As daily temperatures in San Antonio continue to challenge heat records this summer, local officials are encouraging residents to keep cool, stay hydrated and be prepared. Triple-digit heat is expected to continue at least through next week.
“If folks don’t have air conditioning, we’re encouraging them to find a place like a mall, a library, community center [or] senior center to stay cool,” Mario Martinez, assistant director of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, told the San Antonio Report.
“Drink plenty of water, don’t wait until [you’re] thirsty and avoid drinks with high levels of alcohol,” Martinez said. “Schedule [outdoor] activities … early in the morning or later in the evening. So that way, they can avoid the brunt of the heat during the day.”
He also encourages residents to check in on older residents and those with health conditions that may be exacerbated by the heat.
Heat-related illness, such as heat stroke and exhaustion, is also on the rise, according to the health department.
Four of the past five weeks saw the most reported heat-related illnesses since the department started recording the data in 2018. There were 504 reported heat-related illnesses and deaths from March to October last year. Since March this year, that number stands at 373.
The heat disproportionally impacts low- or no-income residents, who may be unable to avoid being outside due to housing or transportation challenges and experience more underlying health conditions.
The city has 49 cooling centers across the city, which include libraries as well as senior and community centers. They are open from about 7 a.m. until 8 or 9 p.m., depending on the day and location.
VIA Metropolitan Transit will provide free transportation to and from cooling centers, Martinez said, “The bus driver will make note of that and make sure that the individual will not get charged for that.”
On Saturday, Matilda Sandoval and her husband, Flaco, were waiting for a bus at 3 p.m. as the temperature broke 100 degrees.
“It’s what you have to do when you don’t have a car,” said Sandoval.
Thankfully, they still have two working window air conditioning units in their home off Vera Cruz Street after one recently broke. Instead of a cooling center, they were headed to an H-E-B to buy their weekly groceries, which would require two bus transfers and take about 90 minutes, Sandoval estimated.
The window units in her home can cool only one room, so their days are isolated in those rooms, she said. “You go into the restroom and it’s just like a sauna. You’re sweating.”
While some of the city’s most vulnerable residents, those experiencing homelessness, do take advantage of the cooling centers, many do not, said Pete Barrera, who oversees Haven for Hope’s street outreach efforts and coordinates with other teams deployed by the city and other organizations across the city.
Many encampments aren’t near cooling centers or bus lines, he said. Some people have opted to save their effort and what little money they make from panhandling to get temporary memberships at area gyms where they can shower.
For many living outside in the heat, “you become used to it,” Barrera said.
The unhoused population is particularly at risk for heat-related illness or death.
“It’s no different than COVID,” said Nikisha Baker, executive director of SAMMinistries. “People were passing away largely because of underlying health conditions that exacerbated their COVID illness. That’s what we find, particularly with this population, is that they are more prone or more susceptible to premature death simply because of their living conditions.”
In a drainage culvert on the South Side, several residents were tucked away in the shade of a street overpass Saturday when a gray truck approached.
“What do you need? Talk to me — agua? comida?” Barrera called through his open window as he opened the door. He’s known several unhoused residents for years and has himself experienced homelessness and heroin addiction. Barrera will be 11 years clean in October.
Generally, Barrera tries to get folks to come to Haven for shelter or other services, but on weekends and during this heat, it’s really about making sure they are safe, he said.
“I want to meet them where they’re at,” he said.
Michael, who declined to share his last name, was one of about five people staying in the culvert who emerged to chat with Pete and receive supplies such as water, electrolytes, cooling towels, bug spray, fruit cups, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and dog food.
Budgie Gonzales, Michael’s 9-year-old Jack Russell terrier, took a bit more coaxing to venture out, with his naked feet, onto the hot concrete.
“If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here [alive],” Michael said, scratching Budgie behind his scruffy ear. Though the dog has become more accustomed to people food, it’s good to have some dog food in a pinch, he added.
He aspires to get an education and build a better life — and keep them both out of the heat, which makes it “hectic out here,” Michael said.
Barrera makes several stops a day, periodically returning to Haven to fill up on supplies and ice.
Even with a network of partners throughout the city, he knows they can’t reach everyone.
For Jay Jalal, who was visiting a friend who lives at the public housing complex Alazán Courts, the heat was reminiscent of Afghanistan, where he moved from six years ago. It has definitely gotten hotter here over the years, he said.
“It’s a lot of hot,” said Jalal, a truck driver who lives in the South Texas Medical Center area. When he can’t find a ride with a friend, sometimes he has to walk to get around. “I try to drink lots of water and green tea” to stay hydrated.
Beyond the cooling centers, the city has 24 free, public swimming pools, open until 8 p.m. — which was extended by one hour this year — and seven splash pads open until 9 p.m. for residents and families to beat the heat.
Louise Thomas sat on a bench, her slippers hovering over a puddle, while she watched her 4-year-old daughter Malayah play in the splash pad at Lincoln Park on the East Side.
“This year, whatever any opportunity to get to by water, we’ll take it,” Thomas said.
She had attempted to take her daughter to the Comanche Park playground earlier in the day. They were excited when they saw they had the park to themselves but quickly realized why.
“The slides, the bars, everything was too hot,” Thomas said.
Beyond pools, splash pads and river trips, the only other way to stay cool, she said with a sigh, is “stay inside.”
