The Public Housing Advocacy Coalition (PHAC) is a new Asheville group comprised of public housing residents, representatives from community organizations and concerned citizens (including me). One of the things that frustrates me about Asheville is the general lack of awareness about our public housing communities. I am hoping this group will be able to contribute to increased awareness and support.  Click here to follow PHAC on Facebook.

The main focus of PHAC right now is getting the word out about the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville’s (HACA) plan to shift their funding to HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD). There are many possible implications for this, including the fact that it opens the door to a shift to private ownership of public housing.

Below are links to a few articles about HACA and RAD, I encourage you to read them.

The Asheville Blade:

Different roads: the future of Asheville’s public housing

Carolina Public Press:

Asheville public housing agency, residents facing unprecedented overhaul

Asheville housing authority to meet with residents about overhaul concerns

As you can tell from this blog, I am interested in seeing Asheville shift our long time status quo of dysfunctional racial and socio-economic dynamics. There are a lot of good heart-ed people living here that I like to believe can make Asheville a better place for everyone. I’d love to hear your thoughts about strategies for creating this shift, either in the comments below, or via email: amiworthen at gmail.

In the meantime, I’ll keep posting on this blog about groups and individuals that I see taking action in positive directions.

Photos by Matt Rose/Carolina Public Press