The Documentary We’re Building: A Truth Asheville Needs to Hear

Every city has a story it tells about itself. Asheville talks about mountains, music, craft beer, tourism, and creativity. But beneath the postcards and the festivals, there is another story — one that rarely gets told with honesty, dignity, or the voices of the people living it. That story is unfolding in shelters, in encampments, in motels, in jail cells, in emergency rooms, and in the quiet corners of this city where people survive without ever being seen.
This documentary is our attempt to change that.
We’re building a film that doesn’t just show homelessness and addiction from the outside. We’re building a film that lets people speak from the inside — people who have lived the trauma, the stigma, the systems, the losses, the small victories, and the long road back to stability. This isn’t a project about “issues.” It’s a project about people. People who matter. People whose stories have been ignored, misunderstood, or flattened into stereotypes.
The documentary began with a simple question:
What would happen if Asheville finally listened?
Not to politicians.
Not to headlines.
Not to assumptions.
But to the people who know the truth because they’ve lived it.
From the beginning, this project has been built with intention. Every interview, every location, every voice is chosen with care. We’re not rushing. We’re not sensationalizing. We’re not exploiting anyone’s pain for shock value. We’re creating a space where people can speak in their own words, at their own pace, with their dignity intact.
Offset Truthworx — our production arm — is leading the work. But the heart of this documentary comes from the community itself: peers, outreach workers, recovery leaders, people living outside, people who have survived overdoses, people who have lost loved ones, and people who are fighting every day to stay alive. These are the voices that shape the narrative. These are the voices that matter.
The film will explore the realities most people never see:

• What it feels like to lose your housing and try to get it back
• How trauma and addiction intertwine in ways that outsiders rarely understand
• The impossible choices people face when they’re living outside
• The overdose crisis from the perspective of those who survive it
• The gaps in our systems — and the people who fall through them
• The resilience, humor, intelligence, and humanity that exist even in the hardest circumstances
  This documentary is not about painting Asheville as broken. It’s about telling the truth so we can build something better. It’s about showing the complexity behind every person holding a sign, every tent under a bridge, every overdose call, every moment of survival. It’s about challenging the narratives that blame individuals for systemic failures.
  Most importantly, it’s about visibility.
  Because when people are invisible, nothing changes.
  When people are seen, everything can.
  This film is a call to look closer.
  To listen deeper.
  To understand more than we assume.
  To recognize that homelessness and addiction are not “someone else’s problem.”
  They are part of the fabric of our community — and how we respond defines who we are.
  We’re still early in production. There are interviews to conduct, stories to gather, and truths to honor. But the foundation is set. The vision is clear. And the commitment is unwavering.
  This documentary will not be easy to watch.
  It’s not meant to be.
  It’s meant to be real.
  And real is what Asheville needs right now.