May 2020 Newsletter

Serving in the Storm

February 25, 2019 saw a foot of cement-like snow cover Lane County causing power outages, road closures and fallen trees. For four consecutive nights, temperatures plummeted into the teens and the Eugene Mission implemented “Cold Weather Policy” welcoming all to shelter here. During the storm, the Mission collaborated with other agencies to share information and best practices, since mental illness and addiction present a significant challenge when striking a balance between compassion and safety for all. Over the course of the four-day ordeal, the Mission served over 1,000 warm meals daily, 600+ cups of warm coffee, 450 hot showers and a reserve of emergency blankets as every bed was occupied. While far exceeding our conventional capacity limits, we hunkered down at the Eugene Mission grateful that we didn’t lose power!

The night was June 16, 2016 and Mission guest Dave Johnson was on overnight “fire watch” assisting staff member Tom Durant in the Men’s Center. With an average of 212 men sheltering overnight that year, fire watchmen are critical to risk management. At some point during the night, Tom smelled smoke and found flames shooting from the Mission kitchen, a 4,500-square-foot space directly underneath the large men’s dormitory. A 911 call was made and, miraculously, 212 men were safely evacuated by Tom and Dave. Praise God! The heat melted plates together, charred tables beyond recognition and damaged all of our commercial equipment. Fire damage remediation and a complete rebuild ensued.

The next six months was a tremendous and challenging time. People who had never been to the Mission came with donations of clothing, food, supplies and money. Mission staff became extremely creative and resourceful in producing and serving 800+ meals each day working out of a mobile kitchen and a semi-indoor dining room in the donations warehouse. In retrospect, the kitchen fire was an incredible blessing. Community partnerships were formed, volunteers were mobilized and the state-of-the-art new kitchen has allowed the Mission to keep pace with the growing homelessness crisis in Lane County.

We all look forward to when this pandemic is behind us and we can reflect on the lessons and blessings. Meanwhile, our days are filled with abundant silver linings as we shelter in place in a shelter.

With the season of spring blossoming around us, Guest Services Supervisor Moana Brown leads healthy social distancing activities in the large garden area across from the Women’s Center. The garden was a vacant lot that volunteer groups and Mission guests have transformed into an orchard with 14 fruit trees in raised boxes enjoying soil built from large quantities of autumn leaves collected by the city. The garden is both a unique feature on Mission’s 7.5-acre campus and a welcome sanctuary for guests.

Denver Harris, Life Change Program Manager, and his staff have worked with the 23 men in the program to address the daily operations of the Mission by filling vital shifts once held by the 400 regular weekly volunteers. The kitchen is humming with Life Change men assisting with food preparation and cooking, rotating produce in the coolers, managing the dry goods warehouse and keeping things sanitary during meal service. The Life Change program is not suspended, just adapted to meet the needs of the day, and the industry and willingness of our guests is inspiring.

The Eugene Mission remains at capacity during this pandemic. The morning starts with a meeting for guests—sitting six feet apart– in the chapel area for a check-in to kick off another day of staying inside while being productive and mindful. Marshall and Tabitha Eck work with the guests on a day filled with activities and necessary tasks.

With the help of guests, the men’s large dormitory (270 beds) was completely re-arranged to spread people out, including re-purposing offices and classrooms to create smaller dorm spaces. A special dormitory was moved into Executive Director Sheryl Balthrop’s office on the first floor for our medically fragile guests. These guests are particularly vulnerable and we all work together to keep the area comfortable and sanitary. Meanwhile, Sheryl now occupies a small apartment on the Mission campus in order to be available 24/7 as needs arise.

In the Women’s and Children’s Center, we have a baby newly born to a family escaping a situation of domestic violence.

A small group of school-aged children ride their bicycles in an enclosed yard and work on their new, remote schooling with the help of Mission staff. Women’s Center staff keep guests encouraged and occupied. These vulnerable guests depend on the Mission for sanctuary during a time of family instability amid a global pandemic. We pray a lot and set aside our job descriptions (and wash our hands) to meet the needs of the hour!

We welcome your prayers and continued financial support as we navigate these uncertain days. The work of our dedicated staff and our guests could easily fill a 100-page newsletter. We are working to keep our daily goings-on posted to social media and encourage you to follow our Facebook page https://www.Facebook.com/TheEugeneMission/.