SAN DIEGO — As the weather heats up in San Diego, volunteer efforts ramp up to make sure people experiencing homelessness have the right items to help stay cool.
Sunscreen is one item needed in the summer. People experiencing homelessness told CBS 8 that they often got sunburnt from being outside with no sun protection.
“I’d burn very easily and very quickly from being out in the sun for many, many hours,” Christina said.
Dehydration, heat stroke and heat exhaustion are some heat-related illnesses anyone can get from being in extreme heat. The main need this time of year is staying hydrated.
"Gatorades, water, Powerades, stuff to really help rehydrate you, that is the best thing to do when it is hot and humid like this," Christina said.
Christina and many others were able to find items like this Monday night. For the past 12 years, Streets of Hope has passed out food and necessities to unsheltered people downtown.
Volunteers gather every Monday at 6 p.m. outside the Smart and Final parking lot on 15th St.
“We store a lot of our summer clothes that people give in the winter to bring out in the summer, like shorts and tees and things like that,” Streets of Hope Founder Dan D'Amato said.
Along with typical summer attire, some basics are still important.
“Socks are the number one thing," D'Amato said. "People always need socks, and you would think more so in the winter but also even in the summer because you get sweaty right? And you don’t want to wear the same socks."
Streets of Hope is always open to volunteers and donations. The organization has already helped seven people get housing this year.
“It’s a tragedy when the weather’s extreme. You know whether its the cold, the hot, the rain," D'Amato said. "People all across the country think ‘San Diego doesn’t have that type of severe weather,’ But it does as we know."
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