Tulsa Day Center Is Working To Keep People Safe And Hydrated

With temperatures hitting triple digits, places like the Tulsa Day Center are making sure people stay cool. 

CEO Mack Haltom said so far one person has had to go to the hospital because of the heat, but the staff is working hard to keep everyone safe and hydrated. He said the Day Center is open 24/7 and during the day they see about 250 people come through the doors. 

"Making sure they have water to drink and snacks to eat, and just making sure they are okay," Haltom said.

Haltom said just like with freezing temperatures, they desperately want people inside. He said the clinic is open to help people who may be struggling, and the outreach team travels around town to connect with people. 

"Oftentimes people refuse, and we can't stop that, but we want to make sure they are safe, go and get them a bottle of water, and check on them," he said.

The Day Center just put in a new water fountain outside for people and their pets, and inside uses donated water bottles and towels. 

Haltom says weather events like this, get people inside the center and hopefully connect them to other resources that can help them get off the street.

"That's sometimes the connection people can make, to start recovering from homelessness, to maybe see a case manager, put a housing application in, maybe put a job application in as well," he said.

He said making sure people are safe is always on his mind, and the center will use what they learn this week to prepare for more times of extreme heat later this summer. 

"I just worry about folks lingering and languishing in this heat without any resources, and hoping they're okay," Haltom said.

In addition to bottled water and towels, the Day Center also needs donations of sunscreen and cooling towels.