2 homeless men talk about cold nights in Asheville and why they don't go to shelters

Elizabeth Anne Brown | The Citizen-Times

Show Caption Hide Caption Asheville snow: Preparing the homeless BeLoved Asheville core team member Adrienne Sigmon helps to prepare the homeless for winter weather.

ASHEVILLE - As much of WNC sprints from warm house to warm car for their morning commute, it's hard to imagine choosing to sleep outside on a night like Nov. 12, when temperatures flirted with record lows and the wind chill crept close to zero.

But some homeless people in Asheville did just that, turning down offers of shelter from local charities and braving the elements. Why?

Cold Purple's limits, shelter rules

James Warren, who describes himself as "chronically homeless," told the Citizen Times he plans to ride out the cold snap this week without staying in a designated shelter.

“When it comes to Code Purple, I have issues staying in a shelter with my fiancée – they separate us,” said Warren, 59. “I’ve had things stolen from me in the shelters, and I have issues with (the policy of) once you go in, you can’t go back out.”

Men and women are generally housed separately in shelters, and since 2018, Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry is the only place men can shelter during a Code Purple.

More: Only ABCCM shelters homeless men on freezing nights, and it's readying for a big need

Code Purple is an emergency protocol local shelters enter on the coldest nights, opening their doors to people who normally wouldn't qualify for their programs. Shelter directors say Code Purple guests are typically among the "highest needs" of the homeless community, struggling with severe behavioral and/or substance abuse issues.

"It's challenging to serve the male population, particularly with the new synthetic drugs that do make people very violent and out-of-control," ABCCM director Scott Rogers told the Citizen Times on Nov. 8, ahead of this cold snap. "We're very grateful to police and the sheriff's office and other first responders who do support us when we have to call."

That sense of danger, which led many shelters to fear for the safety of the women and children in their care and ultimately close programs for men, may be a deterrent for homeless people considering shelters.

More: 'We are in a crisis mode': Nonprofits ask for city, county help on Code Purple

David Jett, 44, said he doesn't want to be "surrounded by drug addicts ... and alcoholics, which can get angry and mean."

Jett said he's been "in and out of" housing for the last 10 years. He's earned enough as a self-employed handyman to rent a room for the month, but worries he'll be back on the streets during this bitter winter as his business flags. Jett doesn't consider shelters an option.

"I believe the main reason people don't go to shelters is because (of) the religion that is forced upon you," he told the Citizen Times, listing ABCCM and the Haywood Street Congregation as exceptions to the rule.

"They force you to worship usually before each meal (and) if you choose not to worship you'll be tossed out."

Jett also avoids shelters since they don't allow animals — he'd rather sleep outside than abandon his two cats, Kat Benitar (his "muse") and Snuffles.

"Shelters are controlling," Jett said. "If you can't be clean (they'd) rather you freeze to death."

If not a shelter, where?

Warren's strategy for really cold nights is to stay either in the downtown Post Office or in the corridor near Pack Library. At times, though, he says police will move the homeless out of the corridor.

If he winds up outside, Warren does not opt for a sleeping bag.

“I’ll get a couple of blankets and a tarp and kind of cocoon myself up in it,” he said.

Jett said he hates the thought of restarting his cold weather protocol. "I walked to the up ramp of the Blue Ridge Parkway and camped in those woods," Jett explained. He slept in a sleeping bag, wrapped in a tarp.

"Pulling a trash bag up over your sleeping bag helps keep out moisture, and keep in heat," Jett explained.

"Last night people that were really really cold ... probably ended up underneath the bridges ... (or) in camps all along the river front," he said.

John Boyle contributed reporting to this article.