Asheville Nonprofit Operation Gateway Reports Growing Demand for Reentry Services

Operation Gateway, the Asheville nonprofit founded by Rev. Philip Cooper, says it cannot keep pace with the number of people seeking help after incarceration in Western North Carolina.

"The demand for services is far greater than the supply," Cooper said. When asked directly whether that demand is growing, his answer was blunt: "Increasing for sure."

The organization works with returning citizens, the term Cooper uses for people recently released from prison, connecting them to workforce training, peer support, housing assistance, and health care. Its Community Health Workers are themselves people with lived experience of incarceration and recovery, serving as guides through the bureaucratic maze of obtaining identification, securing housing, and attending medical appointments. Operation Gateway also begins its outreach before anyone walks out of a prison gate, contacting people who have three months or less left before release to build tailored reentry plans in advance.

Once someone is released, the organization's Welcome Home services provide transportation to initial appointments, cell phones, clothing, and food support, followed by intensive care during the first 90 days with continued follow-up for up to a year.

Housing is among the sharpest pressure points. Cooper has said landlords are frequently unwilling to rent to people with criminal records, leaving many returning citizens without stable shelter before they can address anything else. Operation Gateway's own data, shared with Buncombe County's Director of Justice Services and the Board of Commissioners, shows a stark racial dimension to this problem: four out of five Black men released from prison to Buncombe County are originally from Buncombe County, compared to 44 percent of white men released here. The organization says it will continue monitoring and sharing those findings to push for more responsive, community-centered solutions.

Cooper's biggest near-term goal is establishing a residential reentry program, which would give the organization its own facility to provide structured housing and wraparound supports. Buncombe County grant documents show Operation Gateway has requested $651,182 for expanded services under the county's Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds process, though the current status of that request requires follow-up confirmation.

Funding for Operation Gateway comes primarily from government contracts and grants, which account for more than two-thirds of its budget. Private foundations and individual donors cover the remainder. The Dogwood Health Trust has provided flexible operating funding, though Cooper has acknowledged that shortfalls still sometimes force the organization to reduce staffing or scale back programs.

Beyond individual services, Operation Gateway has played a direct role in shaping Buncombe County housing policy. The nonprofit was a key partner in the Just Homes Grant, led by Thrive Asheville and awarded to the county, hosting focus groups with people who had been released from prison, completed post-release supervision, and were living and working successfully in the community. That access to people further along in stabilization, not just those in early recovery, produced feedback that informed the county's broader housing strategy.

On the advocacy front, Operation Gateway is supporting North Carolina House Bill 836, which would fund reentry councils across the state, provide food, clothing, and housing stipends, and bar the denial of occupational licenses to nonviolent offenders. The bill aligns with Governor Roy Cooper's executive order setting a statewide goal of improving reentry outcomes for people leaving incarceration by 2030.

Philip Cooper received the Attorney General's Dogwood Award in November 2023 for his work advancing equity for formerly incarcerated people in North Carolina.

Operation Gateway is located at 50 S. French Broad Ave., Suite 207, in Asheville. Cooper can be reached at 828-318-5234.