EUGENE — St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County’s (SVdP) congregate tent shelter for unhoused adults, formerly known as Dusk to Dawn, is now again called Dawn to Dawn —reflecting a recent funding increase that allows the shelter to remain open 24 hours a day. Dawn to Dawn receives support via an operational contract with Lane County in combination with grants and has shifted between overnight and all-day operation several times in recent years as a result of fluctuating funding availability.
Dawn to Dawn, the Eugene area’s only low-barrier emergency shelter for adults, invites unhoused individuals to sleep safely in heated, heavy-duty communal tents. The program has a current capacity of 131 beds across about a dozen large tents and a few separate Pallet shelters. Additionally, meals, showers and social services are provided through SVdP’s nearby Eugene Service Station (ESS). Dawn to Dawn has low-barrier entry with no time limit for guests who follow the shelter guidelines.
Formerly, shelter guests needed to check out and leave the tent site each morning and return in the evening. The return to 24-hour operation ahead of the approaching cold season means guests will have a safe, warm place to stay all night and day instead of needing to find other places to go during daytime hours. This is also expected to take at least some pressure off of SVdP’s volunteer-run Egan Warming Centers program on the coldest winter nights, when additional Egan shelter sites open across Eugene-Springfield.
“Shifting back to 24/7 services at our Dawn-to-Dawn program allows us to provide greater continuity and stability to someone who wouldn’t have it otherwise. Exiting every morning and returning in the evening is a hardship for our guests. Being open 24/7 means we can better care for people with the highest barriers to service, in the lowest barrier setting possible. We are committed to being the “home base” for our most vulnerable community members.” St. Vincent de Paul Executive Director Bethany Cartledge says.
Besides offering emergency shelter and a secure place for guests to store belongings during their stay, the Dawn to Dawn program includes nightly dinner, served at the ESS after its regular daytime hours. The ESS is about a five-minute walk from the tent site. Case managers are also available to help program participants take the steps necessary to get into stable housing. Site manager Richard McCarthy says the expanded hours are a great opportunity to also expand services provided at the shelter,
“These changes to the program have proven to be effective with our participants overall wellbeing allowing them to open up to change and work together on overcoming barriers and to reach their housing goals.”
Dawn to Dawn is located at 717 Hwy. 99N in Eugene, behind the adjacent Dollar General store. Anyone needing to access a bed there must first visit the ESS in person at 450 Hwy. 99N, by 2 p.m. daily when staff assign new beds. Day-shelter services and meals are also available at ESS for individuals not staying overnight at Dawn to Dawn. SVdP operates a variety of other local shelter programs for unhoused adults and families, including the 410 Garfield and 310 Garfield Safe Sleep Sites operated in partnership with the City of Eugene, and the First Place Family Center and Night Shelter Annex. But Dawn to Dawn is the lowest-barrier shelter available in all of Eugene-Springfield, typically able to provide any adult individual in need with a same-day safe shelter option.