Who We Are
Mission: To bring together Black, Indigenous, Latinx, People of Color (BIPOC) and people of low wealth to create a more just and equitable society.
Connecting Communities through Action and Mutual Support
BeLoved Asheville began with a small group of people that believed that we need each other and that we can do far more together than we can do alone. BeLoved Asheville is a trusted, grassroots, and equity-focused organization. With over fifteen years of experience in movement building and advocacy for human rights, the organization’s success is credited to the ability to build relationships, create visible change, and generate community-led momentum for collective action.
We believe in the power of community. We are dedicated to creating a more equitable and inclusive society through innovative solutions and ground-up leadership. We are bringing people together from all walks of life to create home, healthy, equity, and opportunity for all in our mountain home. We strengthen the fabric of our community by celebrating and struggling alongside our friends and neighbors, moving towards solutions that build upon the assets we see all around us.
What We Do
Our community has grown into a powerhouse organization making a major difference here in Western North Carolina. Food access, deeply affordable housing, racial equity, healthcare on the streets, cultural celebrations, enrichment and school supplies for our kids – we dream towards possibilities and strive to show up together and be whatever our community needs, whenever the need is there.
Our work stems from our 4 Focus Areas:
- Home: We are dedicated to providing people with the security and comfort of a home. Amidst the housing crisis, we are constructing homes (BeLoved Villages) meant to endure for generations, fostering a sense of belonging and purpose within communities.
- Health: We believe in supporting the health and wellbeing of people and the full community in a holistic way. BeLoved’s projects are designed to create healthy people and healthy places. We work to improve healthcare access and affordability, create healthy food access, and address root causes of health inequities.
- Equity: Equity is at the heart of BeLoved. We work to dismantle systemic racism and other forms of oppression, promote racial, educational and economic equity and support impacted communities in tapping into their power to create their own solutions and be the change.
- Opportunity: We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to pursue their hopes and dreams and to have what they need to thrive. We are working to close the opportunity gaps created by systemic racism and poverty in a myriad of ways.
Our organization also focuses on crisis response. Sudden crises can threaten our community in ways that can be overwhelming and impact our communities in major ways. In the past, we have rapidly mobilized to respond in massive ways to these community crises. We also respond to the daily crises that loom in our region including poverty and discrimination. BeLoved Asheville has worked and continues to work tirelessly to help those most affected by this most recent hurricane disaster. Recovery from the vast destruction will be a large-scale investment over several years. We believe that we can unite to rebuild a community that embodies home, health, equity, and opportunity for all.
