On its website<\/a>, the City recommends reducing the \u201camount of time breathing in wildfire smoke,\u201d including by spending time in spaces with air filtration (like specific community centres and library branches).<\/p>\n Nicole Mucci, the media communications manager at Union Gospel Mission (UGM), said they distributed cool kits in the Downtown Eastside as part of their effort to support the community.<\/p>\n Mucci said the City sent them and other community partners an email in late January, sharing that the City was \u201cfacing significant budget changes for 2026 and as a result, the funding for the cool kits and the air cleaner programs had been cut.\u201d<\/p>\n This followed City Council passing a budget with a zero per cent property tax increase in 2026,<\/a>\u00a0which has since resulted in staff layoffs<\/a>\u00a0and program cuts<\/a>.<\/p>\n When Daily Hive asked the City of Vancouver why they stopped this funding, they responded with an emailed statement that said: \u201cThe City continues to implement operational changes that focus on delivering municipal services \u2013 such as cooling centres and safety information \u2013 within available resources.\u201d<\/p>\n The City said they are \u201cno longer directly distributing personal household items through community organizations\u201d but will provide information and guidance on hot weather preparation, including on creating cool kits<\/a> and DIY air cleaners<\/a>.<\/p>\n SL-Photography\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Lucy Maloney, a City of Vancouver councillor with OneCity, told Daily Hive that she\u2019s concerned about what will happen this summer, given that it\u2019s projected to be one of the hottest years on record<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the years since the heat dome, some of this sense of urgency has been lost about this issue,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Why was this initiative needed?<\/p>\n The cool kits distribution followed the 2021 deadly heat dome<\/a>\u00a0in B.C., where temperatures hit 40\u00b0C in many parts of B.C., and high indoor temperatures were the main cause of injury and death. A report from the British Columbia Coroners Service found that\u00a0619 people died<\/a> due to heat-related causes. Vancouver had the highest number of heat-related deaths, at 117.<\/p>\n Risk factors for death during the heat dome<\/a> included old age, isolation, poverty, mental illness, pre-existing illness, and drug use. People with financial privilege, proximity to green space, and access to healthcare had better outcomes.<\/p>\n Mucci said that unhoused people and people with addiction are \u201cextraordinarily vulnerable\u201d to extreme heat, as they typically have a lower immune system and\u00a0less ability to deal with fluctuations in body temperature.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re experiencing homelessness, unless you are able to enter a cooling center that is opened up, or access a third space, like a library, where there is that cooler air, you\u2019re actually much more susceptible to heat stroke, heat exhaustion, to sunburn, to dehydration,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of those things that might make someone ill generally could actually become deadly when you navigate the comorbidities or the concurrent disorders that people who are experiencing homelessness face.\u201d<\/p>\n According to UBC\u2019s Climate Equity, Action, and Resilience (CLEAR) project, DTES residents valued the cool kits, especially when they could pick and choose what they needed.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving access to items that are easy to use, very affordable and can cool you down can save your life,\u201d said Kathleen Leahy, the director of the UBC Learning Exchange (which runs the CLEAR project).<\/p>\n She also emphasized the importance of preparation in advance of a heat emergency.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you wait just for the event itself, you can have people die on the first day of an event.\u201d<\/p>\n What are organizations doing now?<\/p>\n Mucci said that UGM has \u201cnavigated\u201d hot summers in the DTES for many years and has programming in place. In advance of a heat wave, they outreach teams to the Downtown Eastside to check in, inform people about the upcoming heat, and ensure they have sunscreen, hats, and access to cooling areas.<\/p>\n Often, during extreme heat events, they extend the hours of their drop-in centre<\/a> for people to have access to a cool space, as well as distribute freezies.<\/p>\n The City of Vancouver said it will focus on activating and promoting civic facilities as cool centres during heat events and improve access to water, misters, and other cooling infrastructure.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/smoggy-skies.jpg\"\/ "\\"\\"")
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