NCServes – Western Steps Up During A Time of Crisis

It’s no surprise our AmericaServes programs are stepping up in their communities to help everyone during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of those networks, NCServes-Western, is going above and beyond in the Asheville area and working across the state to help everyone – not just veterans. In the past couple weeks, NCServes-Western – part of the Veterans Services of the Carolinas (VSC) division of Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (ABCCM) – has worked in a variety of ways to assist and support both their community providers and partners to individual veterans and their families.

Efforts include:

  • Packing more than 300 food boxes a week with the ABCCM for the homeless population within the community.
  • Working to provide food boxes for the Asheville Charles George Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program, who transported these food boxes to veterans within the community.
  • VSC’s HOPE (Healing Outreach Partnerships for Empowerment) Peer Support Specialists Ricky Johnson and Ben Mattson continue to do outreach to the homeless population delivering food and hygiene kits. This program has helped and housed multiple veterans in the last three weeks during the pandemic.
  • Team members in the coastal region have been working closely with Seth’s Wish, a community provider that provides meals, food boxes, showers and hygiene items to the homeless population to ensure they have food but also can stay clean.
  • Our employment team has been distributing online learning opportunities to ensure our veterans in need of employment are still able to get the necessary training and certifications needed for gainful employment; working and coaching on Zoom video calls have supported social distancing while taking advantage of learning and training opportunities.
  • Partnered with Hope Mission of Morehead City to provide 10 cases of water bottles to be distributed to the homeless population.
  • VSC and NCServes-Western staff are volunteering at the Veterans Restoration Quarters to help serve meals during this time.

VSC reassures veterans they are still operating and ready to support any need that you may have during this time. Please visit our website at www.abccm-vsc.org to submit an assistance request or call 855-962-8387 to speak with one of our care coordinators.