“It puts a ‘little bean of hope’ in their day“
Chayse is one of the most resilient people I’ve met, and her journey is a powerful testament to determination and self-growth.
After losing both of her parents at four years old, Chayse was placed in the child welfare system. At age 11, she started an active addiction and dropped out of school in seventh grade. When she turned 16, she emancipated from her guardians and began crisscrossing the country aboard trains with a group of young train hoppers collectively known as “Dirty Kids.”
As she traveled, she would stay anywhere she could, including hotel rooms and friends’ couches. If she was lucky, she and some of the other women she worked with would rent a home for two or three months before eventually being evicted. In 1999, Chayse moved to Asheville, living in what she said was a combination of Buncombe County Detention Center and whatever woods she found safe enough to sleep in.
“The biggest struggle of being homeless,” she says, “is that most people experiencing homelessness don’t believe they’re worth having a home. They have no self-worth. A lot of people experiencing homelessness feel hopeless. Everything to them feels like a battle.”
Chayse says homelessness has become so common in Asheville, that people have become “immune” to it. She’s even experienced moments where people have yelled and thrown half-eaten food at her from their cars as they drove past. “When you’re already hopeless and feel like nobody cares, and people shout at you and belittle you, it doesn’t help.”
While interviewing over coffee, Chayse pointed to an abandoned building nearby and said she used to sleep on its roof. It would take her an entire day to go downtown to AHOPE to shower, eat, and come back, and by then, she would feel so sick from withdrawal symptoms that she would feel like the trip downtown wasn’t worth it. She went on to add that the supplies needed to be homeless are incredible. “If it’s cold outside, you’ve got to stay warm. If it’s raining, you’ve got to stay dry. That means you’re carrying all of your things everywhere you walk, just in case it rains or starts to freeze.”
In the winter of 2022, Chayse struggled to stay warm while sleeping under Patton Street Bridge as two feet of snow piled up around her tent. She collected almost 30 thin fleece blankets given out that winter into a small tent with a tarp over it. Inside, she created a homemade Sterno Fuel Can using rubbing alcohol, cotton balls, and Vaseline.
“You would need to burn through three to four bottles of rubbing alcohol to get through the night, which is dangerous when you have tons of blankets, a tent, and a tarp over you.”
She explained how rubbing alcohol’s clean-burning properties were the best way to stay warm in a tent without producing carbon monoxide. “Some people have knocked themselves out or poisoned themselves, just to stay warm.”
Chayse explained how dangerous it is for a woman to sleep outside. While staying by a secluded river, she noticed her tent stakes kept coming loose throughout the night, seemingly without reason. Suddenly, the tent was thrown open by three men wearing ski masks. Chayse was luckily able to escape, but she’s never felt more scared. Soon, she began tying ratchet straps to trees or poles to raise herself within her hammock high above the ground, just because she wanted to sleep without being robbed or hurt that night.
After getting into criminal trouble, Chayse realized she needed a bigger change to get clean and off the streets, and when her lawyer offered the possibility of probation, she said no. She told them she wanted to go to Drug Court, despite the rigorous requirements.
Since then, everything has changed. In September 2023, Drug Court placed her in a halfway house, connected her with mental health and substance use resources, and set her on the path to earning her GED.
By February 2024, Chayse was sober, had secured housing through Homeward Bound, passed her placement test, and after 18 hours of Academic Preparation, received her GED!
Chayse was recently featured on WLOS! Read more of her story here.
“Homelessness is a trauma response,” she said. “When you’re battling with addiction, all it takes is one wrong decision, one event, to turn to the streets. I believe housing is a human right. But I also believe people need to address their mental health to stay housed.”
This belief, fueled by earning her GED, has led Chayse to pursue a career as a case manager for organizations just like Homeward Bound. In March, she started working as a Behavioral Health Technician at a mental health center for adolescents, enrolled in AB-Tech for an Associate’s Degree in Human Services, and completed the NC Certified Peer Support Specialist program.
“I want to help people who I know that are still homeless today. I want to help people who’ve been housed see a better way of life through healing their mental health, or work with people coming out of jail on probation who don’t have access to the resources they need to recover.”
Chayse, who lives at Homeward Bound’s Key Commons, likes to keep an active schedule. She has responsibilities in her recovery group, has two sponsees, and loves taking care of her dog, Tripp, who she considers a hobby. She’s also dedicated time to helping other residents at Key Commons learn about how detox and substance use treatment works.
“They’ll ask me questions about being clean, my work, detoxing, and I always take the time to answer those important questions. It puts a ‘little bean of hope’ in their day. And the only thing a bean needs to grow is water.” Since moving to Key Commons, Chayse has helped two people enter a detox program and says both are still sober with one celebrating two months the day after we interviewed.
Chayse wants to encourage Asheville, and other communities impacted by homelessness, to treat people on the street with respect. She hopes that the city opens more public community centers, where individuals don’t have to feel excluded and have access to the same compassion and resources given to others.