Mercy left the Navy uncertain of her next steps. She wasn’t trained to be a plumber, electrician, accountant, or engineer — she was trained to operate, maintain, and repair weapons aboard a Naval vessel. It was a skill set that had few applications in civilian life, and she had given up college for it. She had hoped that the military would provide a better path for her future, but she left feeling that it did not.
This feeling of aimless wandering caused severe depression that worsened over the years. To cope, Mercy turned to using substances. She says her following choices led her to five years in prison. Once released, Mercy knew that something had to change. She needed to make different choices, and she needed better opportunities.
Like others with a history of incarceration, Mercy hit walls when it came to finding a home that would accept her background, and living in a tent wasn’t going to cut it. In need of temporary shelter, Mercy connected with ABCCM’s Transformation Village, which then connected with Homeward Bound’s Supportive Services for Veteran Families Rapid Rehousing program to assist with permanent housing and case management. This was the opportunity she needed.
“I knew with my background, it was not going to look pretty,” shares Mercy, who struggled to find an affordable home in post-Helene Asheville. “I wasn’t going to be able to get a place by myself. Having a program where you have landlords that will work with you and give you that chance to prove yourself —that was life-changing.”
Today, Mercy has lived in her home with her partner for over a year. Mercy is proud of the sense of ownership and accountability she feels because her name is on her lease. She’s also very proud of her work as the Operations Manager at Deep Time, a local coffee shop that works with people who have been impacted by incarceration.
“I’ve been at Deep Time for almost two years,” she says. “And it’s been a journey —a journey in finding yourself and finding the possibilities that you may not have been able to go after before. Some of these resources, like Homeward Bound, have really opened up a lot of opportunities for me.”
Mercy and her SSVF Case Manager, Jack.
Thanks to the stability of home and employment, Mercy has developed other skills aligned with her goal of building a career with Deep Time, including earning her Community Health Worker Certification and enrolling in the Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor program. She hopes to help Deep Time grow and open new locations to offer better opportunities to others.
In her free time, Mercy loves to cook, crochet, and be with her friends, all things she values dearly. Previously, she never had a stable place to keep her belongings. The simple fact that she has a home and a place to store her yarn means the world to her. She believes barriers like the ones she faced shouldn’t exist when all they do is hold people back from success.
“Let go of the stigma that society has drilled in every one of our heads…. Just because you’ve had that background does not mean that this person is a throwaway person. If they’re given the right resources, they will prove to you that they are worth something. And given the right opportunities, they will flourish, they will grow, and you’d be very surprised.”
Brooke and Kelso met on the streets of Asheville. Their paths had crossed once or twice, but it wasn’t until one freezing morning on a bus that they connected. Brooke noticed Kelso sitting alone, wearing only shorts and a T-shirt. From his expression, she could tell something was wrong. She handed him a sweater, an extra she didn’t know why she had that morning, and felt she couldn’t leave his side until she knew he would be okay. Soon after, they began dating and surviving on the streets together.
Brooke
Brooke was born and raised in North Carolina. After her parents’ separation, she moved frequently as her mother remarried. Her father’s addiction and her mother’s focus on her career left Brooke feeling deprived of love and affection. She describes her upbringing as a “typical broken family: divorce and alcoholism.”
As a young adult, Brooke watched her friends marry, have children, and build their own lives. She entered her 20s hoping to do the same. She graduated from college, became a registered nurse, and bought her first apartment at 24. While she valued her independence, the pressure of maintaining her mortgage quickly became overwhelming.
“I was always stressed about money,” Brooke says. “Even as a nurse making $50,000 a year, I was constantly worried about how I was going to make it. I always felt two weeks away from losing everything…Homeownership in America is not what it used to be.”
Brooke took a huge blow to her stability when her fiancé walked out on her. Not long after, her sister was diagnosed with cancer, and her grandmother passed away. Then, after being bitten by a venomous snake, Brooke was prescribed opioids to cope with the pain. The combination of these experiences and unresolved trauma led to Brooke developing an addiction. Under severe stress, she walked away from her mortgage and became homeless.
Kelso
Kelso grew up in a low-income neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland. From an early age, he experienced violence, addiction, and poverty. He remembers being shot when he was 12 years old and waking up on a table with a tag on his foot. He also remembers his mother struggling with addiction, and his stepfather telling him that selling drugs was the only way to help his family.
