Some of us are lucky to have a home with working air conditioning during this oppressive heat wave. Others aren’t so lucky. Cool Down St. Louis has been hard at work these last few weeks to respond to the needs of people without a means to escape this heat.
We caught up with Cool Down/Heat Up St. Louis founder Gentry Trotter to discuss how this heat is affecting St. Louis’ most vulnerable — and what can be done about it.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
What’s the demand for Cool Down St. Louis’ Services been like these last few weeks?
Oy vey! That’s the first thing, oy vey. We’re at a 45 percent increase in demand from the same time last year. Climate change is attributable to this ridiculous, intense, unanticipated weather. And that’s why we have this tremendous amount of demand. It’s just off the chart. We’ve never had this before.
From Cape Girardeau, Southern Illinois, way out in eastern Missouri, you name it, we’ve had people all over the area. We cover 44 counties, including the city of St. Louis, so it’s been hectic and terrific and just ungodly.
How do you all manage to keep up with that demand?
We’ve increased our staffing significantly. We doubled our staff, and that has been tremendous for the last month or so because we didn’t anticipate this. We’re making sure that no one is left behind.
We have two priorities. We’re fighting the blitzkrieg here. One is to help the seniors who are physically unable to keep their air, and then for low to medium-income people, we’re trying to keep them going at the same time and make sure they don’t slip through the cracks.
COVID did not help. It really decimated people’s wallets. And we’ve got to figure out ways to get trees planted. Not only do they give oxygen, but they provide a tremendous amount of shade. I go to houses where the temperature spiked up five to 10 percent more because they cut down the trees.
We have this demand because of all these issues. Because of the economy, because of inflation, because of everything. And it’s really not going to get any better.
What do you think is the most important thing people should know during a heatwave like this?
It is critically important to check on the elderly or those with disabilities and to remember there are households out there that are having tough times.
What can people do to help?
People can drop a money order or check at any Missouri and Illinois Commerce Bank. This is a new thing that we’re about to launch in the next couple of weeks. They can drop off to a teller or they can donate online. It’s Cool Down/Heat Up St. Louis in ℅ Commerce Bank, P.O. Box 868, St. Louis, MO 63188.
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