Local churches offer cooling shelters amid extreme heat
GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Miss. (WCBI) – According to the CDC, over 1,200 people in the United States die from extreme heat every year.
Peter’s Rock Church Volunteer Helen Moore and Pastor of Genesis Church Darren Leach said they are working to help decrease those numbers by turning their churches into cooling centers.
“The reason we wanted to open a cooling station here at the church, is because we have the facility, and to help out the community,” said Helen Moore.
“When it gets hot, it gets really challenging. Most of us do not have to deal with the fact that heat poses a major threat to your life. When I found out from the homeless coalition that they had no longer had a place to have a cooling station, it just made sense,” said Leach.
Being in extreme heat can lead to heat strokes, heat exhaustion, and even death. Helen Moore said she saw just how deadly the Mississippi heat can be when it took its toll on her husband.
“He was outside, because he loves the outside, but he was not mindful of the temperature that he was working in throughout the day. He got dehydrated and we did not know it, his symptoms were he was very dizzy every time he would walk, and he had a lot of cramping going on,” said Helen Moore.
Volunteers like Larry Moore said helping others, is what he loves to do.
“It is just something in my nature, there was a time when I thought I was just being selfish because helping makes me feel so good, but it is just the way that I am,” said Larry Moore.
Leach said thanks to volunteers getting the word out, he has seen more people without access to benefit from the cooling station.
“That could benefit people who are seniors who have homes, it could also benefit younger people that are unemployed, and just need a place where they can have like an oasis,” said Leach.
If you know someone who needs a cooling station, Peter’s Rock is opened Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m., and Genesis Church will be open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
