Colorado Politics

Amid historic heat wave, Denver sends teams to help homeless

After topping 100 degrees again, Denver broke a 28-year temperature record Tuesday. The heat wave has prompted the city to open cooling stations, and its prompted officials to send out “street outreach teams” to help the city’s homeless population.

“Temperatures are expected to reach highs of 100 degrees over the next few days, which puts our vulnerable populations, and even healthy individuals, at risk,” Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said in a statement Tuesday. “We want all of our residents to stay safe during this extreme heat, so we’re offering support to help everyone stay cool.”

The National Weather Service in Boulder tweeted Tuesday afternoon that Denver has hit a high of 101, topping the daily record of 97 degrees from 1993 and 1952. City officials have all open recreation centers “available to the public as cooling stations” with free access for the public. The facilities will be open as cooling spots through Thursday. The city’s public libraries will also be available for similar uses.

To address the potential problems the heat poses for Denver’s homeless residents, outreach teams are directing the unhoused to the recreation centers and to shelters, said Derek Woodbury, spokesman for Denver’s Department of Housing Stability. The outreach reams include “Wellness Winnie,” the city’s “fun-size RV” that doubles as a mobile social services clinic.

“There is room available, including hundreds of available beds, across our shelter network to assist persons experiencing homelessness,” Woodbury wrote in an email. “Day shelters facilities are also available for individuals during the daytime.”

The city’s set up 10 cooling stations, Hancock tweeted Tuesday. They are:

  • Athmar Rec Center, 2680 W. Mexico Ave, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.;
  • Montclair Rec Center, 729 Ulster Way, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.;
  • Rude Rec Center, 2855 W. Holden Place, from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.;
  • Cook Park Rec Center, 7100 Cherry Creek S. Drive, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.;
  • Hiawatha Davis Rec Center, 3334 Holly St., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.;
  • Highland Rec Center, 2880 Osceola St., 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.;
  • Platt Park Rec Center, 1500 S. Grant St., 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.;
  • Eisenhower Rec Center, 4300 E. Dartmouth Ave., 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.;
  • Green Valley Ranch Rec Center, 4890 Argonne Way, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.;
  • Carla Madison Rec Center, 2401 E. Colfax Ave., 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
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