The Lavender Network opens as Lane County’s first permanent LGBTQIA+ center

The Lavender Network has opened its doors at 1590 Willamette St., providing Lane County with its first permanent LGBTQIA+ community center and resource hub. The space, purchased and managed by HIV Alliance after a major private gift, moves services out of temporary locations and into a central Midtown site that is open for drop-ins Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A $2.5 million donation from local resident Helen Shepard made the purchase possible, enabling the shift from a rented space in northwest Eugene to a larger, purpose-built facility closer to downtown. The opening was marked by a ribbon cutting and an afternoon of tours and speeches that drew a joyful crowd, streamers, and a neon sign in the window. Mayor Kaarin Knudson spoke at the ceremony, saying, "It's just powerful to be here. I think this place is absolutely an expression of a long-held community dream being improved upon over successive years and generations. With Lavender Network being in Midtown and in the center of the city, that means a lot for the community. It means a lot for our LGBTQIA+ community. I think it's also really important to our community broadly."

HIV Alliance Executive Director Renee Yandel framed the new center as an accessibility and integration initiative, saying, "Though Eugene is known as a largely accepting city for LGBTQ folks, there’s a difference between being accepted and being welcomed. And this space is really to be welcoming to the LGBTQ community, specifically designed for meeting their needs." Yandel emphasized streamlined access to services: "I know one of the challenges people can have is, you know, well maybe I need some clothes, I could use some help with food, but I really need to see a provider also, and I haven’t gotten an HIV test in three years. You can do all that in one space."

The Lavender Network is being presented as a coalition and collaborative hub. Named partners and providers in the new building include HIV Alliance, a trans-focused resource listed variously as TransPonder or Transponder, Queer Eugene with a clothing closet, Eugene Pride, and Authentic Movement Project, which will offer community dance classes. New service providers beginning operations in the space include Transition Health, an LGBTQ+-focused medical provider, and Open Adoption and Family Services, which will provide abortion, adoption, and parenting support. Reporting varies on the exact count and official spellings of partner groups; those details are expected to be finalized as operations stabilize.

From an economic and service-delivery perspective, the center consolidates fragmented supports, food, clothing, medical care, testing, and community programming, into one address, reducing transaction costs for residents who otherwise navigated multiple temporary sites. The philanthropic investment and real estate acquisition also create operational stability for nonprofits that had relied on short-term rentals, potentially lowering long-run overhead and improving continuity of care.

For Lane County residents, the Lavender Network offers a visible, centrally located place for resources and social connection. In practical terms it is open for drop-ins during business hours, hosts partner services onsite, and plans to expand community programming. The center’s success will hinge on confirming partner roles and sustaining funding, but its opening marks a concrete step toward more reliable, integrated supports for LGBTQIA+ people in Eugene and the wider county.