A Community Center for Swannanoa
In November 2024, we opened our Community Center–a cozy, welcoming space open five days a week–providing families a community living room, community fridges and freezers, a free-choice food pantry, an indoor children’s play area, and free wi-fi. The Center has been a resource hub for everything from vegetable plants from local farms to pop up legal services.
450-500 households visit the center each month to access housing counseling, food, rental and utilities assistance, FEMA navigation, and other resources and support.
Here, community members share food from our gardens, seeds, money, groceries, and other resources at a community gathering place where community members can come together to heal, learn, grow, and support each other. These spaces serve as a hub for community preparedness and response to emergencies, and a place where people connect with each other and with resources to support well-being.
In 2025, over 6,800 adults and children accessed resources through SCT’s community center, demonstrating the need for free, accessible, welcoming community space in Swannanoa.
SCT’s home base, where we have been rooted since six weeks after Hurricane Helene, is three adjacent properties in central Swannanoa:
A former hair salon that houses our existing community care center, community living room, kids center, pantry, and free fridges; open five days a week 9:00-6:30 staffed by a bilingual community care team,
A vacant lot that houses our community garden and free firewood programs
A vacant convenience store that we are converting into an accessible Community Center with meeting space, private offices for service providers, and other community activities. Coming soon!