'There's no relief,' Windsor's Street Help says heat makes life harder for homeless

With summer kicking into high gear, supplies are in high demand at Street Help, Windsor's homeless centre.

"We've never seen any of this to this proportion," said Christine Wilson-Furlonger, administrator at Street Help.

Whether it's sleeping bags to help ward off bugs and protect the cooling body temperature at night, or its dinner-to-go kits to stay fed for another day, she said people have been asking for them constantly.

People are reporting to Street Help that they're sleeping by the waterfront or in wooded areas to stay cool at night. And some are living in people's backyards.

"You can see the physical exhaustion, but you can see this real, intense desperation in people, because there's no relief for them," saidWilson-Furlonger.

And when people who have drug addictions come to the centre, Wilson-Furlonger said they see the exact symptoms you would in emergency rooms.

No energy, no ability to think with reason and no desire to eat properly. Even though Street Help is trying to get creative withfood options, it's not always effective in helping peopleeat well to survive the weather.

"That's why you see people with addictions become so thin, because they're not consuming the foods the body needs."

"Heat illness starts with heat edema, heat rash, heat cramps, those are the first few signs that happen and if you're not drinking water if your body is not cooling off it goes into heat exhaustion," saidAmandeep Hans, health promotion specialist with the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.

Hans explained that everyone is at risk for developing heat illness, but there are some groups who are especially at risk like those living on the streets.

She said it's important to make sure to drink plenty of water and takes breaks from the heat, so that heat illness does not escalate to heat exhaustion.

"That's when your body is cool, moist, heavy sweating, people can experience nausea or vomiting at that point in time and again if these symptoms are not taken care of the next stage is the heat stroke which is a medical emergency," said Hans.

'Extra attention to detail'

What the Downtown Mission has done to make sure people stay well-hydrated in the heat is installing a refillable water bottle station and handing out donated reusable bottles.

It used to be that if people got thirsty, they'd have to ask staff for a new bottle of water.

"We have a lot in stock and they appreciate being able to help out the environment," said Michelle Nicodemo, director of programs and services. This way, people don't have to "ask permission" from staff "to be able to have access to water."

And with the weather being so hot, she said having a filling station and their own bottles mean they can stay hydrated 24 hours a day.

Another thing the organization is making sure to do is paying "extra attention to detail" to meals, such as making sure they are high in water content.

Staff are also patrolling the building to look for people who might need extra supplies or help to stay hydrated, well-fed and protected from the sun such as those struggling with addiction issues.

"I think that opens the door to being able to further thatrapport with them anyway, so they're not going to mind if we bug them for the next seven days of this heat wave to do the same thing," Nicodemo said.

What she's noticed is the Downtown Mission has been almost at maximum capacity every day since the summer began. It got hot very quickly and there was no cool down period from when winter ended.

The sanctuary where people stay overnight opens at 9 p.m. and Nicodemo said people are waiting in line to get a spot at 8:55 p.m.

"I think people are concerned for their own health and their own safety in this weather."

No summer jobs

Outside of finding somewhere cool to stay, it's also been hard for the homeless to find work when it's this hot outside.

Wilson-Furlonger said a lot of people who rely on Street Help will find work during the summer to make some money, such as mowing lawns or doing rooftop construction work. However, with temperatures going as high as mid-thirties, it's not so doable.

She said one man who did roofing work told her, "'I did that for two days, and I thought I was gonna die.'"

Not working means no income, which can affect peoples'sense of self-worth, she said.

"A lot of our folks, they take pride in earning a buck they haven't been able to do that," said Wilson-Furlonger.

Last week a heat warning persisteduntil Thursday. After a cool-down starting last Friday, the temperatures this week areback into the 30s.