ALLENTOWN, PA — The Allentown Rescue Mission is asking the community for additional resources, specifically bottled water, to help keep its guests hydrated and healthy during next week’s looming heatwave.
The shelter posted an urgent message to its official Facebook page on Thursday, June 13th, seeking 16.9-oz water bottles to provide to men throughout the shelter and Clean Teams.
Many helpful locals responded that they would bring numerous cases of water over the coming days to help fill the need.
Many parts of the East Coast and Eastern USA will experience temperatures of 90+ degrees Fahrenheit starting Monday, June 17th, and lasting throughout the week.
The actual feel/heat index could reach, if not exceed, 100 degrees, which is very close to a heat advisory customarily issued when the heat index measures between 100 and 104 degrees.
While not quite sultry enough to break any records, the incoming wave flirts with Allentown’s highest-ever recorded temperature: 105 degrees on July 3rd, 1966.
This potential heatwave also comes about a month earlier than last year, when the first official heatwave in our area didn’t occur until July.
During my visit to the shelter, I brought a few cases of water and received a quick tour of the area where men from all walks of life went about their day or enjoyed breakfast in the cafeteria.
In a brief conversation with Lehigh Daily, Stefanie Appel, the shelter’s Community Relations representative, highlighted the challenges that extreme heat poses to people experiencing homelessness.
“For the people in the community experiencing homelessness, the biggest concern is health-related issues like heat stroke,” Appel said. “They’re vulnerable already, and then you throw the heat in with that.”
Appel further elaborated on the shelter’s strategy to safeguard their guests during extreme weather conditions, stating, “We look at the temperature and the humidity daily, and if it’s dangerous or very dangerous, we keep the emergency shelter open for the men so they don’t have to go out into the community.”
If you’d like to donate water or other helpful items to the mission, you can drop them off inside the entrance at 355 Hamilton St. Allentown, PA 18101.
