Portland homeless advocates brace for the worst ahead of heatwave and uncertainty

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — With record-high temperatures around the corner forecasted in the Portland area this week, homeless advocates are bracing for the worst amid the uncertainty of whether cooling shelters will be available.

While Multnomah County has indicated it is possible they will open cooling shelters Friday, the decision won't be made official — one way or another — until the day before. This comes after the National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for the Portland metro area beginning Thursday, with triple digits forecasted to take place over the weekend.

Local non-profits who work with the unhoused community know those living on the streets have to navigate unique challenges at times like these, such as the fact that the concrete actually gets hotter than the air around it and stays hot during the nighttime. Those non-profits are now raising concerns, saying they're being pushed to work even harder to keep people safe during extreme heat.

"The thresholds whatever they are, whatever they're thinking, like it's going to be 99. 99 is still too hot to be out here," said Kat Mahoney with Sisters of the Road.

The nonprofit has been telling people where they can go to not only stay safe but stay alive, as well. Mahoney said she and her team are a little in the dark as the county prepares for triple-digit temperatures.

"I applaud when the city and the county react proactively," she said. "We must be overly cautious to save lives."

Mahoney said they connect people to other non-profits like Blanchett House who will be handing out as much water as they can as well as offering food and a cool place to sit for the people who need it.

"It's really just about, day in and day out, making sure we can make people as comfortable as possible," said Blanchett House Executive Director Scott Kerman. "But we're really hoping that we can keep people alive."

In 2021, a deadly heat dome brought triple digits for three days to the Portland metro area in late June. Kerman said they've learned a lot since then.

"We make sure that we go and check on people. We bring water around our block, we have community groups, and volunteers who do the same. People really respond to a crisis like this and they know how vulnerable," he said.

The biggest sentiment both Blanchett House and Sisters of the Road share is that "Proactive is better than reactive," as Mahoney put it.

As many people are finding resources to stay as safe as they possibly can this weekend, Multnomah County still has not said whether they'll officially open any cooling shelters, let alone announce their locations. However, any announcements along those lines should come on Thursday, July 4, the first day the National Weather Service's excessive heat warning for Portland is in effect.