Climate Change on the Homeless

-

 


With a second deadly heat wave hitting Portland, it’s important to take a moment to understand the effects of the heat on one of our most vulnerable populations: the homeless. A large percentage of Portland’s homeless population live on the street rather than in shelters, which can be incredibly harmful when temperatures rise over 100 degrees. Without air conditioning, fans, or shelter, people are at risk of severe heat exhaustion and dehydration which in some cases can lead to death. While there are many volunteering to provide cooling centers, cold drinks, and cooling supplies for those who need it, it is not nearly enough.


As climate change continues to worsen, these heatwaves are likely to become more regular throughout the Pacific Northwest, with the possibility of some extreme cold weather concerns during the upcoming winters. After regular sweeps, many people have lost their belongings and their shelter items such as tents and tarps. The City of Portland needs to create a plan to help those who will be most at risk during these extreme weather conditions to come. 

 

For more information about where to find free cooling centers or other resources to help beat the heat, please visit: https://www.211info.org/coolingcenters


References:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/extreme-heat-further-complicates-the-lives-of-homeless-women-and-lgbtq-people


Written by Maddy Taylor

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Domestic Violence within the Homeless Community

-
Image
  Domestic Violence within the Homeless Community Source: Unsplash The Facts                                                                                          According to  Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 233,832 are people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the United States. Of the 233,832, 50,767 are families with children.  Currently, 30% of homeless people are adult women.  (portlandoregon.gov)   Bradley Angle , which works to support survivors of  domestic violence , reported that 70% of domestic violence reports are from homeless women. ( www.kgw.com)  Homeless women are 1/3 of the fastest growing populations HUD homeless populations. ( portlandoregon.gov)   Specifically, in Por...
Read more

Understanding Homelessness

-
Image
  Source (American Addiction Centers)      Homelessness has a myriad of different reasons it can happen. The similarity between all scenarios in which a person is experiencing homelessness is that each person is human. A popular belief is that homelessness is a choice. People believe there is a set amount of circumstances that cause homelessness and that it is a choice not to fight to get out of those problems. The problems can range from mental health issues to drug addiction. There is no one size fits all, and it is not a choice.  Over the last few weeks, I have learned that there are many factors that can lead to homelessness. One big one that focuses on our class is how affordable housing, or the lack thereof, is a significant contributor to people not getting back on their feet. If you want to learn more about that subject and if affordable housing can help, click here.   This lack of affordable housing is a big roadblock for those trying to ove...
Read more

Air pollution caused by wildfires may increase risk of dementia

-
Image
  There are already more than 57 million dementia sufferers in the world, and by 2050, that figure is predicted to rise to 153 million. It is estimated that risk factors like exposure to air pollution account for up to 40% of these instances. Even when annual exposure was lower than the current EPA annual threshold of 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air (g/m3), the researchers discovered continuous evidence of a relationship between PM2.5 and dementia. The researchers discovered a 17% increase in risk for dementia for every 2 g/m3 increase in average yearly exposure to PM2.5, specifically among the studies using active case ascertainment. Despite the fact that the data was more sparse, they also discovered evidence supporting links between dementia and nitrogen oxide (5% increase in risk for every 10 g/m3 increase in yearly exposure) and nitrogen dioxide (2% increase in risk for every 10 g/m3 increase in annual exposure). According to a recent University of Michigan study, wildfi...
Read more