News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Cookeville Rescue Mission (CRM) looks to help homeless residents as summer temperatures begin to rise.
CRM Family Manager Miranda Honeycutt said the hotter weather can take its toll on the area’s homeless population.
“If the temperatures go over 85 degrees and they’re walking around in the summer weather like that all day,” Honeycutt said, “it can cause heat exhaustion, it can cause them to be ill or can [lead to] death from heat exhaustion.”
Honeycutt said the Mission typically sees an influx of occupants as temperatures get higher.
“We do tend to fill up to capacity over the summer where people are either coming in just trying to cool off,” Honeycutt said, “or if they just want to settle down for a little while to get out of the heat so they don’t have the inclement weather affecting their health.”
Honeycutt said the Mission will offer a solution to both the homeless and the general public trying to beat the heat this summer.
“We are offering the welcome center to be open to the general public for even people who have stayed before that are not allowed to stay overnight,” Honeycutt said. “We’re letting anybody in the community to come in and cool off and attend the functions that are going on at CRM.”
CRM is currently accepting bottled water donations to give to visitors over the summer. Visitors looking to utilize the mission’s welcome center to cool off can visit the shelter between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The National Weather Service predicts daily high temperatures will stay above 80 degrees through next Tuesday, with a chance for showers the remainder of the week into Sunday.
