Much of the U.S. is dealing with frigid temperatures and layers of ice and snow left over from a winter storm that swept over multiple states this weekend. More than 15 deaths have been reported and more than 800,000 people lost electricity.
As of Monday morning, more than 200 million people from Texas to New England were under cold alerts, with forecasters warning that bitter cold could persist through the week in many regions.
For unhoused people, extreme winter weather isn’t just an uncomfortable inconvenience. It’s life threatening. Exposure to the extreme cold can bring frostbite, hypothermia, and death.
How can communities and healthcare providers better serve their unhoused neighbors to keep them safe during extreme cold weather events? We’ve rounded up some resources below:
Resources
- Cold-Related Injuries clinical resources page (NHCHC)
- Surviving Severe Weather: Tools to Promote Emergency Preparedness for People Experiencing Homelessness (NHCHC)
- Developing a Cold Weather Sheltering Plan for PEH (NHCHC)
- Exposure-Related Conditions: Symptoms and Prevention Strategies (NHCHC’s Healing Hands publication)
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s cold weather safety page
- As the World Burns: HCH Responses to the Impacts of Extreme Weather and Climate Change (HCH2024 presentation materials from Susannah King, David Peery, Stephanie Martinez, Lucy Kasdin, and Brittany Melton-Hill)
- Homelessness and Mortality Fact Sheet (NHCHC)
Request Technical Assistance
Wondering how to address the effects extreme cold on the unhoused in your community? Need details on how other health centers are approaching this growing concern? Want to learn more about the process of setting up a warming center? The Council can help!