“We moved every six months to a year,” Kelso says. “We were always getting evicted. I had six siblings, and we were all starving. I got tired of seeing my younger brother and sister go hungry, wearing the same clothes.”
At 14, Kelso was arrested for selling drugs and sent to a juvenile detention center. His mother and father told him he couldn’t come home when he was released. Without a place to stay, Kelso train-hopped across the country with other teens with similar backgrounds. He said traveling was liberating and thrilling until he was involved in a severe car accident that resulted in multiple surgeries on his back and knees. The physical and emotional pain caused years of depression.
He eventually made his way to Asheville, where he has lived for the last 10 years. Two years ago, his mother and aunt passed away within months of each other. After learning of his mother’s death over the phone, he felt at his lowest point and took a bus to a mental health clinic. That’s when he met Brooke.
Together
As a couple, Brooke and Kelso slept wherever they could in Asheville. Often, they were moved along by police and fined for trespassing. While homelessness itself is not a crime, local ordinances can make it nearly impossible to find a safe place to sleep outside. Outside of Code Purple season, which offers night shelter during the winter, shelters typically only have space for one person from a couple. Most people aren’t comfortable leaving their partners while they sleep surrounded by strangers.
In the final months before being housed, the couple was permitted to live in a shed behind an office building. For the first time in a while, they had a place to rest. They could lock the door and protect both their belongings and themselves.
After connecting with the AHOPE Day Center, Brooke and Kelso were slated for Permanent Supportive Housing at Compass Point Village. They received a call from Luc Gay, Homeward Bound’s Coordinated Entry Program Manager, telling them they could move in that week. The couple signed their first lease together on Brooke’s birthday.
Seven months later, Brooke and Kelso are settling into their new home. They access medical and behavioral healthcare through Appalachian Mountain Health, our on-site medical partner. Their case manager, Erin, is helping connect Brooke to disability benefits. More than anything, both of them want to work. Brooke is driven to earn her own income so she can pay rent. For now, they are focused on allowing their nervous systems time to reacclimatize.
“They’re both pretty grounded,” says Erin. “Their situation reflects well what happens when you’ve been houseless for a number of years. It can be overwhelming and a little claustrophobic.”
In their personal lives, Brooke says she felt starved for information while living on the streets and now watches YouTube videos to catch up on what she missed. She dreams of starting a food truck for music festivals, inspired by her teenage years as a roadie for the Grateful Dead. What matters most to her now is healing from the trauma she has experienced and the relationship she has built with her case manager.
“This goes very deep for me,” says Brooke. “Erin cried when she got us into the apartment. Nobody has ever shown that kind of emotion to help someone they didn’t even know. Her heart is in it.”
Kelso enjoys skateboarding and playing guitar. Both of his parents have passed away, which has been very hard for him. He encourages everyone to call their parents every day if they have the opportunity. What matters most to him is Brooke’s safety and well-being.
“It’s a relief,” he says. “It’s nice knowing that no matter what, she has housing more than anything.”
Mark your calendars for one of Asheville’s most anticipated spring evenings of art, community and connection. Mosaic Community Lifestyle Realty’s Art Walk & Benefit returns on Thursday, May 7, 2026, from 5 to 8 p.m., bringing together downtown Asheville’s vibrant creative scene in support of local nonprofits.
This free public event will unfold across 11 downtown Asheville galleries and creative spaces, inviting attendees to stroll from stop to stop to experience inspiring artwork and connect with organizations doing meaningful work in Western North Carolina. Each location will be paired with a different nonprofit partner and hosted by Mosaic agents, for a night that celebrates both creativity and impact – all against the eclectic backdrop and electric energy of downtown Asheville.
April 24, 2026 | Goodwill Workforce Career Center, Asheville, NC
About the Event
At Homeward Bound’s 2026 Open Forum, community members, elected officials, and local leaders came together to discuss the challenges and solutions surrounding housing and homelessness in Asheville and Buncombe County. Below is a summary of key points from the conversation for those who were unable to attend.
Deficit of 7.2 Million Homes
The discussion began with a statistic shared at the 14th Annual Welcome Home Luncheon: in the 1970s, the United States had a surplus of 300,000 homes. Today, our country faces a shortage of 7.2 million homes*. This gap is reshaping both the housing market and the broader economy. Currently, there are only 35 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income households. As housing becomes more limited, middle-income earners such as teachers, firefighters, and laborers are pushed into lower-cost housing markets, leaving even fewer options for those with the lowest incomes.
