Hot Issues!
You would think summer would be the perfect time for the homeless. The truth is the homeless face survival challenges year around, but the summer can be an unsuspecting enemy.
- No AC for the Homeless – The Mission’s air-conditioned Day Room is a welcoming place for the homeless, serving as a critical and lifesaving oasis from risks of hyperthermia or heat stroke.
- Heat plays havoc with health problems – Medications and drug abuse can decrease blood flow, which is the body’s cooling system and other types of medication can prevent the body from sweating. Heat can even worsen behavioral and mental problems and increases aggression in the homeless.
- It’s a fact; heat kills four times as many people as cold weather.
- Hot weather and sweaty feet create conditions for fungal infections, blisters, and open sores, which lead to infection. Daily showers and clean dry socks fight off health risks.
- Bug bites are common in the homeless population and lead to severe infections.
Hot Tips!!
- Collect items like water bottles, new socks, sunscreen, bug spray, hats, and visors to bring to the Mission’s donation center.
- If you see someone passed out on a hot day, call 9-1-1. What may look like someone intoxicated can really be someone struggling with heat exhaustion.
- Donate financially to the Mission. Most donations come during the winter months, so please don’t forget what the unrelenting exposure to heat can cause. Your donation helps keep the doors open and the air conditioning on.