‘Just trying to find shade’: Windsor’s unhoused search for relief from extreme heat | CBC News

Windsor’s unhoused struggle to find relief in prolonged heat wave

City official says teams are informing homeless people of the cooling areas

A prolonged stretch of extreme heat began Monday in southern Ontario with daytime highs up to 37 C forecast for several areas. The hottest day is slated to be Thursday, and homeless people in Windsor are struggling to beat the heat.

“There's nowhere really around here anymore that we can put water on our heads to keep it cool,” Geoffrey Smith said.

Instead, he said he has to go by the riverfront to fill up water bottles with cold water to bring down his body temperature.

It could feel like 42 C as heatwave blankets southern Ontario this week

Environment Canada has issued an orange-level heat warning Tuesday for Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent, Sarnia-Lambton and London, which it says will be in effect through Friday, and possibly into the weekend.

“Hot and humid air can also bring deteriorating air quality and can result in the Air Quality Health Index approaching the high-risk category," the federal weather agency said.

Smith said this heat has meant he and his friends have to constantly move around the downtown area looking for shade under the trees or behind buildings in the alleys.

The biggest source of hydration for him, he said, is freezies. Each day, Smith said he goes through dozens of flavored freezies.

“It's the cheapest thing you can get at the convenience store to stay cool,” he said.

Environment Canada issues week-long heat warning across southwestern Ontario

His friend, Roland Todd Turner, agrees.

“You still have to get up and walk because you get uncomfortable sitting in one spot,” Turner, seeking refuge under a tree, said.

“You just try to find the best shade and breast and breeze.”

Turner said there is a dearth of green spaces in downtown where people can enjoy the breeze.

When asked if he visits city-operated splash pads and such, Smith said he and his other homeless friends face stigma there.

“We find that parents don't really enjoy being around the kids because of our lifestyle choices,” he said.

The city's 2024 'point-in-time count' identified 672 homeless individuals in Windsor.

Kelly Goz, who manages the city’s homelessness and housing support, said they are still working to release the most updated numbers around homelessness in Windsor.

She said members from the Family Services Windsor Essex go out to the various locations in the city and engage with people either in encampments or experiencing homelessness outdoors to let them know that they can access supports and cooling areas within the city.

She said people can access drop-in programs at shelters, like the Downtown Mission and the Homelessness and Housing Help Hub.

A heatwave blankets southwestern Ontario

“Our first responder partners are aware of where they could direct individuals. So for the officers that are walking downtown, we would make sure that they had the information so that they could provide that if they encountered somebody,” Goz told CBC News.

“I do know that we are continuously making improvements to the system that we are seeing real time impacts and improvements on [homelessness] as a result of some of that work.”

Pratyush Dayal covers climate change, immigration and race and gender issues among general news for CBC News in Windsor. Before that, he worked for three years at CBC News Saskatchewan. He has previously written for the Globe and Mail, the Vancouver Sun, and the Tyee. He holds a master's degree in journalism from UBC and can be reached at pratyush.dayal@cbc.ca