People without housing are particularly vulnerable when temperatures rise, as they did over the weekend. That’s why homeless outreach workers across the county are working to provide people with the resources they need.
Father Joe’s Villages is one of those local homeless service providers.
“Both our street health team and our outreach team are walking out with water but they're also walking out with hats, with sunscreens, sunglasses, slippers,” said Father Joe’s Chief Strategy Officer Joshua Bohannan. “If somebody doesn't have shoes, that's really serious on that asphalt.”
A heat advisory in coastal San Diego County and an extreme heat warning in the deserts are in effect until Monday night at 8 p.m. Temperatures rose to around 110 degrees in some areas.
Bohannan said that the tools most people have to avoid this intense heat, such as access to running water, showers, and air conditioning, aren’t readily accessible to unhoused people.
He said seniors experiencing homelessness are especially at risk of heatstroke. And a recent report from the Regional Task Force on Homelessness found that more local seniors are staying homeless for longer. That’s why Bohannan said Father Joe’s teams are looking carefully for people who fall into this category.
Outreach teams also advise people to go to “cool zones” that the City and County of San Diego offer during periods of extreme heat. They include all county libraries and some recreation centers.
Unlike inclement weather shelters that open during extreme rain and cold during the winter, specifically for people experiencing homelessness, summer cool zones are open to the general public.
During the winter, Bohannan said inclement weather shelters mitigate the cold at night, whereas cool zones in the summer operate only in the day to prevent heat-related emergencies during peak sunlight. Which is why he thinks they fill essentially the same need.
But cool zones often have more restrictions because they’re in public places, including what people can and can’t bring in. Jayna Lee, Associate Director of Programs at the homeless provider PATH, said that creates a barrier to unhoused people.
“A lot of people have their bikes, they have their wagons, and so even if we do take them with all their belongings to the library, there may be some rules that say you have to keep it outside,” Lee said. “But that's somebody's life all in their little wagon.”
Lee said outreach workers at PATH will offer to drive unhoused people to the cool zones during the day, but then the people have no way of getting back to where they’re staying.
She said many of their clients worry about their things being stolen from their sleeping sites while they’re gone. Lee also said people can feel uncomfortable at the cool zones because they’re open to the general public.
“That's not just to go to the cooling sites but to go to any appointments,” Lee said. “If you don't feel your best, if you don't look your best, it's kind of hard to focus on the goal of going in and just doing something simple. You're worried about people looking at you, making judgments.”
Lee said she thinks it would be a good idea to hire more outreach workers and station them at the cool zones to talk with people about getting housed. She thinks that would be a motivator for more people experiencing homelessness to use the cool zones.
High temperatures are forecast to resume later this week.
