As nights get colder, Egan Warming Center volunteers offer warm place to sleep in Eugene-Springfield

For people experiencing homelessness in Eugene and Springfield, there are three Egan Warming Center locations where they can go to get out of the dangerously cold at night.

The centers, managed by St. Vincent de Paul and staffed with volunteers, are activated when temperatures drop below 30 degrees. Tuesday was the first night this fall the sites were activated.

They are open throughout an operational season that typically begins Nov. 15 and ends March 31, with nighttime activation as necessary during that period.

The Eugene centers are at Wheeler Pavilion in the Lane Events Center, 796 W. 13th Ave. and First United Methodist Church,1376 Olive St.

The Springfield center is at Springfield Memorial Building, 765 A St.

All three locations accept pets and are accessible to people with disabilities. The centers have never reached capacity and had to turn anyone away, said Tim Black, St. Vincent de Paul’s winter strategies and emergency response coordinator.