Texarkana cooling stations offer relief from extreme heat

TEXARKANA, Ark./Texas (KTAL/KMSS) – The dangers of being exposed to extreme summer heat can be severe.

“Heat exhaustion, you will have a headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and a lot of sweating. With a heat stroke, the symptoms are more severe. Including confusion, seizure activities, and a high fever. And if you have any of them symptoms, you definitely need to seek medical care,” says Dr. William “Bo” Kelly with Texarkana Emergency Center & Hospital.

Many are able to seek shelter inside an air-conditioned home, but for others, Randy Sam’s Outreach Center and the Salvation Army are operating as cooling stations.

“It’s not just the people who are homeless or at risk of homeless, but there are some who are out trying to acclimate themselves towards self-sufficiency, but they still need that extra help. And so we do have individuals that come in very often; they have their own residency, but they have no electricity or they have no HVAC system. And so 100 degrees outside is 110 degrees in their house sometimes, and they need that refuge,” says Salvation Army of Texarkana Captain Juan Gomez.

When Texarkana experiences extreme heat, their doors are open throughout the day to anyone, regardless of whether they are current residents. However, as they work to help more people, it can also put a strain on their resources.

“It inflates our budget because that’s not something that we’re budgeted for. Just this year already between, dry shelters and cooling stations, we’ve already exceeded to date to the amount of days that we had all last year,” says Cpt. Gomez.

However, for these shelters, ensuring that everyone makes it through the summer is seen as just another way to uplift the community.

“We want our homeless residents and anybody in need, that’s working to reestablish their independence, to be able to think clearly enough, they have to feel well enough, to go out during the day and run the errands that they need to get their lives back on track,” says Jennifer Lacefield, Executive Director of Randy Sam’s.

If you would like to help, Randy Sam’s is trying to keep up with the increased demand for water and hygiene products. The Salvation Army is primarily looking for monetary donations.