For years, Asheville, North Carolina, marketed itself as a mountain escape known for its breweries, boutique hotels and Blue Ridge views. But residents and critics say a different reality has taken shape after Hurricane Helen: panhandling at intersections, public intoxication, encampments and an unsafe city.
Carl Mumpower, a private practice clinical psychologist, lifelong Asheville resident and former City Council member who served from 2001 to 2009, said the city’s current challenges stem from decisions made over decades.
“Asheville began efforts to address homelessness at least three decades ago. This effort was accelerated in the early part of this century with the first ‘Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness,'” Mumpower told Fox News Digital.
“That plan was ill-advised but passed by an overwhelming majority. At the time, I suggested to the council that any plan to remove individual accountability from the aid equation would fail.”
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Homeless people peddle for money and play music in downtown Asheville, North Carolina.
(Getty Images)
Mampower said the city is continuing on the same path as before.
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“That plan and subsequent plans have failed with equal gusto. Homelessness, drug abuse and related crimes have steadily increased under the watchful eye of local homelessness experts and a government body dominated by liberal Democrats and those with more extreme views on the left. That lack of balance — the last conservative on the council — was a repeat error of 0 in 9.”
He also argued that city leaders relied on ideas that were not based on practical solutions.
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Downtown Asheville is struggling to deal with homelessness and crime, critics say.
“In terms of homelessness, Asheville has a consistent history of pursuing hypothetical interventions into more realistic, measurable and trackable solutions.”
The Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care, a local, government-backed coalition responsible for coordinating federal homelessness planning and services in Asheville and Buncombe County, said the region’s homelessness is at its highest level on record in its latest count.
Data from the group’s 2026 point-in-time survey found 824 people experiencing homelessness, a 9.1% increase from 2025. That includes 334 homeless people, which was 1.8% more than the previous year. About 500 others were in shelters or transitional housing, with continuity of care attributed in part to expanded emergency shelter and transitional housing capacity.
People walk through downtown Asheville, North Carolina.
These “hypothetical interventions,” Mumpower said, were accompanied by efforts to fund the city’s police department.
“The political disintegration of the police department council — resulting in a 40% cut due to retirements and resignations — has had a dramatic effect on crime in Asheville,” he said. “Many ‘minor’ crimes are no longer enforced or realistically tracked, and the return on investment costs have increased. We have officers earning over $150,000 in overtime last year due to manpower shortages. Enforcement is not possible without adequate, motivated staff.”
“The direct impact on residents is increased and unenforced crime, direct exposure to drug addiction and violent street behavior, and heavy taxes and fees to pursue the pretense of recycling programs.”
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Homelessness and crime are rampant in downtown Asheville, critics say.
Mumpawar said many local residents have stopped going to the city.
“The single most common phrase uttered by residents of the county and surrounding areas is ‘I don’t go to the city anymore – it’s bad, crazy and scary,'” he said.
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He said that tourism will also be affected as chaos increases in the center of the city.
“Tourism has been affected, and the ones we attract are often not coming here as families, but as parties looking to join the fray.”
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The people of Asheville worked together to support each other as they struggled to return to normal life after Hurricane Helen in September 2024.
The issue took on added urgency after Hurricane Helen devastated parts of western North Carolina in September 2024.
Michael Whatley, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina, said the storm had increased hardship in the region and exposed failures in the government’s response.
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“The biggest problem set that we’re facing, obviously, is storm relief coming on the heels of Hurricane Helen, and the Biden administration and Roy Cooper, when he was governor, failed miserably to help that situation in terms of storm pursuit,” Whatley told Fox News Digital.
Watley said the administration’s clearing of relief funds will help residents get back on their feet.
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“As part of President Trump’s administration’s response, $1.4B was made available by HUD for housing relief,” Whatley said. “And there’s been a lot of movement in the last month or so with FEMA in terms of disaster relief that they’re making available to homeowners out there.”
“We’re certainly not ready to hang a mission accomplished sign by any stretch of the imagination. But the federal relief that the federal government has put into western North Carolina as a result of any storm is greater than ever.”
The Asheville, North Carolina, skyline is shown at sunset. The city, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Buncombe County, experienced a 31% increase in violent crime from 2016 to 2020.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the city of Asheville said officials continue to focus on public safety.
“This month we launched the Asheville Police Department’s Downtown Plan that will essentially double police patrols downtown — increasing day and night patrols and, in some cases, responding with trained mental health counselors. Our REST Team program is an operational response to reducing the effects of homelessness,” the city said. “It uses specially trained Asheville Fire Department personnel to work with concerned residents and people experiencing homelessness to solve problems and connect them with resources.”
A city spokeswoman also noted that officials expanded their panhandling ordinance and continued to work with community partners such as the Asheville Downtown Association and its Aided program.
Fox News Digital reached out to Cooper’s campaign, the Asheville mayor’s office and the police department for comment.
Original article source: Homeowners now battling homelessness who fled the once-lovely hills say the postcard town has turned into a no-go zone.
