Friday community members gathered to celebrate volunteers and staff at Eugene’s First Place Family Center. It provides services to at-risk families.
“Heart for the Homeless” honors those who donate time and resources to local homeless families at First Place Family Center.
Andrea Kingsley has volunteered with First Place for three years. She is affectionately called “den mother,” and her job is to support families waiting to receive services.
Kingsley: “A lot of the families are kind of in shock when they first get here. They can’t believe they’re here; they can’t believe they’re homeless. So I’ll talk to them, sometimes they need to cry, sometimes they need to talk, sometimes they need to vent. It just varies.”
Nearly 2,500 people volunteered with First Place in 2015, and over 30 churches partnered with it for the night shelter program.
At the event Mayor Kitty Piercy presented awards to two families for their progress in securing housing.