Sarah Peterson drove forty minutes to Cordelia Park so her nephew could play in the fountains on Wednesday.
“The water could be a little bit colder, but it's decent,” Peterson said. “We’ll be back.”
The heat this week is a public health threat for everyone, but especially unhoused people, senior citizens and people with disabilities. Parks with fountains are part of Charlotte’s strategy to protect residents. Recreation centers, libraries and day services centers also opened their doors for anyone to sit and find relief in the AC.
“Our focus in the summertime is really safe places to go during the day to cool off,” said Karen Pelletier, the director of housing innovation and stabilization services for Mecklenburg County.
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Even if people have air conditioning at home, summer utility bills can be a life-threatening barrier. Gloria Romano lives in a senior community in Huntersville. She has AC but said it's too expensive to run all day.
“When you're living on Social Security, you're limited income, as to how far that has to go, you've got to spread it out,” Romano said. “I use it as little as possible.”
Romano received a box fan through a county program that provides free fans to seniors and people with disabilities.
“Financially, the utility bills are really high,” Romano said. “With this kind of heat, we need any additional help that we can get. Since these are free, that's a good price.”
The current heatwave is bringing with it high levels of humidity, which can make fans feel less effective. However, Dr. Richard Van Meter, a family practitioner in Gastonia, said any form of moving air, be that wind or a fan, is critical to keeping cool.
“The air movement across the skin actually helps to produce more evaporation, which helps cool you off,” Van Meter said. “So box fans are incredibly helpful.”
The David B. Waymer Recreation Center in Huntersville, where Romano got her fan, received 30 fans from the county. All 30 were claimed on the program’s first day. Whether these interventions can meet the scale of Charlotte’s extreme heat risk is an open question, with summer’s hottest months yet to come.
Van Meter emphasized caution and taking care to stay out of the sun.
“Don't be cutting the grass at noon,” Van Meter said. “That's a terrible idea.”