Communities Pulling Together To Help Those At Risk From Heat
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- On the hottest day of the year, the high temperatures are bringing out the best in some people.
Neighbors are watching out for one another during these potentially dangerous temperatures. It was hard to find a conversation today that did not involve the weather.
But for some the heat isn't just a nuisance, it's a threat. Gail Dorfman is the director of St. Stephen's Human Services.
"The shelters serving single men, single women -- they're only open in the evening and at night," she said. "You have to leave in the morning, and this is not a day you can wander around outside all day. That would be dangerous."
Dorfman says her shelter's residents are using emergency cooling centers. One popular place to chill -- the Salvation Army's Harbor Light Shelter in downtown Minneapolis.
"It's actually a relief for the people who want to be indoors," shelter resident Naomi Payne said. "They can, and for the people who want to be outdoors, they can."
Payne's been staying at the Salvation Army for about a week.
"This is nice," she said. "I just really feel that individuals should really take advantage of it if they can."
Dominick Bouza is the Director of Operations at the Salvation Army's Harbor Light Shelter.
"We're more than happy to accommodate anybody -- families, anybody who shows up here," he said. "And like I said, we'll give them a meal."
Shelters aren't the only ones reaching out. We found three educators from Paladin Career & Technical High School using their summer day to deliver snacks and chilled water. They gave out nearly three cases by lunchtime. And Minneapolis Police officers hit the pavement, too, making sure walkers were fueling up.
On day marked by hot temperatures and cool gestures, we saw lots of people in the metro making sure others had some cool options,
You can find locations of cooling centers all across the Twin Cities on WCCO's heat resources page.