ACRC
63 N. Lexington Ave.
Mailing Address:
P.O.Box 803 / Asheville, NC 28802
(828)252-8999

The Asheville Community Resource Center is an all-volunteer coalition of local community members and organizations working toward social change in our community, our society, and our world. The ACRC collective formed in the spring of 2000 in response to many social justice organizations’ need for a stable location from which to operate. We now provide housing for many of these organizations, and provide meeting space for others. We also host music events, classes, art shows, spoken word performances, and other community-oriented happenings. We hope to foster our center as a place where all can come together and exchange the skills, ideas, and resources necessary to affect social change.
Since the inception of the ACRC, our vision has expanded to include strengthening our entire community and raising awareness about the social, environmental and political issues that we as a society must confront in our fight for justice, equality, and freedom. To this end, we offer the ACRC Alternative Reading Room as a public resource for do-it-yourself education, providing access to periodicals, books, and films focusing on social, ecological, and economic justice.
We are now seeing our dreams come to fruition. Our new space at 63 Lexington St. in downtown Asheville has already become a hub for just such a vision and exchange, and the center continues to grow and gain community support and momentum. The ACRC operates on a consensus basis and is staffed entirely by volunteers. All events are free or by donation only, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

The ACRC houses many organizations dedicated to social change. They include:

The Asheville Prison Books Program
Provides free literature and educational materials to incarcerated people in local, state, and federal prisons throughout the southeast. (Info: Sarah @ 828-254-3025)

The Women’s/Transgendered Health Project
Provides the women’s and transgendered communities of Asheville with the information, resources and support necessary to give individuals control over their gynecological/sexual health while working to demystify and de-medicalize our bodies. (Info: Cindy @ 828-254-3025)

The Asheville Free School
Facilitates free classes and workshops in our community. The group focuses on creating opportunities for learning skills and information that allow everyone to become more self-sufficient, more informed, and more fulfilled in our collective, daily, and personal lives. (Info: Nan @ 828-255-3678)

The Asheville Global Report
The nation’s only free weekly newspaper devoted to national and international news under- or unreported by the mainstream media. The AGR is a community-supported newspaper, staffed by volunteers and distributed coast to coast. (Info: 828-236-3103)

Katuah Earth First!
The local chapter of the world-wide environmental movement dedicated to the protection of the earth through the use of non-violent direct action. (Info:828-225-0814)

The Re-Cyclery bicycle collective
Provides free workshops on bicycle maintenance and repair, access to a bicycle repair shop, and low-cost or free bikes and parts to those in need in our community. (Info: Joseph @828-236-0949)

The Jab Jab Self Defense Collective
Creates a safe space to share skills and create awareness of self defense techniques in order to protect ourselves and our community from physical and mental violence. (Info: Moque or Katie @ 828-236-0890)