By Kevin Eddings
K.P. Whaley sat down with David Forbes, editor and founder of the Asheville Blade, to discuss the reaction to the Asheville City Council meeting that took place on Jan. 17. Tensions boiled over as residents voiced outrage over the city’s efforts on the housing crisis post Helene. Asheville City Council approved a $2.5 million to the Asheville Chamber of Commerce fueling heavy criticism from Asheville Blade editor, David Forbes.
Asheville City Council isn’t prioritizing displaced families post Helene, according to Forbes. “In the same meeting that the city of Asheville passed a $2.5 million to a front group for the chamber of commerce to practically harass homeless people, you had people coming to the podium in absolute tears shouting about the reality they’re going through,” Forbes said.
Asheville post Helene has 3,000 people worried about where they will live when the FEMA housing assistance ends.
The Norwell’s family of Swannanoa expressed at the meeting that they’re running out of vouchers, and they fear for what could be them living in tents in the future.
The Asheville government only allocated around $100,000 for aid towards the housing crisis, according to Forbes. While the local government sits on $225 million that was given to the city for housing relief which the city stated they won’t be used until the summer adding that there will be a lengthy process for it. According to Forbes, the priority of the council as of right now is to see if Asheville can recover the costs.
“If you are a local wanting for aid that won’t be their priority,” Forbes said, expressing her outrage.
According to Forbes, people are going to be homeless in the near future due to Helene and the housing crises post Helene and that Asheville’s local government is more worried about passing a contract that would “police the homeless while 3,000 people in Asheville are on the break of homelessness with no help being given from the city to combat the problem.” She indicated that City officials like Mayor Esther Manheimer and council members Maggie Ullman and Bo Hess have repeatedly questioned FEMA representatives to see if funds could be diverted from helping homeowners and renters to instead help commercial property owners. “This is a significant sign of conflict of interest for the working class people of Asheville,” she said.