HHH Asks County for Emergency Weather Plan

Since HHH members worked to set-up a warm place for homeless women last Easter's cold snap, HHH has discussed the need for a county-wide emergency weather plan. With a grueling two weeks of extreme heat, HHH members decided it was time to ask the County Commission to lead an effort to create such a plan. Richard Lincoln and Tommy Yarborough addressed the commission at their August 14th meeting, which you can view at: http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/BOCC/Meetings/View.htm
(they start speaking at 1:05 on the video)

The request was followed with a flurry of activity. See below for a story by the Charlotte Observer.

HHH members are proud to announce on Sept. 6 the director of Emergency Management Services has called a meeting to begin constructing an emergency inclement weather plan!

HEAT WAVE
Cooling centers for homeless urged
Conditions threaten health; library reports crowd seeking shelter
APRIL BETHEA AND FRED KELLY
abethea@charlotteobserver.com

With temperatures soaring near 100 degrees Wednesday, Orrin Eison and other homeless men huddled inside a social outreach center trying to stay safe from a deadly heat wave blamed in deaths across the Southeast. A 57-year-old diabetic, Eison worried that the heat would cause dehydration and his blood sugar to fluctuate rapidly.

Sweltering temperatures predicted to last until the weekend have raised concerns about the safety of homeless and low-income residents who can't afford air conditioning. Just in the past week, two people have died in South Carolina and six more in Tennessee and Mississippi from heat-related causes. There have been no reported deaths in the Charlotte area, but social workers say leaders should be proactive to prevent fatalities.

Other cities nationwide, including Raleigh, have "cooling centers" or buildings where the poor can retreat during dangerously hot weather.

In response to complaints, Mecklenburg County officials said Wednesday they would consider opening such centers here. "Charlotte is always saying it wants to be a progressive city, but there's nothing in place," said Richard Lincoln, a member of Homeless Help Homeless, an advocacy group lobbying the Mecklenburg County commissioners. "There no reason this should not be done."

Mecklenburg now opens government buildings when officials receive reports from police or firefighters of increases in heat-related emergency calls. There has been no noticeable increase in such reports this summer, county officials said.

Still, Peter Safir, county homeless services director, said the policy deserves scrutiny because it's reactive. There are few places for the homeless to escape the heat. In recent days, some gathered inside the Urban Ministry Center near uptown. Others have crowded into the main library branch uptown. Susan Herzog, the library manager, sent an e-mail to Homeless Helping Homeless recently that reads: "During the recent heat wave, the Main Library has been full, with almost all chairs and tables taken up during the day by people who appear to be homeless."

Until Monday, Claudia Moses, 61, lived in the Hall House, a 12-story public housing apartment building. Before she moved, she endured two days in the building without air conditioning because her system malfunctioned. She went to the Urban Ministry Center and also to church for relief, fearing the heat would aggravate her asthma. Moses said that ideally, she'd like a place where residents could sit down or grab a cool drink, play games and perhaps talk with others. "Just like you could freeze to death," she said, "you could die from heat."

The American Red Cross set up two shelters last week in Mooresville and Statesville after residents contacted the county health department to ask where they could go during the heat. Officials sent recorded messages to all county residents and advertised the shelters through the media. But the centers were shut down after two days, said Mitzi Summers, emergency services program manager, because no one showed up.