Pendleton Warming Station closes the books on a busy winter
By Terry Murry on Thursday, March 26th, 2026 in Columbia Basin News Columbia Basin Top Stories
PENDLETON – (News release from Neighbor 2 Neighbor) The Pendleton Warming Station, operated by Neighbor 2 Neighbor (N2N) Pendleton, closed for the season on March 15. The station provided temporary overnight shelter for those afflicted with homelessness. The station began its overnight shelter operation on November 15 and was open continuously for 121 days.
This season the warming station experienced its heaviest use since opening in 2011. The station provided shelter for 167 different individuals over the four-month winter period. Stays varied from one night to multiple weeks. The average evening census was 20.6 compared to 14.8 last season.
“We thought early on our use had increased from last year,” Executive Director Dwight Johnson said. “These statistics confirm that.”
He noted that on several occasions the station was at capacity.
The Warming Station has two congregate sleeping areas with bunkbeds, one for males and one for females. Total capacity is 27, with 6 in the segregated female area. Neighbor 2 Neighbor also manages a large inventory of used clothing which comes from public donations, provides shower opportunities, and has a mail service.
In addition to shelter, the station served an evening meal for overnight guests in its Veda’s Café operation. Volunteer cooks prepared a variety of healthy meals.
“Not only did our kitchen volunteers do an amazing job of cooking,” said kitchen manager and N2N Board Director Jeanette Herron. “They provided a lot of the food themselves. For many of our guests, this was the only decent food they got all day.”
Each night the station relied on three volunteers to manage intake operations, at least one volunteer to cook, and two overnight employees. The station was open from 6:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. Unexpected absences once again presented numerous staffing challenges that often had to be resolved with little or no lead time.
“We really need more volunteers,” said Herron, who has volunteered continuously since 2012.
The overnight employees monitored security cameras, dealt with many guest issues and performed cleaning, laundry and maintenance chores. The use of employees has continued to put a strain on the organization’s budget. Neighbor 2 Neighbor depends on private funding to operate; to date it has received no direct government funding.
This year N2N received four significant grants. The Wildhorse Foundation, the Blue Mountain Community Foundation, and the Amazon ChangeX program all contributed significant funding that allowed N2N to operate the warming station. In addition, the Pendleton Foundation Trust provided a grant to replace the old metal framed single-pane windows with new vinyl insulated windows, including a new emergency exit window in the main sleeping area.
“We are extremely grateful to all of these organizations,” said Johnson. “Without them we could not have operated. We are so lucky to have these benefactors in our community. We rely on our grants, the generous donations we receive from individuals, churches and civic organizations, along with our employees and dedicated volunteers to run this operation. Like they say, it takes a village!”
Now that winter is over, N2N is planning to open its Day Center operation in April. The Day Center is open once a week and provides much of the same assistance to homeless individuals as the Warming Station other than overnight shelter. It is located in the same building as the Warming Station.
Neighbor 2 Neighbor has increased its efforts to work with other agencies and organizations providing services to individuals experiencing homelessness.
“It’s important to remember that our homeless community is not a homogeneous group of people,” said Johnson. “Here at N2N, we tend to see more of the chronic homeless who are afflicted with mental and substance abuse issues. We understand that many of the factors causing homelessness are beyond our control. However, we believe we can and should concentrate on the things that are within our control. One of those things is better coordination among the various homeless service providers, as well as our local community. It definitely takes the whole village.”
More information about Neighbor 2 Neighbor Pendleton, including how to volunteer or donate, can be found on the organization’s website at http://n2npendleton.org, or by calling 765-791-8332.
Photo from Neighbor 2 Neighbor Pendleton shows guests enjoying food and fellowship.