One of the barriers discussed was the declining rate of affordable housing development. Our keynote speaker, Jeff Olivet, shared that many builders have stepped away from affordable housing because the costs often outweigh the financial return. At the same time, reductions in public mental health and substance use services have made it more difficult for people to maintain housing stability. Together, these trends have intensified the housing crisis, but they also point clearly to where solutions must focus.
Three Main Challenges
The challenges can be understood in three areas: we are not building enough housing, affordable housing has become financially unviable, and critical support systems that help people remain housed have been reduced. Encouragingly, the solutions mirror these challenges. Communities must make housing financially viable to build, ensure that housing is high-quality and integrated into neighborhoods, and pair housing with supportive services and prevention efforts.
One example of this approach in action is the Right at Home initiative, which aims to prevent homelessness for 1,000 Asheville households over the next three years. With $5 million in flexible funding, the program is designed to provide assistance to households at risk of losing their homes, intervening early before a housing crisis occurs.
Focusing on What Already Works
The forum also emphasized that effective solutions already exist. Communities across the country are making meaningful progress by investing in proven, people-centered strategies. Rather than limiting resources or dividing the pie, the conversation focused on expanding what works so more people can access the support they need. Guests discussed how proposed federal housing policy changes could impact low-income neighbors in our community, including a rule that could put millions at risk of losing rental assistance. This includes 40-hour-per week work requirements and two-year assistance limits for people who need public housing and healthcare.***
Homeward Bound CEO Simon Dwight added an international perspective, drawing from his experience advising the UK government. He highlighted innovative approaches such as mixed-use developments and creative partnerships to address unsheltered homelessness, including collaborations with the Church of England to build temporary, movable housing on underutilized land.
The discussion concluded with a reminder of the collective impact of our community as a whole. The hundreds of individuals engaged across the luncheon and forum represent a growing movement committed to ending homelessness. As Jeff shared, “You are an army. You can’t fail.”
Citations
*National Low Income Housing Coalition, “The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes” (March 2026)
**Phillips, Manville, Lens, “Research Roundup: The Effect of Market-Rate Development on Neighborhood Rents,” UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies (February 2021).
***Gartland, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “Nearly 3.7 Million People at Risk of Losing Needed Rental Assistance to Harsh Time Limit and Work Requirement Proposal.”
Homeward Bound is deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Nicholas Poulos. Nicholas was a dedicated and passionate advocate for our mission to end homelessness in our community through housing and support. During his nearly 3 years as our Rapid Rehousing Case Manager, he helped countless individuals exit homelessness, find stability in a new home, and build the tools needed to navigate barriers and pursue new opportunities.
Nicholas was also an active participant in our local Continuum of Care, the collaborative responsible for developing and implementing strategies to address homelessness in Buncombe County. He approached this work not simply as a job, but as a reflection of who he was—deeply committed, compassionate, and driven by a belief in community. Nicholas leaves behind a lasting legacy and a culture rooted in collaboration, care, and the shared work of building community together.
“I slept and dreamed that life was joy. I awoke and found that life was but service. I served and discovered that service was joy.”
– Rabindranath Tagore
Our hearts are with Nicholas’s family and friends. We would welcome the opportunity to connect about his impact and the memorial fund created to honor his memory.
Words from staff
– Jenny Moffatt, Housing Services Director
“Nicholas really embodied who we are as an organization. His life reflected our values – everyone has the right to housing, everyone deserves to be treated with dignity, respect, empathy, and holding hope for our clients. These things were just who Nicholas was, he was a fierce advocate for his clients and went above and beyond to offer them the support they needed to create stability.
So when I think of Nicholas and his time at Homeward Bound, I simply see him as the walking, talking embodiment of our work that he lived both on the clock and in his personal life. His teammates knew they could count on him to show up. Whether that was helping another case manager with cleaning a client unit, picking up donations, or just being willing to carry the heavy box up the steps to their office, Nicholas was servant-hearted and joyful to help.
He had so much pride in his work as a Rapid Rehousing Case Manager at Homeward Bound, maybe more than I’ve seen in my 10 years at HB. I feel honored that I have been able to work alongside and become a better advocate for our work through his example.”
