The best way to help people experiencing unsheltered homelessness to weather extreme heat is to help get them housed. That’s why our local homeless response system’s primary focus is to help people experiencing homelessness secure permanent housing. This work has led to over 24,000 people being permanently housed since 2012. Still, over 3,000 individuals experience homelessness at any given time in our area and approximately half of those individuals are living unsheltered.  

Outreach teams, including the Coalition’s outreach team, go into our community during times of extreme heat to assist these individuals living unsheltered. These teams educate individuals experiencing homelessness on safety during extreme heat. They distribute bottled water, handheld fans, cooling towels, sunscreen, and other supplies to people living unsheltered. Outreach team members, many of whom are First-Aid and CPR certified, educate individuals on harm reduction techniques to help protect from heat exhaustion and heat stroke. If outreach team members do recognize signs of heat stroke or other serious medical issues, they will call EMS. 

These visits do the crucial job of keeping individuals safe in the wake of extreme heat, but also help build relationships and rapport between clients and outreach team members. These relationships, if maintained over time, often lead to an individual growing trust with our team members and agreeing to start the housing process and connect to long-term services.

Historically, day shelters may have expanded capacity during times of extreme heat. However, expanding capacity in shelters has not been possible since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to adhere to CDC social distancing guidelines. 

The homeless response system has been purposefully built to help people experiencing homelessness secure permanent housing. In times of extreme weather or natural disaster, we look to our local offices of emergency management to provide shelter for all our community members, and that includes people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. As members of our community, people experiencing homelessness have the same right to access disaster shelters as anyone else. 

Below, you can view the City of Houston’s plan for when extreme temperatures hit. 

• The Heat Emergency Plan activates when the heat index, a computation of air temperature and humidity, reaches 108 on two consecutive days.
• The City may activate Cooling Centers to help those residents who may not have adequate air conditioning to stay safe when temperatures are high. The centers, usually housed at libraries, recreation centers, multi-service centers and other facilities that are open to the public, are available during their normal business hours.
• When the City’s Heat Plan is in effect, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) provides transportation free of charge to designated cooling centers for individuals who need them. Residents who need transportation can call 311 to request service.
• To check if the Heat Emergency Plan has been activated at any given time, visit https://houstonemergency.org/.

We also work with other jurisdictions within our local Continuum of Care including Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties as needed. 

If you are concerned about individuals experiencing homelessness in times of extreme heat: 

• Have water, electrolyte powder packets, handheld fans, and/or washcloths available in your car to hand out.
• Donate to the Coalition or other nonprofits who provide outreach to people experiencing homelessness.
• If you expect someone may be experiencing heat stroke or another serious medical issue, please call 911.