Staying Cool

Many of our neighbors are facing the challenge of staying cool without electricity. For some people, this is an inconvenience. For others, particularly for older and younger residents, this is a matter of life and death.

City Health Department director Dr. William Kincaid, the Fire and Police Chiefs, and I have been working with other public and private officials, including members of the Missouri National Guard, to identify vulnerable City residents and find them cool, safe places to be until the heat subsides and the power returns.

Many of you have been doing this on your own — calling your own friends and relatives and offering them refuge. Some of you have gone even further — offering refuge to total strangers. Tony Thompson of Kwame Group, for example, has opened the air-conditioned space on the ground floor of Jack Thompson Square on Washington Avenue to his friends, tenants, employees, and total strangers.

You all have my thanks for helping out.

If you need to find a cool space, please call 1-800-427-4626.