In San Jose, a homeless man died earlier this week due to the heat. the current heat wave continues to affect those living on the streets.
With the largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area under an extended excessive heat warning all week that isn’t expected to end until July 10, Amanda Teran has been dealing with heat-related illnesses for the past few days.
“Just being so hot makes you sick. You feel like throwing up.” [and] “I just want to lie here,” said Teran, who has been homeless for 12 years. “It’s hard when you’re told to leave.” [and] “We don’t feel good because of the heat outside. It’s chaos. Nobody cares about us here, about what we’re going through. Each of us is going through our own ordeal. And he’s going through his crisis alone.”
On Tuesday, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said A homeless man died due to the intense heat in the region.
“Nobody cared enough to say, ‘Hey, maybe they needed water. Maybe he needed an umbrella for shade.’ Something,” Teran said. “I’m scared for all of us here because we’re at risk of dying here, really. Nobody cares enough.”
Dr. Sunil Bhopale, an emergency physician and associate chief medical officer of hospital operations at Kaiser Permanente Redwood City, said people experiencing homelessness are among the most vulnerable during the current heat wave in the South Bay.
“A lot of times they come looking for help or someone sees someone who is homeless and calls 911 for help. So they end up going to the emergency room. The key is to be compassionate. We all deserve care, treatment and dignity,” said Dr. Bhopale. “This is definitely a vulnerable group of people, just like the young and the elderly.”
Overall, Dr. Bhopale said more patients are coming to his hospital because of heat-related illnesses.
“Dehydration, feeling tired, feeling dizzy, lightheaded, those kinds of things. We’re definitely seeing an increase,” Bhopale said. “Heat is such a problem because it can lead to dehydration, then fatigue, and sometimes even loss of consciousness. Be aware that you’re hot. Stay hydrated even if you’re not thirsty.”
Staying hydrated during a heat wave when you’re homeless comes with challenges, from carrying the water itself to even finding sources of clean water.
“It’s hard to find because only certain parks have these things that you can fill your jug with. And it depends on where they sweep you and how far you have to go to set up another tent or another campsite, that’s how far you have to go to get water,” Teran said.
While surviving the heat wave is her immediate concern, Teran said her main goal is to find housing, something she has been unable to do for the past 12 years.
“We’re not all here by choice. We’re not all doing bad things. Some of us are trying to get our lives back together. We’re not all stealing from everyone. We’re not all doing drugs,” she said. “I have faith in God. As long as I have God, that’s all that matters.”
