Local nonprofit groups help those in need beat the scorching summer heat

Joylyn Ethridge holds her son Orion in the lounge to cool off from the heat Wednesday at The Salvation's Army Center of Hope in Texarkana, Arkansas. Local nonprofits in the area are providing water, bug spray and cooling stations to help with the excessive heat.
Joylyn Ethridge holds her son Orion in the lounge to cool off from the heat Wednesday at The Salvation's Army Center of Hope in Texarkana, Arkansas. Local nonprofits in the area are providing water, bug spray and cooling stations to help with the excessive heat.

Dangerous heat has been making life difficult for the homeless and those without air-conditioning.

Several local nonprofits are taking steps to help those in need cope with the 100-plus-degree heat indices the area has experienced in recent weeks.

"For all of our people who are living outside, we are making bottled water available during this time of year," said Cody Howard, executive director of Mission Texarkana, Inc., which feeds the homeless and hungry daily during the week and provides them with other needed supplies.

"We've stopped serving sugary drinks for lunch and we've gone to only water to help people stay hydrated," he said.

Many of the homeless population served at Mission Texarkana live in the woods instead of spending the night at the Randy Sams' Outreach Shelter or the Salvation Army Center of Hope shelter. Mission Texarkana has been giving that population mosquito spray to help prevent infections from bug bites.

"When someone is unable to take a shower every day and you have mosquito bites or poison ivy that itches, they scratch them and they're at risk of staph infection is higher. We've seen several of our folks end up in the hospital with severe staph infections because of mosquito bites," Howard said.

He has also been delivering bottled water to homeless camps in the city.

"We deliver to those who are disabled. Not everyone is able to carry a case of water back to where they stay," he said.

The community can help Mission Texarkana meet the needs of the homeless by making a financial donation or a donation of bug spray.

"The biggest need we have right now is bug spray. The community has really come together and responded to our bottled water shortage and while we always need bottled water and will take it at any time, the bug spray is more expensive. It costs around $7 for a small can of OFF," he said.

The Randy Sams' Outreach Shelter said the heat has been extremely hard on shelter residents this year.

"What's affecting us most is those who live in the shelter and are working poor. They go to their jobs every day and often those are outside jobs or jobs that are partially outside. Some jobs require them to do a lot of walking from their transportation to their job site. This heat is devastating to all of us, especially those who do outdoor or manual labor," said the Rev. Douglas Anderson, Randy Sams' board chairman.

The shelter has also experienced problems with its air-conditioning this summer because of the extreme heat.

"The load is just heavy," Anderson said.

Because of the heat, the shelter is remaining open during the day for residents.

"Some days are inside days. When it gets really hot like this, we allow those in need to stay in," he said.

Bottled water, Gatorade or financial donations are what's needed at the shelter.

"That would help us provide for our residents. Right now we're almost at capacity and are sheltering about a hundred people a night.

Donations can be dropped off at the shelter at 402 Oak St., Texarkana, Texas, and financial donations can be made through the Randy Sams' Facebook page.

The Salvation Army of Texarkana is also doing its best to help its residents survive the extreme conditions. They have set up a cooling station at the Center of Hope, 400 East Fourth St., Texarkana, Ark.

"It's been tough. We see a lot of our clients in our lobbies. We have the Center of Hope and administration building lobbies open for people to get out of the heat and get water," said Maj. Russell Czajkowski, local Salvation Army commander. "When I drive around town, I see people at the local library getting out of the heat but it is an issue for chronic-type homeless."

The Salvation Army also did a fan drive earlier in the summer.

"That was very, very successful. We still have about 30 fans. Our hope is that families without air conditioners and seniors would come in and get those fans. Some people won't run their air because of the high cost. We don't want any seniors to collapse from heat exhaustion because they don't have a fan," Czajkowski said.

Anyone interested in getting a free fan is invited to stop by the Salvation Army office at 400 East Fourth St., Texarkana, Arkansas.

Needs at the Salvation Army include bottled water, non-perishable food and more fans.

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