With temperatures soaring, Denver7 is looking out for you and your family by finding ways to beat the heat.
Data shows roughly one in three Denver families do not have cooling systems in their homes. The City of Denver is working with several nonprofits to provide portable air conditioning units to underserved communities
Thanks to a partnership with Denver's Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency, two nonprofits each received grants of up to $50,000 to help distribute the units. So far, 75 portable A/C units have been distributed, primarily in the Globeville Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods.
“My mom doesn't have A/C and she does dialysis three times a week, “ said Denver resident Kimberly Bobian. “I think it's really fantastic, especially for people that are up in age cause they can't deal with this.”
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Businesses that involve being outdoors are also working to keep their employees safe.
When Denver7 crews arrived at Petrocco Farms in Brighton on Wednesday, no one was out in the field. On days where extreme heat is predicted, employees start their days earlier — around 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. — so they are out of the heat before the worst of it arrives at noon.
Joseph Petrocco said his company is proactive and looks out for extreme heat days like today. The farm also partnered with Colorado State University several years ago for a heat study to better understand heat-related illnesses among farmworkers.
“We've seen such good feedback, not only in our bottom line, but our workers appreciate it so much more," said Petrocco. "We're actually working together to try to find good solutions to combat this hot weather we're having to deal with. It gets hotter and hotter every summer. So if we can work together as a team and be on the same page, we really can do a lot better as a whole."
Employees typically wear loose-fitting long-sleeved cotton garments to avoid the sun. They also take lots of breaks in the shade.
Petrocco Farms encourages smaller, more frequent drinks of water rather than drinking a lot at once, which can lead to dehydration.
