A central Iowa nonprofit is working to keep people cool as the heat index reaches triple digits this week. IMPACT Community Action Partnership has a goal of offering emergency cooling assistance to low-income individuals and families, but it's struggling to keep up as federal funding for its services dwindles.
The nonprofit partnered with the Des Moines Fire Department to request donations of new air conditioner units and fans. Donations can be dropped off at any of the 11 fire stations in the Des Moines metro.
IMPACT Health and Energy Coordinator Paula Arkema said as the cost of living is rising so is the demand for assistance.
“We’re just seeing that the demand for assistance is exceeding the resources that we have available,” she said. “People really are struggling to make ends meet, which has led to a growing number of requests for assistance in general. And now with these extreme temperatures, an increase in requests for cooling.”
Arkema explained that the federal funding IMPACT receives supports all the services it provides year-round, not just cooling assistance. She said IMPACT mostly serves low-income Iowans by offering resources like food and housing assistance — needs that keep increasing in Iowa. Now, IMPACT is also trying to keep up with cooling needs as the extreme heat warning continues.
During extreme temperatures, Arkema said fixed and low-income individuals are most vulnerable.
“When we get into a situation like this, with these extreme temperatures, it’s just simply unsafe to be in their homes with temperatures like this,” she said. “But it can be expensive to afford even the simplest items, like a fan or even a window air conditioner.”
Arkema said fans and window units are a lifeline for people that live in older houses or homes that are poorly insulated or don't have central air. The donated units IMPACT has received so far have gone back out to people in need as quickly as they’ve come in, Arkema said.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from the end of June shows more than 700 of 100,000 emergency room visits in the region were due to a heat-related illness. Extreme heat can cause heat stroke, cramps, difficulty breathing and even death in some cases. It can also impact air quality and increase the risk of wildfires in rural areas.
Urban areas are impacted by "heat islands," which occur when infrastructure absorbs and holds onto extreme heat throughout the night. When this happens, urban areas don't have time to cool off at night before the next day's temperatures, which can prolong the impacts of extreme heat.
Arkema said IMPACT plans to monitor the situation and connect people with other local resources, like cooling centers, if cooling assistance is no longer an option.
The extreme heat warning in central Iowa is expected to last through the end of the week.
