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Ask Matt ... who counts homeless people?

Q. How many homeless people are there in Henderson County and where do they stay?

Counting homeless is not an exact science. Those among us without a permanent domicile don’t come to you to get counted so you have to seek them out. And they do get counted. This year it was done on Thursday, Jan. 26. Trina Hill is a social worker who helped with what is called “a point in time count.” Hill said seven teams of volunteer counters who covered all of Henderson County. The counters are affiliated with the Southern Mountains Homeless Coalition and team members represent many agencies including Social Services, Thrive, United Way, the Health Department and Pardee Hospital.
On the day of the count, teams visited shelters such as Safelight and the Hendersonville Rescue Mission. The harder task is to count homeless in unsupervised facilities such as campgrounds, vehicles and abandoned buildings. The counting teams get location tips from local law enforcement. When a potential homeless person is found, the standard question posed to each individual is “where did you sleep last night?” Homeless individuals move quickly, so the teams hit the road early in the morning.
Not every county does a count; last year 79 of 100 North Carolina counties attempted one. Our local homeless numbers came out as follows: 82 in sheltered facilities plus 30 counted as unsheltered for a total of 112 homeless. This is a significant increase from the 70 reported last year but surprisingly fewer than the 94 homeless reported in Transylvania County in 2016.
So what is done after the count? The numbers are forwarded to the North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness. From there, Hill said that it all eventually gets reported to Congress.

Q. What is the story on the log house being renovated on N.C. 191 just north of Blythe Street?

The house, at 1926 Haywood Road, is owned by Diane Newman and Patrick Tighe, who bought the property in 2016 to fix up and use as a vacation home. The contractor is David Mann who specializes in log home restoration. He said this is a unique vertical pine log home which was built in 1906 as a summer vacation home.
“When I started this job there was nothing level or square in this house,” said Mann.
The home has knotty pine siding in the living area and a stairway leading to a loft. Mann said the original windows will stay. The chimney leans a little but is still serviceable. He has added a bathroom and will put on a metal roof. The listed tax value of the old structure is only $1,500. That, no doubt, will change.

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Photoss: House on NC191, Rescue Mission)