KANSAS CITY, MO — Kansas City experiences some extreme temperatures during the winter and summer months, and both can be life-threatening for the thousands of people who don't have a place to call home.
That's why Unity Southeast Church is providing what they believe is a life-saving resource during the summer.
They're gearing up for a two-month stretch where they'll be open every day providing a refuge from the heat.
The goal is to care for at least 50 people a day, but Rev. Randy Fikki tells me that the church needs help with funding to make it happen.
"One wellness check by KCFD, or by a local ambulance service to a house is more than $500 a day,” Fikki told me. “So for the price of one wellness check, we could keep 50-80 people safe every day, make sure they have a health check every day, make sure they have hydration every day, make sure they're cool every day."
Back in December, I visited the church to focus on the overnight care they were providing to dozens of people during extreme cold weather.
Now as we approach July, Fikki gave me some interesting perspectives on the dangers associated with the heat.
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"Most of our unhoused out there, or a lot of our unhoused, are suffering from severe mental illness, and also from substance abuse issues,” Fikki said. “Heat exhaustion and heat stroke looks like dizziness, (it) looks like vomiting, (it) looks like slurred speech. All the same things that being drunk, or being high looks like. Those that are on the street today are even more likely to die from heat stroke, because they think it's just a symptom of their drinking, or a symptom of their drug use."
Reverend Fikki estimates that his church can operate the shelter from noon to five every day, at a daily cost of roughly $500.
If the church gets more funding, he tells me he'd like to increase hours to 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. They also accept donations of water, fruit and snacks, or volunteers to help at the shelter.
The city of Kansas City also has resources available online to those seeking refuge from the heat. You can find that information here.
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