OGDEN, Utah — As Utah continues to deal with record heat, outreach support teams with Youth Futures offer up cold water, food, and information on where people experiencing homelessness can go to cool off.
“That’s really the biggest concern is just making sure people stay cool and stay healthy because the heat can really adversely affect your health, especially when you don’t have an out like most people do: going into their air conditioned home,” Glenn Brainerd said.
READ: Utah's sizzling summer continues as SLC sets daily temp record
Brainerd is a street outreach support worker for the non-profit Youth Futures in Ogden.
“We are giving people two to three waters but when its especially hot, you can run through that in an instant and you are out of water and you are going to get dehydrated,” he said.
A spokesperson for @OgdenCityUtah tells me the city nor Weber County have ever activated a cooling center for the genera population— why? Because they’ve never needed to. Now, they’re looking to change that as we deal w/ record heat. @fox13 pic.twitter.com/ROOzoQleKa
— Sydney Glenn (@SydneyGlennTV) July 7, 2021
Both the Lantern House and Ogden Rescue Mission offer up a cool place for people experiencing homelessness to go when the temperatures get high enough, a spokesperson for the City of Ogden said.
WATCH: Ogden looking to find temporary solution to homeless population
“You have to hope that the cooling centers are open and for long enough that you can actually cool off,” Brainerd said.
The City of Ogden nor Weber County have ever activated a cooling center for the general population before, Mike McBride, spokesperson for the city, said. Now, as the heat continues, leaders are looking into possibly changing that.
LIST: Cooling stations can be lifesavers during intense Utah heat
“We are experiencing much larger shifts in weather that we need to be more prepared for on a higher level instead of just local organizations scrambling to piece something together and doing the best they can,” Brainerd said.
