The City of Kamloops along with several social agencies in the city are working together to help people who are homeless cool off during this time of near record-breaking heat in the area.
The Director of Outreach and Clinical Supports at ASK Wellness, Jeremy Cain, says for the most part it will be up to people who are on the street to find a place to cool off. However, he noted ASK Wellness has two outreach workers out and about in the Kamloops community giving out water and sunscreen to people in need.
“We’re doing things like case management on a street level. We try to do a pretty job and the folks around town usually have a good sense of where resources are,” he said, on the NL Morning News.
“Its up to folks to kind of find those areas that they can cool off or seek resources but unfortunately, those are often not centralized, so its up to individual providers [to reach out.]”
“Folks seek shelter when it’s cold outside, not so much though as when its hot outside.”
Environment Canada has issued a “dangerous” heat warning for most of the province. Kamloopsians – especially the very old and very young, people with chronic illnesses, those who are homeless, or people who are working outside – are being told to take precautions to protect themselves from heat exhaustion or a heat stroke.
“There’s about 80 extra beds normal to what Kamloops normally has and they are being used on a consistent basis,” Cain added. “Folks definitely seek shelter when its hot, not so much though as when its cold outside.”
Starting tomorrow, the Sandman Centre concourse will be open as a cooling centre from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., until the heat wave subsides.
Over at the Mustard Seed, people can use the air-conditioned day room as well to cool off, while the Canadian Mental Health Association has also converted its Memorial Arena shelter into a cooling centre, which has been open since last Friday.
“It is a centre where individuals can come and cool off and get refreshments, access to hygiene products, washrooms, and hopefully, an opportunity to get a regular shelter bed,” Acting Executive Director, Alfred Achoba, told NL News. “We have supplies in that place that we are handing out to folks who just want a bottle of water and don’t want shelter.”
Elsewhere, The Loop, at Tranquille Road and MacKenzie Avenue, is another place where homeless people can go to cool off – though there are capacity limits at most of those locations because of COVID restrictions.
Community Service Officers in Kamloops will also be watching for signs of heat-related illness and distributing water to people during their patrols. They will also be encouraging people to find reprieve from the heat wherever possible, according to Carmin Mazzotta, the Social, Housing, and Community Development Manager with the City of Kamloops.
“Just providing some spaces for folks to seek shade, get access to some water and cool off,” Mazzotta said. “And we are working closely with the non-profits in the community to ensure that water gets to the vulnerable population and folks in need in the community.”
“Kamloops is a city we all know that gets quite warm in the summer but this is quite a significant heat event that we are anticipating so you know its important to stay safe.”
Mazzotta adds discussions are also underway to bring back the Out of the Heat Program.
“There’s some funding through the federal government and there’s actually a discussion this afternoon on the summer’s funding agreement for that Out of the Heat Program,” he said. “I think folks can anticipate that there will be opportunities for folks to get out of the heat and to cool off and have a place where they can seek reprieve during this hot day time hours, get access to water.”
People are also being urged to be careful around the river, as the water is still high and moving quickly.
For the latest Environment Canada forecast, go here.