At its June 3 meeting, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners proclaimed June as "Gun Violence Prevention Month." In part, the proclamation states:
"In 2024, the Buncombe County Register of Deeds recorded 44 death certificates that showed someone died by a gun; and WHEREAS, 35 of those incidents occurred inside Buncombe County with the youngest decedent only 16 years old, while the oldest was 94 years old; and WHEREAS communities across the nation, including Buncombe County, are working to end deaths by guns, including suicides, accidents, and gun violence, with evidence-based solutions; and WHEREAS, support for the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding residents goes hand-in-hand with promoting gun ownership safety and keeping guns away from people with dangerous histories"
To accept the proclamation, local community safety and violence prevention leaders were joined by by the PEACE team, a collaboration of My Daddy Taught Me That, SPARC Foundation, Youth Transformed for Life, and Buncombe County Justice Services, along with William Lassiter, Deputy Secretary of the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
In its only other item of business aside from FY26 budget adoption, the Board of Commissioners approved a resolution and $2,502,123 budget amendment from through the CDBG Recovery Housing Program to support Asheville Community Christian Ministries in expanding Transformation Village. Buncombe County requested funds in addition to the $1,000,000 awarded from NC Commerce in January, and the $3.5 million total award will help construct a four story, 64-unit building with 32 units dedicated to women and mothers with children in recovery from substance use.
To view the meeting, go to facebook.com/buncombegov.