People experiencing homelessness at risk amid heat, flooding

Parts of the U.S. are experiencing high heat and flooding
Those conditions can be life-threatening for people without shelter
During bad weather, nonprofits seek out and prioritize the most vulnerable

Updated: Jul 12, 2023 / 11:29 AM CDT

Los Angeles, CA – Tents that serve as shelter for homeles people line the sidewalk along FGifth Street in downtown Los Angeles. The homeless population continued to rise dramatically in the last year, increasing by 9% in Los Angeles County and 10% in the city of Los Angeles. Efforts to house people, which include hundreds of millions of dollars spent on shelter, permanent housing and outreach, have failed to stem the growth of street encampments, as reflected in the annual point-in-time count released Thursday, June 29, 2023, by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. June 29: in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 29, 2023 in Los Angeles, CA. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

(NewsNation) — As some take to air-conditioned homes and safe public spaces to escape triple-digit temperatures in the Southwest, the elements pose unique risks to people experiencing homelessness.

“Here in Texas, currently the weather is 97 degrees, and it feels like 109,” said Mike Nichols, CEO of Coalition for the Homeless of Houston in Harris County, Texas.

Groups like Nichols’ work year-round to place people in permanent housing. When extreme weather sets in, volunteers hit the streets to distribute aid like cold water and information about cooling centers.

The goal is long-term housing, but the immediate priority during severe weather is to connect with those most at-risk, Nichols said.

“We go out and we assess individuals, and the most vulnerable people, people most likely to die on the streets, get the housing first,” he said.

Last year, the coalition helped house 2,992 people through partners of its program The Way Home. They strive to ultimately place people in permanent housing, but The Way Home also coordinates with groups that provide short-term and emergency shelter.

Shelter is crucial during periods of high heat, which already has led to hundreds of emergency room visits, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least 13 deaths in Texas and another in Louisiana have been attributed to the sweltering temperatures, the Associated Press reported.

Texas is just one of the southern states experiencing high heat, and its unhoused population is just a snapshot of the broader issue. In Texas alone, 7,054 people were experiencing homelessness during the most recent- point-in-time count in 2022.

Of those people, about half were sheltered, either in emergency or transitional housing, and about 3,555 were unsheltered, according to the Texas Homeless Network.

The Southwest heat isn’t the only environmental danger people experiencing homelessness endure, either.

About 2,000 miles northeast of Texas, flooding in areas like Vermont and New York is sweeping away cars and displacing residents.

Several emergency shelters have opened in high schools and government buildings, and locals are using social media to ask for donations benefitting those in need.

The shelter available to people experiencing homelessness varies by city and state, and while nonprofits cover as much ground as possible, money or water from a stranger can go a long way, too, Nichols said.

“On days like that when it’s hot (or) days when it’s freezing, we’re reminded about how difficult it is for people who are experiencing homelessness,” he said. “But homelessness is not a permanent problem. Homelessness is not an unsolvable issue.”