Hands and Feet of Asheville is a Young Adult Volunteer [YAV] site of the Presbyterian Church USA. Living in the shadows of the Appalachian mountains, YAVs in Asheville are invited to embrace a city of opposites. A city that thrives in providing for tourists, but has not equitably provided affordable housing or living wages for its residents. A city with an urban downtown setting, that is only minutes from the realities and cultures of rural western North Carolina and the poverty of the southern Appalachian region. A city that has long embraced the arts and provided safe haven for the free spirit and progressive ideologies, while simultaneously being nestled in the corner of a conservative state that does not mirror its priorities. Being a YAV in Asheville requires a willingness to be uncomfortable in the opposites, as well as the fortitude to navigate the in-between so that you may learn more about who you are and decide how you want to live in service of compassionate social justice, during the YAV year and throughout your life. 

 

By several estimations, Asheville is currently the second fastest gentrifying city in our nation. As such, Asheville YAVs most frequently engage with organizations that work to end homelessness and the "othering" of our neighbors, and to support justice for those trapped in cycles of poverty. 

 

At home,  as an Asheville YAV, you'll enjoy the shared experience of living together in community and building unexpected relationships.

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