A-B Tech Student Support Resources
Aunt Bertha: Aunt Bertha is a search, referral, and application software platform that exists to connect all people in need and the programs that serve them (with dignity and ease). Your platform makes it easy for people facing social needs - and those who help others - to find and make referrals to appropriate programs and services for food, shelter, health care, work, financial assistance, and more.
Buncombe County COVID-19 Vaccinations
Call (828) 419-0095 or visit BuncombeReady.org.
Buncombe Ready COVID-19 Self-Checker
Buncombe Ready COVID-19 Self-Checker is a quick, confidential, easy-to-use assessment tool you can use online or by phone to help determine if you have COVID-19 and how you can proceed to get medical care. This helps public health experts better understand how the virus is spreading in Buncombe County and allows medical experts and local leaders to make the best possible, data-driven decisions to protect everyone.
How Self-Checker* works:
Head to the Buncombe County COVID-19 page, and click on the Buncombe Ready COVID-19 Self-Checker banner.
- Share information about your health, any symptoms you are having, and your health history.
- If your results indicate you need testing, we will connect you with testing and other support to keep you as safe as possible. If you are symptomatic, we will continue to follow up with you every day for 7-10 days after completing the Self-Checker.
You can also use Self-Checker by calling the Ready Team at (828) 419-0095, Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Local Resources
- Governor Cooper Announces Texting Tool to Access Food for Children: Parents who need food assistance for their children can text FOODNC to 877-877 to locate nearby free meal sites. The texting service is also available in Spanish by texting COMIDA to 877-877. After entering their address, parents will receive a text with the location and serving times for nearby pick-up and drive-thru free meal sites while schools are closed. Sites have been set up across the state for families with children ages 18 and younger, including preschool children, who rely on free and reduced-price meals at school.
- WNC COVID Legal Hotline | Pisgah Legal Services: Western North Carolinians can call the WNC COVID Legal Hotline at (828) 560-3700 and talk to a lawyer for free on Thursday, May 21st between 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Land of Sky Regional Council: Companies hiring - April 2020 (PDF)
- OneBuncombe.org: A fund to provide assistance to individuals who have lost their jobs and loans to small businesses
- NC Works Career Center and Unemployment Office
- Buncombe County Text Alerts: Sign up to receive emergency texts directly from Buncombe County for breaking health and safety news. Text BCALERT on your smartphone to 888-777 to receive alerts on important information such as floods, communicable disease, county office closings, and relevant traffic safety notifications OR visit buncombeready.org
- #AshevilleStong - Buy a Gift Card From a Local Business
- Manna Food Bank is a private, not-for-profit service organization, that links the food industry with over 200 partner agencies in 16 counties of WNC. MANNA is an acronym and stands for Mountain Area Nutritional Needs Alliance. We are a member of Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. Together we can solve hunger.
- Bounty & Soul is a local non-profit providing free produce markets and wellness education. Connecting people to food, education, and each other.
- Eblen Charities
- Asheville restaurants where you can feed your child for free while school is out
- Coronavirus: Buncombe opens COVID-19 drive-thru testing sites
- County Center- Community Resources for Financial Needs, Food Assistance, & Other Needs
- Free Webinar: Preparing Your Business for the Threat of Coronavirus
- North Carolina 211 line was activated statewide yesterday the public is encouraging people to call it to avoid overwhelming 911.
- WellCare of North Carolina Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource Guide
- NC Community College COVID-19 Response
- DIT webpage showing internet availability in NC
- Madison Friendship Fund
Hands-On Asheville-Buncombe
United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County
Hands-On Asheville-Buncombe is playing a critical role in the COVID-19 community-wide response efforts serving as the community hub for volunteering around this crisis. We are working daily with partners, government agencies, businesses, and organizations, and individuals identifying community needs and responding through the power of volunteerism.
We've set up our online portal to serve as an all-encompassing inventory of community-wide volunteer needs that address relief efforts. We have one simple ask of you today, sign up to receive COVID-19 specific volunteer opportunities (both in-person and virtual). This unprecedented situation calls for an unprecedented response, sign up today!
Remember, the situation is fluid and is changing daily. In the interest of public safety, we recommend following guidelines made by local, state, and federal health officials for the foreseeable future.
From YMCA of WNC
As always, below are links to our mobile market calendar for March and April and flyers for free weekend meals.
**We are continuing mobile markets, but instead of client choice, we are pre-packing food boxes for our neighbors to just come and pick up.**
**While schools are closed, we are also offering free meals for kids under the age of 18 at 6 school sites. Please review the links below for locations and times.**
- March Mobile Market Calendar
- April Mobile Market Calendar
- Mon-Fri Free Meals for Kids while school is out
- Ferguson Family YMCA and Corpening Memorial YMCA Weekend Meals Flyer - English
- Ferguson Family YMCA and Corpening Memorial YMCA Weekend Meals Flyers - Spanish
- 5 Tips for Staying Productive and Mentally Healthy While You're Working From Home
When it is necessary to go out, ask yourself these questions before entering any building or public space.
- Do you have mild to severe respiratory illness?
- Fever
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
Or
- Have you recently been in contact with someone know to have COVID19 (Coronavirus)?
Or
- Do you live in or recently been in an area with an ongoing spread of COVID19 (Coronavirus)?

Useful Links:
- Centers for Disease Control
- CDC poster: Stop the Spread of Germs (PDF)
- NC Health and Human Services
- Buncombe County Emergency Services: Buncombe Ready
- Buncombe County Pubic Health: COVID-19 Information for Buncombe County Community
- Interactive Map: Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU)