An outdoor homeless shelter in south Eugene has been newly outfitted with electricity, running water, and sewage services.
Nightingale Hosted Shelters is on 34th Alley near Hilyard Street. It has 20 Conestoga huts for unhoused people to live in, with no time limit on how long they can stay there.
"About half of our residents have full or part-time jobs," said Norma Grier, a board member with the shelter. "These are folks who are employed, but can't make all the ends meet to transition into more stable housing. So they're saving money and making sure they have options for the future."
Previously, the site didn't have access to built-in utilities. Grier said that meant residents had to rely on portable toilets, and find somewhere else to shower.
Additionally, Grier said the shelter has had a generator, but it was only turned on for a few hours a day—meaning it wasn't always possible to cook hot meals, while perishable food couldn't be stored on-site long-term.
This changed in April, after the Eugene Water and Electric Board finished installing utility infrastructure at the shelter, as part of a larger improvement project in the area.
With those hookups in place, Grier said the shelter has now been able to build a new indoor kitchen, and two full bathrooms with showers.
“The sanitation and the ability to store food safely—because there will be electric refrigerators—is going to really improve the health and hygiene of all of our residents," said Grier.
The shelter has also made upgrades to its warming and cooling shelter. Grier said the next step is to make electricity available in each individual hut.
A 'big transition'
At the same time, Grier said Nightingale is undergoing a major transition, as the current board plans to hand off oversight of the shelter to another nonprofit.
Grier said moving forward, the site will be operated by Community Supported Shelters, which already manages 13 similar sites in Lane County.
"We wanted an experienced organization that could provide the full range of services, the housing navigation, the case management," said Grier. "All the support that really helps people who are unhoused make the transition to a more stable situation."
Grier said the site is currently mostly closed during this transition. She said she expects it to reopen to new residents in the next few weeks, after the agreement with Community Supported Shelters is finalized.
