The past few weeks have brought a brutal heatwave across the US. Few people are more affected than those who live outside. Heat injury, such as severe sunburn, hyperthermia, and heatstroke, is a daily threat for those who lack access to indoor spaces and means to stay hydrated. This time of year, we are going through tons of water, electrolyte rehydration packets, sunscreen, and bug repellent. While some cooling centers in St. Louis exist, they are often only open on certain days and hours (rarely on weekends), are located sporadically across the region, and may not be entirely hospitable to unhoused individuals.
If you are interested in supporting our unhoused neighbors, consider carrying frozen bottles of water that you can hand out at stoplights or on sidewalks—bonus points for including some rehydration packets. You can also direct people to cooling centers. United Way maintains a list here: https://www.211helps.org/cooling-sites/. If nothing else, take a few moments to truly empathize with our folks, many of whom are lying in tents in over 90°F heat and just trying to survive. In a warming world, we as a society need to do better about finding ways to keep our most vulnerable cool (including housed people without air conditioning!).
Of course, if you are willing to support our work, we always welcome donations in the form of tax-deductible monetary gifts. Visit our Donate page for more details!
