California, meanwhile is investing $10 million in its Neighbor-to-Neighbor program over the next three years.
Under its Extreme Heat Action Plan unveiled in April, California is hoping to tap Neighbor-to-Neighbor’s 5,000 volunteers to connect with vulnerable people before disaster strikes. The plan calls for mapping communities across the state, identifying those at risk for heat as well as neighbors who can help.
Such networks are particularly important for seniors who may otherwise be isolated in heat emergencies. And as we age, we don’t adjust as well to temperature changes, said Linda Rudolph, director of the Center for Climate Change and Health at the nonprofit Public Health Institute. In the remote desert town of Twentynine Palms, volunteers with the nonprofit Reach Out routinely check in on senior residents, and the facility opens its cooling center to the whole community when the heat index reaches 115 degrees, which is common in the summer months.