Union Gospel Mission (UGM), a nonprofit that provides outreach services to the DTES community, has been gearing up for this stretch of hot weather. <\/p>\n
While the organization normally conducts numerous outreach walks in the neighbourhood each day, they increase the amount on hot days, while also handing out items to keep people cool and informing them of the expected temperatures and where they can find cool spaces.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s especially important along the East Hastings corridor, where there\u2019s little in terms of green space, trees, and shade overall. The sidewalks, roads, and even the buildings hold onto the heat from the sun and radiate it out<\/a>.<\/p>\n Compared to other parts of Vancouver that have more parks and trees, it can feel up to five to 10\u00b0C hotter in the DTES. This is because green spaces like trees not only provide shade and slow heat absorption<\/a>, but also release moisture into the air through their leaves.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it\u2019s going to be 32 today at our highest, it could actually be closer to 37 to 40 degrees in those areas because there\u2019s nothing absorbing the heat,\u201d said Nicole Mucci, UGM\u2019s manager of media relations and communications.<\/p>\n David Naylor and Clement Boaz, UGM outreach workers. (Hanna Hett\/Daily Hive)<\/p>\n Residents of the DTES are often more vulnerable to the effects of hot weather. Mucci said that people experiencing homelessness already have a \u201cdiminished immune system,\u201d and it is harder for their bodies to cool down.<\/p>\n Further, she said that they often notice a spike in overdoses in extreme heat<\/a>, because people experiencing addiction might already be facing overlapping health conditions. For example, hot temperatures can create more physiological stress, increase dehydration, and cause a faster heart rate.<\/p>\n If someone is using substances, it can mask symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (like not realizing if they\u2019ve stopped sweating, a symptom of heat stroke).<\/p>\n If a person uses opioids, it causes respiratory depression, meaning that their heart rate and breathing slow down. Extreme heat can put a \u201chuge demand\u201d on people\u2019s respiratory system, causing additional risk.<\/p>\n \u201cThe stacking of comorbidities makes [heat] significantly more dangerous,\u201d said Mucci.<\/p>\n Going on outreach walks<\/p>\n Just after 10 a.m. on Tuesday, two UGM outreach workers, David Naylor and Clement Boaz, push a trolley past the UGM buildings. It is loaded with one canister of iced coffee and one with lemonade, as well as freezies, packets of sunscreen, and hats.<\/p>\n As they hand out the drinks and supplies, they tell people that the weather will be hot today. They also check in to make sure people have some place to go.<\/p>\n People are appreciative of the work, with many people taking hats and drinks.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks for the juice, man!\u201d someone says.<\/p>\n The outreach workers don\u2019t make it very far down the block before they have to turn back and start over. But this is part of the reason that they\u2019ll head out multiple times today, to widen their total reach.<\/p>\n Where do they get their supplies?<\/p>\n While the City of Vancouver cut funding from its cool kit program this year<\/a>, which contained things like a water bottle, a spray bottle, a cooling blanket, gel packs, an indoor thermometer, Mucci said that they managed to partner with the Vancity Community Foundation and Simon Fraser University through a project called Climate Resilience Roadmap, getting the supplies they need to help cool people down during hot weather.<\/p>\n Hanna Hett\/Daily Hive<\/p>\n If someone comes into UGM\u2019s drop-in centre<\/a>, the charity has cool clothes they can take, cold packs, and other supplies like shampoo, conditioner, body wash, sunscreen, hats, socks, and tampons.<\/p>\n What about the air quality?<\/p>\n![\"vancouver\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ugm-outreach.jpg\"\/ "\\"\\"")
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