Catholic Charities opens cooling centers amid Pacific Northwest heat wave  

Jonah McKeown   By Jonah McKeown for CNA

Cooling center location in Spokane, Washington / Catholic Charities Eastern Washington/Facebook

Denver Newsroom, Jun 30, 2021 / 19:00 pm (CNA).

Amid an unprecedented heat wave in the Pacific Northwest, local Catholic agencies are working to provide relief for the elderly, disabled and homeless.

Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington on Monday opened five new cooling shelters in Spokane, set to stay open through Thursday at the earliest.

The National Weather Service in Spokane announced an excessive heat warning last week, and expressed high confidence that temperatures will reach 100 degrees every day until Thursday, the Spokesman-Review reported. On Tuesday, Spokane hit a new heat record of 109 degrees.

Catholic Charities spokeswoman Sarah Yerden said daily hours are 10 am to 6 pm, and that the shelters may stay open past Thursday if necessary.

In King County, Washington, where Seattle is located, temperatures soared to 108 degrees on Monday, tying the all-time record set a day before.

Catholic Community Services of Western Washington, located in Seattle, recently shared a list of cooling centers throughout the region. Nativity House, a day center and shelter for the homeless located in nearby Tacoma, requested donations of water on Tuesday, asking the public to drop donations at their facility in the city.

Portland, Oregon recorded an all-time heat record of 116 degrees on Monday. Both Portland and Seattle have recorded hundreds of emergency room and urgent care visits for heat-related illness.

Across the border in Canada, Lytton, British Columbia, hit 117.5 degrees – the highest temperature ever recorded in the country.

Krista Greig with the Archdiocese of Vancouver’s communications office told CNA that Catholic Charities’ offices throughout the city have been trying to make air conditioning available to the people they serve. 


If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!

Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.


About Catholic News Agency 10107 Articles
Catholic News Agency (www.catholicnewsagency.com)

13 Trackbacks / Pingbacks

  1. Front-line workers weren’t protected during the Pacific Northwest heat wave - LenexworldLenexworld
  2. Frontline workers were not protected during the Pacific Northwest heat wave
  3. Front-line workers weren’t protected during the Pacific Northwest heat wave - Republic Americas
  4. Frontline workers were left unprotected during the Pacific Northwest heat wave - News full circle
  5. Front-line workers weren’t protected during the Pacific Northwest heat wave – Lenexnews
  6. Front-line workers weren’t protected during the Pacific Northwest heat wave | worldnews5
  7. Exclusive: Front-line workers weren’t protected during the Pacific Northwest heat wave – Last Bulletin
  8. Front-line workers weren’t protected during the Pacific Northwest heat wave - Pushy Politics
  9. Front-line workers weren’t protected during the Pacific Northwest heat wave – Ridarswear
  10. Front-line workers weren’t protected during the Pacific Northwest heat wave - News Network Center
  11. Front-line workers weren’t protected during the Pacific Northwest heat wave – ConsumersAdvisory.com
  12. Entrance-line staff weren’t protected in the course of the Pacific Northwest warmth wave – Money Making Methods
  13. Front-line workers weren’t protected during the Pacific Northwest heat wave – Wire Tapped America

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

All comments posted at Catholic World Report are moderated. While vigorous debate is welcome and encouraged, please note that in the interest of maintaining a civilized and helpful level of discussion, comments containing obscene language or personal attacks—or those that are deemed by the editors to be needlessly combative or inflammatory—will not be published. Thank you.


*