'Stretched to the limit': Eugene Mission sees record numbers
EUGENE, Ore. - Resources at the Eugene Mission are being stretched to the limit, and with hundreds of visitors weekly officials said that they are running on empty.
During the last full week in October the Mission saw a record 470 people come in off the streets for help. Executive director Jack Tripp said that the Mission saw somewhere around 375 people at this time last year.
Tripp thinks the economy is drawing more people in. And they're seeing more men, women and children from other states.
"We have guests here now from Texas, Chicago, from the Northeast, from all over the country," he said. "They maybe had some sort of connection to Eugene, maybe lived here at one time and had good thoughts about the place or have a relative here."
With so many extra people coming into the Mission, Tripp said they've opened up extra rooms for folks to sleep in.
"We actually saw winter-like numbers in summer," he said. "So from that we started planning and opening up some rooms that weren't used for beds."
The Mission also receives clothing donations year round, but with so many extra guests, clothing donations are dwindling.
"We have no underwear or socks whatsoever," said Tripp. "We also need shoes desperately."
Walking into the clothes closet on the men's side of the building, many of the shelves are bare.
"We usually have five times more than this," he said. "Typically we would see barrels and barrels of clothing, but we don't right now and the reason for it is that we're housing over 100 more men a night than we did a year ago."
He said without a big wave of new donations, he doesn't know where they'll be in a few months.
"It's pretty much stretched to the limit right now so I don't know what's going to happen exactly on a really bad night."
He said any donations of clothes, food and money can be dropped off at the Mission Monday through Friday from 8 until 4 p.m.
The Eugene Mission is located at 1542 West First Avenue in Eugene.
I've stayed at this mission and it is an absolute nightmare. They run over 200 men through a small shower room within 30 minutes. It's like a seen out of Schindlers List. You're literally nut to butt with other naked men. Because of this it also draws alot of perverted people.
Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day- teach him out to fish and he will eat for a lifetime. Old saying that applies here...
This comment has been deleted
The current economic conditions (not the character of the 'guests') has a great deal to do with the number of people they are housing at the mission. Don't take it out on the mission for helping. Don't take it out on the unfortunate, either. Take it out on the massive greedy government who never seem to have enough. Â
 @taxpayer There are jobs, for those who want them....sorry, but the 'massive greedy government' rhetoric is a very old, stale excuse and has nothing to do with the people that just won't work. Â
 @taxpayer It has quite a lot to do with both, and it would be foolish to ignore that. Yes, there are more people struggling due to the recession. But there are also plenty of people who have chosen their current lifestyle, either as a straight-forward decision or through an addiction.Â
They now call homeless people 'guests'??? Give me a break...sorry, I am not supporting you.Â
Things have changed so much. Used to be that a person could only stay at the mission for 3 days out of 30 unless they did work like news print recycling etc. The mission used to years ago be able to accept road killed deer, and there was always someone on hand to take care of the animals. Some are truly needy, others have made it a lifestyle. I do think Eugene is a little to easy and does draw more than it's share of the latter.
Oooorr just maybe they're migrating here because Eugene is RIDICULOUSLY accommodating to the homeless, especially when compared to other regions of the country? =/ Yeah, my money is on that.
 @PleaseBeSmart So is mine.  Way to easy to do nothing here for a handout.
none of this can be true. Obama has assured us all that the economy has recovered.Â
They are coming from all over because Eugene is known for be a 'free handout' hub...freebee City. I am not giving you one dime until you make these people work at SOMETHING or make them move on.
@Fennforests They actually have to work in the newspaper warehouse 3 hours a day to stay there.