About
We acknowledge that this beautiful land that we call our home was forcibly vacated of its original and rightful caretakers, the Iswa (Catawba) and AniKituhwa (Cherokee) people, who have cared for it for millennia and, through resilience and persistence, continue to do so despite generations of state-supported acts of removal and genocide.
Our home models shared housing where housemates share in informal, non-medical and social support for fellow housemates with a terminal illness and their caregivers. Housemates may share occasional meals, trips and outings, help with errands and the basic tasks of daily living and foster connections with friends and support networks.
We encourage others to explore this model for themselves and their communities by building and sharing knowledge, experience and resources to make dying and caring for loved ones at home a safe and comfortable experience.
Meet Gabriel & Erik
Gabriel serves as a hospice RN with the 15-bed VA inpatient hospice in Asheville. The VA has recognized his compassionate care with the Shining Light Award, Daisy Foundation Award and Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Nursing. Gabriel began this journey in 2011 after graduating with honors from Western Carolina University’s BSN program. He regularly sings, plays the piano and participates in quarterly memorial services at the VA, reciting a special poem that he wrote.
Erik is animated by hospitality and permaculture. After managing the Dripolator Coffeehouse in Black Mountain, NC in its early years, he opened coffee bars for Larry’s Coffee and Earth Fare during their multi-state expansion. He founded and operated Asheville’s first food truck, Wooden Spoon Catering. Erik currently hosts a vacation rental in a private Black Mountain home that he renovated himself, and he is recognized as Asheville’s first and longest-running Airbnb SuperHost for his hospitality. Erik has a passion for permaculture – growing food in in a harmonious way with nature – and creating beauty with plants.
Our Board Members
Priya Ray
Priya is an American who lives with a disability. After sustaining a spinal injury in 1999, she began noticing how little attention most people give to inclusion of those with disabilities.
In response, Priya created DIYabled, a grassroots organization to educate the public about disability through zines, talks and inclusive community events.
Nora Lozano
Nora grew up in Asheville and earned her BSN from Western Carolina University. She has over 10 years of experience in nursing as a board-certified mental-health RN an inpatient psychiatric unit for the VA and as a certified hospice and palliative care RN at the Keever Solace Center. She is an end-of-life doula and she works with and advocates for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Nora lives in a small, multigenerational homestead with her mother, brother and two amazing children.
Melissa Limes
Melissa is the Thrift Store Manager at Beacon of Hope, the revenue-generating arm of Madison County’s largest humanitarian aid organization, serving over 600 families, where she was instrumental in researching and implementing an innovative program to better serve clients. She lives on a 15-acre farm in Marshall, where she raises heritage pigs, a flock of geese, a pride of felines and her best friend, Kelvin. Her food forest and Garden of Consequences are ever evolving to provide perennial food and medicine for herself and others.