PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — With just days until the first heat wave of the summer, Multnomah County and outreach partners are already preparing to help Portland homeless beat the heat.
Nonprofit groups started outreach to the homeless earlier this week, warning them of the high temps expected this weekend, while also providing resources on what they can do to stay safe.
“When summer comes, folks are watching the forecasts to make sure how many days out is extreme weather,” said Denis Theriault with Multnomah County. “It happens more and more often.”
The Joint Office of Homeless Services is already stocking up in its downtown warehouse distribution center, ready to get supplies out to those on the streets, including 30,000 packets of sunscreen, 50,000 cooling towels and 100,000 electrolyte hydration packets.
“We have extra water and cooling kits so outreach teams have been getting that extra water already so they’re ready to hand it out this weekend,” said Theriault.
The county says while these kinds of resources are usually common knowledge by August, this year’s delayed summer heat and its quick onset make it important to prepare the homeless and other vulnerable people.
“We’re not used to it yet,” said Theriault. “We went from 60 degrees and rain. We’re going to go to 90 something degrees and no rain.”
Cooling centers will also be more widespread across Multnomah County this year, following last year’s deadly heat dome, complete with food and water. However, this weekend’s heat wave may not be enough for them to open, depending on guidance they receive from the National Weather Service.
“I don’t know that we’re going to hit our threshold yet, we’re going to watch the forecast,” said Theriault. “At this point, it doesn’t sound like they’re going to be open this weekend.”
If cooling centers don’t open this weekend, the county says public places like libraries and city pools will still be an option for people to get out of the heat during the day.