Egan Warming Center

With temperatures dropping severely the next few nights, Egan Warming Center Sites in Eugene and Springfield are expected to fill quickly. KLCC’s Briana Friden reports the late season cold is creating a demand for more volunteers.

With overnight temperatures forecast in the 20s tonight, the Egan Warming Centers will open  to offer a warm place for people who are homeless in Eugene and Springfield.

With the freezing overnight temperatures continuing in the Willamette Valley, Egan Warming Centers are providing shelter to anyone who needs it. This life-saving outreach requires a constant flow of volunteers.

More frigid weather is coming to the South Willamette Valley.  The Egan Warming Centers in Eugene and Springfield plan to activate Friday night and be on standby through next week.

Friends, officials, and homeless advocates gathered to honor the memory of Thomas Egan today, at the site of his death roughly eight years ago.  As KLCC’s Brian Bull reports, the veteran’s legacy lives on through a warming shelter service in his name.  

As temperatures drop and rain increases, homeless people in Lane County will find more opportunities for shelter than year's past. But local non-profits say it may not be enough.

Friday is the 7th anniversary of the death of Major Thomas Egan. The Army veteran froze to death on a cold night in Eugene. His passing inspired the creation of The Egan Warming Center which offers a warm place for homeless people to sleep on freezing nights.

The Egan Warming Centers in Eugene Springfield were open for 5 nights over this past week of sub freezing temperatures. The shelters were not open last night, Sunday, organizers say, because volunteers were exhausted.

With temperatures forecast to be at or below freezing, the Egan Warming Centers plan to open Tuesday and Wednesday. They'll be on standby through next Monday [Nov. 30].

On Monday, the Eugene City Council is expected to vote for a legal overnight camping spot for homeless people during the winter.

The Caldera Songwriters present their third annual group concert as a benefit for the Egan Warming Center, at Tsunami Books in Eugene on Friday, December 19th at 7:30 p.m. As well as featuring a large array of local songwriters, plus haiku and holiday cheer, the annual event gathers needed supplies for the homeless. In the KLCC studios, Beth Wood performed live, including a new song about Major Thomas Egan, for whom the Egan Warming Center is named; and Charley Harvey of St.

UPDATE: Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014 11:20 A.M.:

The Egan Warming Centers confirmed they are activated for tonight, Saturday. But they will NOT be open on Sunday and Monday nights because the overnight temperatures will not be cold enough.

Those needing to get to a Warming Center tonight can ride LTD for free - just tell the driver you need to get to a warming center.  St Vincent de Paul will provide shuttle service from the First Christian parking lot behind the church to other sites from about 5:30 pm- 8:30 pm.

The Egan Warming Center, which offers shelter for homeless people in Eugene and Springfield on freezing nights, is on standby to activate this Saturday night.

Bill Winkley is the newly appointed coordinator for the Egan Warming Center. He says they were taken by surprise by the early onset of cold weather this week. Their season runs from the 15th of November through March 31st.

Winkley: "We don’t want anybody unnecessarily to be having to spend the night out in the cold when we could be ready to go with a warm bed and 2 hot meals and shelter."

The Caldera Songwriters present their second annual benefit concert for the Egan Warming Center, on Friday December 20th at Tsunami Books in Eugene. Two of the many performers that evening, Beth Wood and John Shipe, stopped by the KLCC studios to play a few songs, and talk about the Caldera group and how the concert will assist the homeless served by the Egan Warming Center.

  The Egan Warming Center in Eugene / Springfield has been open to homeless people seeking shelter from the frigid cold for the past 8 nights. They're not planning to open Wednesday night because the low is not expected to dip below 30.

More than 300 people volunteer their time to help operate the Egan Warming Centers. Program Director Doug Bales:

Eugene's Egan Warming Center will open Tuesday night. With temperatures forecast to drop into the teens, the agency is bracing for a long activation. But there's concern it might not be able to accommodate everyone.

Egan Warming Center is a network of churches that open their doors to homeless people on cold winter nights. St. Vincent de Paul operates the center. Executive Director Terry McDonald says they're looking for additional places-- especially at the end of the week.

The Egan Warming Center had to scramble Thursday to find another site. With temperatures below freezing the shelter was overwhelmed, but the vacant Parker Elementary opened its doors.

Only twice over the past five years has the Egan Center needed to move so quickly to find another place for the homeless people seeking refuge from the cold. Thursday night, one of their usual shelters was unavailable. Program Director Doug Bales says the elementary school was found through a group effort.