The hot temperatures baking the Bay Area this week can be dangerous, even life-threatening, especially for the unhoused community.
In Concord, the temperature jumped past 90 degrees at about 11 a.m. Wednesday, forcing unhoused people to find any relief they could. By the peak heat of the day, temperatures climbed to 100 degrees.
"Lots of ice cream, lots of water, trying to find a public pool," Imani Shelton said.
Shelton describes himself as "houseless instead of homeless." There are a growing number of people in the same position.
New numbers from a January count show that on any given night there are 2,843 people experiencing homelessness in Contra Costa County, up 19.8% from last year.
"While disappointing, I don’t think it shocked anyone," Contra Costa Health's Health, Housing and Homeless Services Director Christy Saxton said.
Saxton said low vacancy rates and a lack of affordable housing play a role.
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"In Contra Costa [County], you would need to roughly have three, full-time minimum wage jobs in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment," Saxton said.
There are some bright spots in the report, including a decrease in unsheltered homelessness in several cities, including Richmond and Concord.
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"I attribute this a lot to our city’s policy of supporting and expanding core outreach as well as supporting local community outfits," Mayor Edi Birsan said.
Birsan believes the funding and targeted programs the city has allocated towards addressing homelessness have made a positive impact.
Birsan also noted that on hot days like Wednesday, emergency service personnel are trained to keep an eye out for anyone on the street who might be in need of care.
"We are very keen to be on the lookout for people with heat exhaustion and others," he said.
Contra Costa County told NBC Bay Area that at this time, it has no plans to open cooling centers during this heat wave, though that could change depending on community needs. The county has also been sharing heat-related tips, encouraging the public to drink water and to not leave children or pets in vehicles.
The County's library system said that all library locations remain open for regular hours and that all locations, except Kensington and El Cerrito, have air conditioning.
Contra Costa Health shared tips for dealing with the heat as well and notes that people experiencing homelessness can get help --including help finding air-conditioned spaces-- by calling 211 and asking for a CORE outreach team.
Saxton explained that CORE team members can transport people who need help.
"The fact that we have that transportation is really key to getting to people and making sure again that they’re hydrated and that we can take them somewhere," Saxton said.
She also noted that if a person experiencing homelessness calls 211 and needs immediate medical assistance, emergency services will be sent to respond.
As for Shelton, with seven years of experience living in and out of homelessness in Concord, he has learned how to dress to beat the heat.
"I stay with swimming trunks underneath in case I want to play basketball or go swimming," Shelton said.
He added that many of the unhoused individuals he knows try to identify friendly businesses that will allow them to sit inside as temperatures rise.
Shelton wants people to remember how challenging the heat can be for those who don’t have a shower or air conditioning to turn to.
