By Jill Sperling

High temperatures pose risks to the homeless

Jul 4, 2017 | 5:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — Environment Canada is predicting temperatures well into the upper 30s this week, and Kamloops appears to be in for a heatwave. 

While many are enjoying the chance to soak up a little sun, the seemingly endless heat is far more threatening for people who have no air conditioned homes to escape to, or any home at all, when the heat becomes unbearable.

“I love the hot weather, but again I do have air conditioning in the house when I want to go in,” said New Life Community Kamloops Executive Director Stan Dueck. “Anybody on the street doesn’t have that opportunity, and even if they have a place along the river that might have a bit of a breeze you’ve got bugs to deal with, you’ve got cleanliness to deal with, it gets wet at night time or it rains at night time and you have no where to dry your things.”

New Life Community Kamloops opens its doors to the homeless from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, offering meals, water, and an air conditioned space. 

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“For us, our expenses don’t go down in the summertime, we have a big hydro bill because we have an air conditioned building, our food costs go up, a lot of the time there’s more people around, especially when it gets really hot,” Dueck said. 

As the mercury rises the city’s homeless face a risk of dehydration and heatstroke. 

“The sun is brutal in this town as everybody knows, and for people who are homeless it can be life threatening,” said New Life Community Kamloops employee, Dolly. 

Once homeless herself, Dolly says New Life Community Kamloops was one of the few places she could escape the heat. 

“In the summertime it was a good place to be because not only did they give you food, and coffee, but you could be cool.”

While she now works in the air-conditioned building, Dolly remains concerned about the people who have no place to go.

“You’ve got to really take good care, because people are dying. It’s not just in the winter people die. This heat is devastating.”