ASHEVILLE – Local volunteer organizations are extending hotel stays for over 20 displaced Western North Carolina residents who would have soon been booted from rooms following a winter storm in the mountains.
But advocates say an “overwhelming need” remains for 3,500 households set to be ousted from hotels under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance program, while lows are expected to hover in the teens through next week. After a recent one-day extension from FEMA to account for the winter storm dumping heavy snowfall on WNC, these residents will check out on Jan. 12. That order was extended Jan. 11 through Jan. 14.
The day before snow began to fall, BeLoved Asheville received a frantic email from a mother staying in a hotel under a Federal Emergency Management voucher. The message said she and her 4-year-old were going to be evicted from her room at the Comfort Inn after she was deemed ineligible for an extension, according to BeLoved Co-Director Gustavo “Ponkho” Bermejo…