Safe Shelter
We are a Safe Shelter that provides community and supports people to secure permanent housing. We create a welcoming space where all families and all people can feel at home.
Safe Shelter is a nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status recognized by the IRS.
Safe Shelter Referrals
Safe Shelter
Home Hub, 27 Balm Grove Ave
By Referral Only.
Referrals can be made online or in person at Home Hub from 12-2pm Monday through Friday.
Serving families and individuals with barriers to traditional shelters.
WASE: West Avl Street Engagement Team
WASE is collaborative street outreach team dedicated to supporting people without shelter in West Asheville. We operate with a multidisciplinary structure and offer wraparound services and linkages to shelter, housing, treatment and more.
WASE includes:
Two Outreach Coordinators who are certified Peer Support Specialists
A Mental Health Clinician
A Doctor of Nursing Practice
Community Health Workers
ATHENA: Affordable Tiny Home Educational Network of Asheville
ATHENA creates new opportunities for affordable and safe housing by combining education, workforce development, and community-based construction to produce affordable tiny homes for people who have experienced homelessness or housing instability. The program lowers construction costs through donated materials and volunteer labor while maintaining professional oversight and safety standards.
If you’re interested in:
helping build
sharing professional expertise
donating tools/materials
partnering with us to offer land for the tiny homes
Plug in here. ATHENA has open Community Build Days Tuesdays from 3-7pm and Sundays from 1:30-5:30pm.
Donate Supplies
Most needed supplies:
contractor trash bags
paper towels and toilet paper
coffee, creamer & sugar
cleaning wipes, cleaning products
laundry detergent
Due to lack of space, we CANNOT accept clothing or toy donations.
Drop off donations between 12pm-8pm
Mon-Fri, or 8am-12pm Sat & Sun at:
Safe Shelter
Home: West Asheville Community Hub, 27 Balm Grove Ave, Asheville
Volunteer with us!
Join us for Community Dinner every Weds at 6:30pm!
Meet the Team
-
![]()
Christian Chambers
SAFE SHELTER DIRECTOR
-
![]()
Shana Baynard
ASST TO THE DIRECTOR
-
![]()
Front Line Staff
PEER SUPPORTS & CHWs
Quick Facts
Fully-staffed by an trauma-informed & experienced team.
Prioritizing families w/minor children and welcoming BIPOC and LGBTQ+.
Walk-in Resource & Referral help available from 12-2pm Monday - Friday.
We serve minor children, so cannot accept registered sex offenders.
Community Health Workers, Peer Support Specialists and a Clinician support guests with permanent housing, employment, childcare, health and other needs.
FAQs
-
Safe Shelter is a small emergency shelter designed to fill the gaps in WNC shelters. We specialize in keeping families facing homelessness together and providing a safe space for People of Color and LGBTQ+.
Most shelters operate as men’s and women’s dormitories, so a husband and wife and children must split up in order to receive shelter. This is also typically the case for a single mother and her teenage son(s). There are also few options for single fathers.
Safe Shelter allows families to shelter together and give space to those who have had challenges in larger shelters. Safe Shelter has grown from Trinity United Methodists Church’s (TUMC) 2021 Emergency Shelter and Winter Safe Shelter the next winter.
-
Safe Shelter is located at Home: West Asheville Community Hub, 27 Balm Grove Ave, Asheville, NC 28806.
We share a campus with Trinity United Methodist Church and Deep Time.
We share our building, Home: West Asheville Community Hub, with Mutual Aid Wellness Collective, Home Base Barbershop, Good Vibes Consignment, Hawk Hill Learning Community, Little Field School and more.
-
Folks can enter the shelter by referral or come to our drop-in hours Monday through Friday from noon - 2pm.
We use a Community Health Worker and Peer Support model to connect with our guests. Our primary goal is to connect our guests with permanent housing. Additionally, we help them achieve their goals in areas including employment, education, childcare, transportation and mental health.
We welcome volunteers and meal donations.
-
We are grateful for the wealth of experience in our community from those who have been serving our unhoused neighbors for years. We partner and work closely with 12 Baskets; ABCCM; BeLoved; Elida Homes; Equal Plates; Homeward Bound; Haywood Street Respite, Helpmate; the Rescue Mission, Salvation Army; Umoja Health, Wellness and Justice Collective; the Veteran’s Administration, and other community providers.
Our trained Peer Support staff, Community Health Workers or Core Team members are on-site at all times the shelter is open.
We work with Community Paramedics to address health needs.
We welcome volunteers from all walks.
Counterflow LLC is supporting this initiative with participatory program design, leadership meeting facilitation, operations management and policy development, volunteer coordination and appreciation support, recruiting, training, and hiring staff, and empowerment evaluation/reporting.
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS
