The Egan Warming Centers in Eugene and Springfield managed to keep around 500 homeless people safe and warm during last week’s snowstorm. However, the organization is still in need of more volunteers for the remainder of March.
St. Vincent de Paul’s chief of staff, Pete Kerns, says the emergency shelter struggled to find volunteers when they first decided to activate. They eventually found enough people to operate, but he says that shouldn’t be the norm.
KERNS: “The concern that we all have throughout the day as the clock ticks closer towards the time when we open up for activations, is whether or not we’re going to have enough volunteers.”
Kerns says volunteers were fatigued last week because the same people were working shifts three night in row, with one night off, followed by four more nights. Moving forward, Kerns says the organization aims to develop a more dependable and experienced pool of volunteers.
