PORTLAND, Ore. — As a homeless man in North Portland, Paul fills a shopping cart with his one defense against the heat: dozens of water bottles. He collects them for days like Thursday when temperatures in Portland reached nearly 100 degrees.
“I fill them up with ice and then water,” he said.
Nearby, crews from Portland Street Response (PSR) — a group that assists people experiencing homelessness with mental and behavioral health crises throughout Portland — were dropping off cooling supplies, including water bottles for people like Paul.
“I used to be part of the problem. Now I want to be part of the solution,” said Nikki Todd, a peer support specialist with PSR.
“We appreciate it, we do. It's really nice,” said one homeless woman named Cami of PSR handing out water and cooling towels.
Four people from PSR split into two crews and covered camps in North and Northeast Portland Thursday. But that left some homeless people in other parts of the city, like Lauren in Southeast, to find alternatives.
“They do it downtown, but they don't do it for us out here,” he said. “Around here it's hard because there's not a lot of shady spots around."
PSR knows they can only reach so many people on extreme weather days, and they are in the process of recruiting more frontline staff. Until then, they are relying on the community and other partners to fill the gaps.
“I think every little bit helps. I wish that there was an army of us out here because there are so many people in need,” said Steven Beatty, who works with Portland Street Response.
Cooling centers are not open in Multnomah County despite the near-100-degree weather. The county's severe weather threshold has not yet been met like it was in early July. County officials instead urged people to find cool places to go, including public libraries and community centers.