD, she said, as well as the county's community paramedic program.
Encampment response
Implementation of an encampment resolution policy was among the leading recommendations from the National Alliance to End Homelessness, whichpresented its plan for ending unsheltered homelessness to the city and county in January 2023.
Bechel said an interdepartmental team worked to hone in on the policy and clarify "all the internal roles in our communication."
Now any reports of encampments will begin with community responders, Bechel said. The city also continues to contract with Homeward Bound for street outreach.
In the past, she said, the city has not had anyone to fill the specific role of encampment response. APD's homelessness policy, last revised in February 2022, did away with the original procedure's seven-day notice required before asking people to vacate encampments.
Bechel said, depending on the circ*mstance, police may still respond to encampments, but a majority of the time, community responders are able to be the "first touchpoint."
The city did not provide its written encampment policy or procedure prior to deadline.
At a July 25 meeting of the city's Homelessness Initiative Advisory Committee — where members voted to recommend dissolution of the board in an effort to consolidate work with the newly restructured Continuum of Care — its closeout report documented some of its progress on advancing the Alliance's recommendation around an encampment policy.
The CoC is a collaborative, community-driven planning body responsible for coordinating a system of homelessness response.
The report said that a HIAC encampment work group met for several months to "discuss and strategize about this challenging issue and developed key policy guidelines to be considered going forward." It recommended a subcommittee or work group be appointed by the CoC governing board to carry the work forward.
More information about the city's homelessness services, and who to call if someone needs help, can be found at ashevillenc.gov/service/find-support-for-issues-related-to-homelessness/.
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Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on X, formerly Twitter, at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with asubscriptionto the Citizen Times.
