Written by Casey Hite, CEO at Aeroflow Health
Earlier this month, I was honored to have the opportunity to speak at and be among the sponsors of the Nourish & Nest event hosted by Haywood Street Community Development, a collaborative effort between Cúrate and Chai Pani, featuring Asheville’s renowned chefs Katie Button and Meherwan Irani.
This fundraising event highlighted a cause that is very close to my heart, affordable housing. The money raised at this event will go towards a building project that will consist of 41 deeply affordable rental units in Buncombe County, North Carolina. It is expected to house at least 60 people, with sixteen units of two-bedroom and four units of three-bedroom apartments to best support struggling families.
The intent is to create an atmosphere that speaks of individual worth, to create homes, not just housing. Proper housing is what can make a crucial difference in a child’s ability to learn, have positive friendships, and develop into the best adults they can.
A study by Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry from April 2022 revealed that 184 women and children were on the housing waitlist. In 2020, Western North Carolina had more than 280,000 residents fall into one or more of the “special needs housing” categories. One of those categories is single parent households. These numbers call for action from local organizations and businesses like Aeroflow Health. We need to do our part to help our neighbors. Partnering with Haywood Street Community Development in promoting radical inclusion and providing deeply affordable housing is one way Aeroflow hopes to help transform these statistics.
The project is a public-private-partnership with Buncombe County, the City of Asheville, and Dogwood HealthTrust. I personally want to thank James Beard Chef Katie Button of Cúrate, and James Beard Chef Meherwan Irani of Chai Pani as well as Burial Beer, East Fork, French Broad Chocolate, and Paddle Energy for also being a part of this fundraiser, which brought Haywood Street Community Development closer to its $1 million goal.
For more information, visit https://haywoodstreethousing.org/. There is no reason for homelessness in America and together, we can make a difference in ending it.
