Donna Milsaps, of Jackson County, has encountered struggles that are hard to comprehend for some, but all too familiar for many in the mountains. 

Three surveys from Mountain Projects that aim to help the nonprofit develop a housing plan, identify housing projects that will meet the community’s needs and provide information to pursue funding through state, federal and private sources is now open. 

The effect of short-term rental properties on the availability and affordability of workforce housing has been well-documented in Haywood County. 

Mountain Projects, one of 52 regional human service organizations working on North Carolina’s groundbreaking Healthy Opportunities Pilot program (HOP), under the auspices of Impact Health, has been recognized by Mission Health Partners with its 2022 Community Partner Award. 

That the American health care coverage system is broken shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, even proponents of the 2010 Affordable Care Act who thought Obamacare would make coverage affordable for everyone. But as long as workers with employer-subsidized health care are forced to rely on the generosity of capitalists for their health and well-being, there will continue to be crises like the one currently unfolding with soon-to-be unemployed workers at Pactiv-Evergreen’s Haywood County facilities.

In the two months since the Mountain Projects resale store opened in Waynesville, it’s already seen serious success in both the number of quality donations and customer traffic.

Stuck in an undersized house in Sylva with a serious mold problem, Marilyn Tollie, her husband and four kids felt their hands were tied. Chronic lung problems for two of the kids made the situation untenable, and the local rental market was a mess.

James and Brenda Porcello are thankful for many things this fall, and near the top of that list is Jan Plummer, of Waynesville, a Mountain Projects employee who was among those who helped save James’ life just a few months ago.

Mountain Projects had much to celebrate last week. 

The effort to bring more workforce housing to Haywood County will receive a significant boost thanks to an anonymous donor’s generous offer of a substantial piece of land worth nearly $2 million.