WE'LL MAKE IT HOME TOGETHER™

February 2026

In 2025, MHO worked with our staff, Board of Directors, multiple stakeholders, and Michelle Coussens of Plan B Consulting to develop a new Strategic Plan for 2026-2029, grounded in the belief that everyone deserves a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home. This plan builds on our strong foundation and establishes a clear, strategic path forward, prioritizing growth, sustainability, and deeper community impact to meet growing housing needs and deliver lasting impact, including: 

• Expanding Affordable Housing Development
• Protecting and Preserving What We’ve Built
• Deepen Partnerships and Engagement 
• Investment in Governance & Operational Excellence

This Strategic Plan is both ambitious and actionable, a roadmap for strengthening our organization, scaling our impact, and ensuring more people have access to safe and affordable housing! 

After 24 years at Merritt Park, MHO is on the move! As our team and programs continue to grow, we’ve officially reached capacity in our longtime office space and are excited to share that we’ve relocated to Aston Park Center. Beginning March 1, 2026, you can find us at 53 South French Broad Ave, Suite 100, Asheville, NC 28801. 

We’re working to make this transition as seamless as possible and look forward to welcoming you to our new space! Interested in learning more about our new location? The Asheville Citizen Times did an “Answer Man” piece on the building in 2023! 

Merritt Park holds a special place in MHO’s story. Opened in 2002, it was our first affordable condominium development and included office space specifically designed to support our growing team at the time. Keep an eye out for a special feature on Merritt Park in our March 2026 newsletter!

Join us to celebrate a Groundbreaking Ceremony for Balsam Edge on Thursday, March 5th, 2026 at 2pm! Balsam Edge is an 84-unit affordable community located on a new 5-acre site at Howell Mill Road in Waynesville, North Carolina. This marks a significant milestone as MHO’s first affordable development in Haywood County! This highly walkable, amenity-rich community will feature 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartments and will serve renters who earn from 40% to 60% of Area Median Income (AMI). Click below to learn more about the groundbreaking and how you can RSVP by March 4th! 

Interested in how Balsam Edge was developed?

Click here to learn more!

Join us to celebrate the retirements of three long-time MHO staff members, Selena Jimenez, Lisa Keeter, and Joy Wilcox! 

“We honor and celebrate the work of three long-tenured MHO employees who will be retiring this month. Selena, Lisa, and Joy have a combined 60 years of service to the community through their impactful years of work at MHO where they managed the finances, coordinated communications, planned many events, assisted with our IT needs, and served vulnerable clients through essential home repairs. We will miss their daily presence as valued team members and wish them all the best in their retirements!”

-Geoffrey Baron, President/CEO

Selena is MHO's longest-tenured employee, joining MHO in 1997. She's worked in our finance department through nearly three decades of growth, from program expansion to a bigger budget with more complexity, she has been a constant through all of it. That kind of institutional knowledge and steadiness is rare, and we're grateful for every year she gave to this organization. Thank you, Selena, for your work! 

Lisa joined MHO in 2010 and had a hand across numerous programs. Marketing, communications, fundraising, administration, IT, if the organization needed it, she helped figure it out with our team! You might have noticed Lisa in the background at MHO’s events, helping things run smoothly. Her impact is felt across the organization, and we will miss her presence at the office. Thank you, Lisa, for your work! 

Joy joined MHO in 2010 and has spent many years as our Home Repair Officer, working steadyingly to keep homeowners in need of home repairs safely housed. Through her work with the Essential Home Repair program, we’ve grown to serve over 200 households a year, and the impact of that work shows up in real ways, in real homes, across our region. Thank you, Joy, for your work! 

Thank you, Lisa, Selena, and Joy, for all you’ve done for MHO. We wish you all the best in your well-deserved retirement! 

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