Safe Space Chico

Can you help feed our neighbors today?

Safe Space's Cooling Center is serving more than 40 people each day, and our food supplies have run dangerously low.

We're currently in need of:

• Bread, lunch meat, cheese, and sandwich condiments
• Individual bags of chips and cookies
• Soft protein bars
• Fruit cups and fruit snacks
• Juice boxes
• Bottled water
• Popsicles
• Ice

We're also looking for volunteers—including individuals, families, businesses, faith communities, and civic groups—to prepare or provide meals for our guests.

Donations are accepted daily between 12:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church.

Every sandwich, every snack, and every volunteer helps ensure our neighbors have access to food, hydration, and relief from the heat.

Thank you for helping make our community a place where no one has to face extreme weather alone.

Not everyone experiences a hot day the same way.

When temperatures rise, most people can step inside, turn on the air conditioner, or pour a glass of cold water.

For thousands of people, those choices don't exist.

Extreme heat is one of the deadliest weather hazards in the United States, and the people most at risk are often those with the fewest resources—older adults, people living with chronic health conditions, outdoor workers, and neighbors experiencing homelessness. As NPR recently reported, heat-related illness can develop faster than many people realize, making access to shade, water, and air conditioning more than a comfort—it can be lifesaving.

This is why Safe Space operates the Cooling Center.

Every day our doors are open, someone has the opportunity to cool down, hydrate, rest, and escape dangerous temperatures. For many, that simple opportunity can prevent a medical emergency.

Take a few minutes to read NPR's article and learn why extreme heat deserves our attention:

Read the NPR article

You can help, too.

Donate bottled water, electrolyte drinks, sunscreen, hats, or cooling towels. Volunteer your time. Make a financial gift. And perhaps most importantly, check on someone who may not have a safe place to escape the heat.

Compassion doesn't have to be complicated. Sometimes, it begins with making sure a neighbor has somewhere cool to go.

Please share this post so more people know help is available.

COMIC: How excessive heat kills and how to stay safe Human bodies have a natural cooling system, but it can do only so much in high temperatures and humidity. Here's the science behind how heat kills. And how to protect yourself.