Pendleton Warming Station Vice Executive Director Shirley Westfall helps displaced guests to their beds Dec. 4, 2024, in the Pendleton Warming Station. The facility closed for the season on March 15, 2025, ending its temporary shelter services for individuals experiencing homelessness during the cold winter months. (Yasser Marte/East Oregonian, File)

PENDLETON — Neighbor 2 Neighbor closed the Pendleton Warming Station for the season on March 15, ending its temporary shelter services for individuals experiencing homelessness during the cold winter months.

According to the N2N press release, the station, which began operating as an overnight shelter on Nov. 15 and remained open for 121 days, had an average nightly census of 14.8.

Shirley Westfall, operations lead of N2N, said the winter season had been challenging but also rewarding.

“This year it seems like we dealt with a lot more mental illness and addiction issues,” Westfall said. “We also had to deal with a lot of last-minute staffing shortages. But we made it through the winter and kept people off the street and warm.”

The station relied on an average of three volunteers per night to manage intake operations, at least one cook to serve meals and two employees to stay awake and work overnight.

Unexpected absences, mostly due to illnesses, presented staffing challenges that often had to be resolved with little or no lead time.

“By the end of the year we were really pulling our hair out trying to stay open, but we did it,” Westfall said.

The station has two congregate sleeping areas with bunk beds: one for males and one for females.

Total capacity is 27, with six in the segregated female area. Guests are issued bedding, which is laundered weekly. On top of that, the station has a large inventory of used clothing and footwear, donated by the public, that is popular with the homeless community. The station also offers a shower facility and a mail service.

In addition, this winter the station provided an evening meal for overnight guests in its Veda’s Cafe operation. Several volunteer cooks took turns preparing a variety of healthy meals.

“Our cooks did an amazing job of ensuring that our guests had a nourishing evening meal,” Jeanette Herron, kitchen manager and N2N board director, said. “For some of these guys, our dinner was the only decent food they got all day.”

According to the station’s press release, Neighbor 2 Neighbor assisted 152 individuals this year. Some stayed for short periods, while others used the station for most of the winter. The station received 1,794 individual visits.

For the second year in a row, the station had to rely on employees as overnight staff due to an insufficient number of volunteers. Two employees remained awake all night to monitor security cameras, deal with guest issues, and perform cleaning, laundry and maintenance chores.

The use of employees has put a strain on the organization’s budget. To date, N2N has relied solely on donations from private individuals, churches and other organizations for its operations; it has received no direct government funding support.

This year, N2N received two significant grants that enabled it to operate. Wildhorse Foundation provided $20,000, while the Blue Mountain Community Foundation contributed $15,000.

“We are extremely grateful to both these foundations,” N2N Executive Director Dwight Johnson said. “Without their support I am not sure we could have made it through the season. We are so lucky to have these organizations in our community.”

Now that winter is over, N2N has started its Day Center operation in the same building as the Warming Station. The Day Center is open Monday 1-3 p.m. and provides much of the same assistance to homeless individuals as the Warming Station, except for overnight shelter.

For more information about Neighbor 2 Neighbor Pendleton, including how to volunteer or donate, visit the organization’s website or call 765-791-8332.