DENVER — As temperatures hit 100 degrees in Denver, advocates are calling on the city to expand access to cooling shelters for families and people experiencing homelessness.
Denver opens cooling areas at city recreation centers and public libraries during business hours when a heat advisory is in effect. The city activated cooling areas Sunday and Monday in response to the high temperatures.
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However, some advocates say that's not enough, and are urging the city to expand access to cooling centers and open dedicated emergency shelters for extreme heat days. On Sundays, only about a quarter of the city's rec centers and libraries are open and close at 4 p.m. or 5 p.m.
"When they're shut down at four or five, and no one has nowhere to go, or access to water, or anything, it's hard. It's really hard," said Amanda Trujillo, whose family is experiencing homelessness and spent Sunday cooling off at the Sam Gary Branch Library.
Amy Beck, the founder of Together Denver, is urging the city to open dedicated emergency cooling shelters during extreme heat events, mirroring the emergency shelter protocols Denver already uses for severe winter weather.
"We need people to be indoors at least until the sun goes down," Beck said. "We really need to switch from the current model of trying to use the rec centers for dual purpose, because the system that the city has designed does not meet the needs of our unhoused community, so they really need some dedicated space rather than a space that closes at 4 p.m."
Jon Ewing, a spokesperson for Denver Mayor Mike Johnston's office, told Denver7 cold weather demands a different response than heat primarily because the most dangerous temperatures hit at different times of day. He directed questions about dedicated cooling shelters to the city's Department of Public Health & Environment and the Department of Housing Stability.
Ewing added one of the city's day centers stays open past rec centers and libraries on the weekends. We checked and found the Lawrence Street Community Center at 2222 Lawrence Street is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day.
Trujillo agreed that dedicated shelters would make a difference for families like hers during extreme heat.
"It's too hot to be in the sun," she said.
