Union County Warming Station faces challenges with lack of volunteers
By Joe Hathaway on Friday, December 8th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE — The Union County Warming Station is currently grappling with a severe shortage of volunteers as winter weather tightens its grip on eastern Oregon.
The station, located at 501 Third Street in La Grande, relies on volunteers from 6:00pm to 8:00am each night when the temperatures dip to a dangerous level, leaving those without home or shelter at risk of freezing to death.
“We have all kinds of people who come from different backgrounds and situations who need help,” said Evelyn Wallace, Board Secretary of the station. “People are people and everyone deserves a warm meal and a place to sleep.”
According to the station’s organizers, two people must be present at all times during overnight hours for safety.
“We need two people out of the goodness of our heart to show up and I think it’s something of a miracle that that has been happening so regularly for the last few years that we’ve even been in operation,” said Wallace. “We’ve scraped by sometimes and we have had to close, but whatever reason this year it’s just hard to find people.”
“It’s been a continual struggle. There’s not a whole lot of people that want to volunteer their time from dinner time through the next morning.” said Doug Whipple, Housing Service Coordinator for the station.
Whipple says that anyone who wants to volunteer goes through an easy training process, which involves hands-on experience within the facility. Volunteers are guided through the nightly routines, learn about handling different scenarios, and receive training on essential tasks such as using Narcan. Whipple also highlighted the importance of lived experience, stating that individuals with a history of homelessness can provide valuable perspectives.
“Some of our best volunteers are people who have had to use services like ours before,” said Whipple.
As for critics in the community who say a warming center enables homeless people or creates a dangerous environment?
“I think ignorance of what people don’t know leads to fear and apprehension,” said Whipple. “Nationwide, the number one growing population of people experiencing homelessness is unaccompanied children under the age of 18 that are out there with nobody else with them. The next one behind that is single mothers fleeing from domestic violence situations with their children. And then the one after that is veterans.”
Whipple adds: “If people knew that here in Union County, every year we hover just above 100 homeless and unaccompanied youth, maybe there wouldn’t be so much apprehension. People just don’t know that.”
“We actively work and maintain relationships with neighbors and neighborhood groups and are happy to talk to anyone with concerns,” said Wallace. “People always panic about something new, and I think the longer we operate, our community will see that it is in all of our best interests to not have people sleeping outside.”
To volunteer or learn more about the warming center, individuals can visit their Facebook page or contact Doug Whipple directly at 541-910-6265.