– Rion Gray, Residential Safety Advisor Lead
“Nic was such a genuine young man. He listened to hear people in a world full of people who listen to respond. He never pushed his own agenda in front of anybody else’s but yet he still brought life to a conversation. He was observant and attentive in the now and looked you in the eyes so you knew he wanted to hear what you had to say. He will be missed by all who had the pleasure to be around him and I will for sure be one of the many in that crowd. Nic, you did great buddy, thanks for allowing us to be a part of it.“
– Trisha Ecklund, Outreach Program Manager
“I will be present and I will continue the hard work everyday, because that is what you would tell me to do. I won’t forget, but I will not stall. You really got it, the thing that not everyone understands. You got it. Blessed to have been part of your journey. There is a deep void after you left. That means you had GREAT IMPACT.”
The Nicholas Poulos Fund for Rapid Rehousing
With blessings from his family, we have established the Nicholas Poulos Fund for Rapid Rehousing to honor Nicholas’ commitment to serving our community’s most vulnerable neighbors. This fund supports Homeward Bound’s Rapid Rehousing program and the people Nicholas served as a Case Manager at our organization.
We wanted to take a moment to thank you for honoring the life and work of Nicholas Poulos by donating to The Nicholas Poulos Fund for Rapid Rehousing. We’ve been so touched by the support that has come in to celebrate Nicholas’s life and the care he showed so many people in our community.
Because of your generosity, the Fund has already raised more than $25,000 to help neighbors in our Rapid Rehousing program — people who are working hard to get back on their feet and move toward stable housing.
We wanted to share one story of how your gifts are already making a difference. We’re especially grateful to share this update with you on Nicholas’s birthday. We hope it brings some comfort to know that his kindness and impact continue to live on through the lives being changed by this Fund every day.
Because of your support
Recently, we were able to help a couple who entered our program while Nicholas was still part of the Homeward Bound team. Both individuals obtained employment and had been working hard to maintain stability, but after about a year in housing, the place they were living just wasn’t affordable anymore once travel costs and other expenses were factored into their budget.
Normally, our grant funding wouldn’t have allowed us to help with another security deposit. But because Nicholas’s Fund is flexible, we were able to step in and help them move into a new home that made more sense financially and was closer to work. The Fund also helped cover overdue utility bills so they could start fresh and settle in successfully.
A Personal Note from Nicholas’s Parents, Michael Poulos and Julie Lehman:
“We are heartened by the outpouring of love expressed through so many donations in Nicholas’s memory. Watching the donations pour into Homeward Bound in the days and weeks since his death has eased our pain and renewed our hope that he won’t be forgotten.
The fact that these funds are already being used to meet the needs of people Nicholas served is a reflection of how well Homeward Bound honors Nicholas’s passion for housing as a human right.
Thank you for remembering him in this way. Your love and compassion are sustaining us in our grief, and for that we are grateful to you and to God.”
Thank you again for being part of continuing his legacy and helping our neighbors move toward stability and home.
Creating Community
Nicholas is featured in the short film, Creating Community, alongside his Rapid Rehousing client Jonathan. The relationships that case managers build with their clients create community.
“I’ve seen a lot of just gratitude and love from Jonathan, and that he has this apartment that he can call home, and he’s grateful because he’s been through that adversity and gotten to this point in his life that he can think more about making music and having some quiet to write poetry.”
Tana is a strong and motivated individual who has felt like an adult since she was 11 years old. She is a survivor of domestic violence, forced institutionalization, homelessness, and other traumatic experiences—many of which were caused by people who were supposed to love and support her. Without consistent, early support systems, Tana faced ongoing barriers to housing, education, and stability. Her story reveals how intergenerational domestic violence and poverty play in the lives of many women and families experiencing homelessness.
Tana moved to Asheville with her mother and siblings in an effort to get as far away as possible from her violent and abusive father. At the time, the family was already living in a domestic violence shelter. When her parents’ divorce was finalized, the court determined that they needed to move at least four states away from her father for their safety.
Starting over in an unfamiliar place was restrictive and overwhelming, but Tana focused on school and supporting her family. Her mother worked and attended massage school while Tana took on summer internships and part-time jobs to contribute to rent. Eventually, she graduated from high school and was accepted into a college in Central Florida, achievements she says were hard to earn.
At 19, Tana began pursuing an associate’s degree in arts and science. However, after her first year, she lacked the financial resources to continue a second semester. During this time, she was living with a partner, someone she loved, who became abusive.
“As a child of domestic violence, it’s like I brought that over into my relationships,” says Tana. “It was normal.”
