(828newsNOW) — As issues surrounding homelessness vex local government leaders all across the country, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer will join 51 other mayors in Washington, D.C., starting Sunday for three days of lobbying for federal solutions.

Manheimer is part of a 52-member Homelessness Task Force for the U.S. Conference of Mayors that is scheduled to meet at the Capital Hilton hotel for a daylong conference Sunday, meetings with top White House advisers and others on Monday, and then a full-court lobbying blitz at congressional offices on Tuesday.

“I am looking forward to the opportunity to hear from other Mayors about how they are responding to the homelessness crisis and to advocate for more robust support from the federal government for individuals experiencing homelessness,” Manheimer said in an email response to 828newsNOW about the trip.

The national group has identified homelessness as the top concern facing mayors around the country, and Asheville is not immune.

This week, the city’s Continuum of Care (COC) board released results of an annual Point-in-Time count that found increased numbers of unsheltered people, or people in shelters and transitional housing in Asheville: a combined 739 in 2024 compared to 573 in 2023.

Part of the increase is related to an increased effort to identify and count people without shelter, but the year-to-year numbers also would have increased in a methodology used in the past (a projected 637 in 2024 compared to 573 in 2023).

Meanwhile, issues surrounding treatment of the unhoused population dominated a public hearing Tuesday as the Asheville City Council is considering creation of a downtown Business Improvement District as a way to address safety, cleanliness and hospitality concerns.

The task force, chaired by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, is trying to convince federal officials to play a greater role in helping municipalities deal with the issue, including affordable housing challenges.

On Monday, April 29, members will meet as a group with a long list of officials including: White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients; President Biden advisers like Tom Perez and Neera Tanden; Secretary Denis McDonough of the Department of Veterans Affairs; Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and more.

All day Tuesday is dedicated to Capitol Hill, where smaller, regional teams of mayors will visit key members of Congress in their offices. Manheimer is on the seven-member South Team, including mayors of: Atlanta; Oklahoma City; Arlington, Austin and Houston, Texas; and Apex, N.C.

They’re scheduled to meet with six U.S. House members, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and six U.S. Senators.