How to Help the Homeless Beat the Heat

The temperature inside my van in Denver in the summer often topped 100 degrees — too hot to sleep, too hot to sit. But like many of the homeless and those without air-conditioning, I found other ways to beat the heat. I parked in underground parking garages at shopping centers, or found refuge in the shade of trees in parks.

Summer poses a bigger threat to the homeless than most realize. From heat stroke to sunburn, heat exhaustion to dehydration, summer temps can kill. Not everyone can get out of the heat or knows how to cope with it. If you're looking for ways to help, and things to give the homeless to help them cool down, start with this list.

Frozen bottled water. Try to freeze (not just chill) bottled water before handing it out. The ice will melt slowly for drinking, but can also be used for general cooling. Freezing the bottles will provide a cold source that people can hold to their heads or necks or between their wrists.

Water bottles. Consider handing out reusable, durable water bottles that can be refilled from public water sources.

Sunglasses. Project Care in Daytona Beach recently gave out 300 pairs of sunglasses to the homeless. Consider doing likewise. To be effective, Prevent Blindness America says glasses should block 99 to 100 percent of UVA and UVB rays.

Hats. Baseball hats, straw hats, anything-with-a-brim hats. This keeps the sun off the face and out of the eyes.

Wearable umbrellas. They may be a gimmick of beach-going tourists, but umbrella hats (as cheap as 72 cents each if bought in bulk) are a great way to keep sun off of kids and adults alike, although children may be more willing to wear them.

Bandanas. Dipped in water and draped around the neck or head, these can bring down temperatures significantly. Groups can make their own cooling bandanas to hand out to the homeless. All it takes is cotton fabric, basic sewing skills and this pattern. When dipped in cold water, the cooling bandana will provide long-term relief and can be reused again and again.

Personal fans with spray attachments. Handheld battery-operated fans with a spray bottle attached for misting water are an excellent way to cool off quickly. If you can, supply extra batteries too.

Sunscreen. Great idea, but don't give away that bottle you barely used last year. Sunscreen's protective ingredients expire after 12 months. Don't be cheap. Buy new bottles. The average adult needs about a shot glass worth of sunscreen per day in the sun to stay totally protected.

Zinc oxide ointment. This will keep lips and noses from burning and is much easier to carry and apply than sunscreen.

If you're homeless and it's hot, do the obvious. Get out of the heat. Seek refuge in shopping malls, big box retail stores, public libraries or even parking garages or park shelters. Get out of direct sunlight if you can't get inside. Look for public pools where, for $3 to $5 a day, you have access to the pool, showers and shade. Wear light-colored clothing and wide-brimmed hats and drink water often so you don't dehydrate. Your body cools through sweating and it needs water, and lots of it, to do that.

Photo credit: hotblack