Tana’s first experience sleeping outside began when her partner would kick her out, leaving her to sleep in her car parked outside their home. Because his name was the only one on the lease, Tana had little control over her living situation. Her last remaining support system was her paternal grandparents, though they often sided with Tana’s father since the divorce. Nonetheless, Tana needed a place to stay and moved in with them. This is where things became increasingly unstable.
Tana’s paternal grandparents were deeply involved in a cult and its harmful practices, creating a fearful environment. One night, after reaching her breaking point, the police were called. Despite her attempts to explain what was happening, the police assumed that Tana was lying and involuntarily committed her to a mental health institution. This experience was devastating for Tana. For 20 days, Tana pleaded for someone to believe her as she learned she was at risk of being placed under conservatorship by a judge. Eventually, a staff member listened, believed her, and helped secure her release.
By that point, she wanted nothing to do with her grandparents and was unable to move back in with her mother. With no remaining support system to rely on, Tana became homeless. Over the next decade, she struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and deep trust issues. Unfortunately, Tana experienced another traumatic experience when she attempted to reconnect with her father in hopes of having a place to stay. As a result, she fell into a downward spiral and developed an addiction to cope with the pain of her past.
Living on the streets in Asheville was extremely difficult. Tana stayed in abandoned buildings, in the woods, and with friends whenever possible. Over the years, she held jobs while homeless, including work as a certified nursing assistant and with a local city department. Despite her efforts, housing remained out of reach. Rent prices were unaffordable, and even motel rooms were often inaccessible due to policies that made it difficult for people with in-state IDs to book. Carrying everything she owned from place to place took a toll on her body and well-being.
“I can’t tell you the number of times that I had strap burns and backpack rub all against me just because I was trying to keep onto the few things that I had left.”
Tana
While experiencing homelessness in Asheville, Tana began visiting the AHOPE Day Center. There, she met AHOPE Program Manager Kris, who became a reliable and encouraging source of support. Through AHOPE, Tana was able to receive her mail, regain important legal documents, and access essentials like coffee, food, and showers. For the first time in a long while, Tana could see a real opportunity for stability and healing. In the summer of 2025, she received life-changing news: an apartment was ready for her at Homeward Bound’s Compass Point Village.
“This is the first time I’ve been on a lease,” shares Tana, reflecting on how difficult it became to find a home that was truly her own until the age of 30. “I’m starting to build some stuff back up. Things that bring me happiness and joy. Some of the things I have don’t have the sentimental value of the stuff I lost. I will never get back that beautiful scarf that I got while I was in France, I will never get my high school diploma back and the gifts from friends who passed away.”
She hopes her story encourages the Asheville community to reflect on how people experiencing homelessness are treated, particularly based on appearance. “People treat you differently when they see you and think that you’re a homeless person.” Without housing, maintaining hygiene was often difficult and deeply embarrassing. At times, she worked hard to stay clean so people would allow her to sleep on their couch, often washing up in gas station bathrooms.
Five months into her new home, Tana has the stability she needs to work toward her goals. She’s sober, searching for employment, and hopes to return to college to complete her degree, with the long-term goal of becoming a cosmetologist. While challenges remain—such as gaps in her resume due to years of homelessness—Tana remains determined. She is supported by several meaningful relationships, including her Case Manager, Amanda.
Despite the many challenges she has faced, Tana finds motivation from the glimpses of joy in her life. She remembers visiting France with her high school, driving across the country, and other meaningful moments that motivate her goals of rebuilding her life and traveling again.
“I’ve recentered myself,” shares Tana. “I tried not to let all the torture that I endured affect my mental health. I always tried to keep some goal alive or an aspiration to hold onto so that I didn’t lose my mind. I’m happy now that I have my own space where I can go to be recluse…I’ve got a home base.”
Statistics on intergenerational domestic violence and homelessness: Research shows that poverty and domestic violence often have intergenerational effects on families and their well-being. Studies estimate that up to 40% of children raised in violent households are at an increased risk of experiencing long-term trauma and becoming victims of domestic violence in adulthood[1]. Additional research shows that 10.7% of children born into poverty will spend at least half of their lives living in poverty.[2] Together, these findings reinforce that intergenerational poverty and violence are not the result of a single crisis, but of systemic factors passed down across generations.
[1] J. Kaufman et al. “Do abused children become abusive parents?” The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry (1987)
[2] Monica Privette-Black. “Intergenerational Poverty in the United States.” Ballard Brief. May 2021. www.ballardbrief.org.
“
