St. Vincent de Paul opened its new Murnane Family Resource Center on Wednesday. They have partnered with the Oregon Department of Human Services, Willamette Valley Behavioral Health, Bags of Love and more to help bring resources to families in need.

St. Vinnie’s executive director, Bethany Cartledge, said the center will have workers available to help people find and navigate getting help such as health care or housing.

“I think that we have so many amazing organizations in this area, but that not everyone who becomes homeless is aware of that,” said Cartledge.

St. Vinnie’s director of homeless and shelter services, Blaze Kenyon, said the program is modeled to fill in the gaps left after they had to make significant cuts to case management due to budget shortfalls in October.

The building, located at 1995 Amazon Parkway, was donated by the Eugene 4J school district., who own the property it sits on. The building was formerly used for St. Vinnie’s First Place Family Center and First Place Kid program until they moved to combine with their Night Shelter in 2022.

The Center was named for Monsignor E.J. Murnane, who helped establish St. Vincent de Paul social service agencies along with five catholic churches and the Serenity Lane addiction treatment center.

The center is open to any families experiencing homelessness with children, or who are expecting children. It’s open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., and people can walk in, call or be referred by their First Place Family Center.

Hannah Bush is a reporter with KLCC. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.

It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/07/09/eugene-st-vincent-homelessness/