Worcester has just 2 cooling centers. Here's why city councilors want more

WORCESTER — It’s time to have a plan for when the city gets scorching hot this summer. 

That’s the message from the City Council as it relates to cooling centers, places designated as safe havens where residents can escape the stifling heat on broiling summer days. Plus, it is a way to avoid the dangerous health risks that accompany increasingly higher temperatures connected to the climate crisis.

“We need to have a set plan,” said District 4 Councilor Sarai Rivera, before the council voted unanimously on Tuesday night to have the city’s Health and Human Services Department report back with a detailed strategy for the city’s cooling centers.

Essentially what the council wants is a proactive plan, not one that results in the city scrambling for locations during heat waves and deep freezes. The push follows the start of an ongoing Telegram & Gazette reporting project called "City on Fire," about rising temperatures.

One report highlighted a recent consultant’s report that estimated Worcester experiences eight deaths and up to an excess 300 hospital visits annually due to extreme heat, numbers that Mayor Joseph M. Petty said “concern” him and necessitated his call for the cooling center report.

In the next few weeks, the city could announce additional cooling center locations, said City Manager Eric Batista. He declined to name any possibilities, citing ongoing negotiations with local colleges and private sources.

Another call for more cooling centers

The Rev. Clyde Talley, senior pastor at Belmont A.M.E. Zion Church in Main South, supports an initiative to add places where people can escape the heat in the worst parts of the summer.  

“There should be more,” said Talley, whose congregation is located in a diverse section of the city that is predominately low-income. “Cost is an issue for the city, but a lot of people need (cooling centers), especially in underserved and overlooked populations in Worcester.”

Time for action on summer's rising heat

Councilors stressed they've introduced the topic of more cooling centers several times in the past few years. Now it’s time for action because even though June has been marked by mild temperatures, hot weather is forecast for this summer and for many years ahead as the planet heats due to carbon emissions.

“Climate change is real,” said Rivera before Tuesday’s vote. “What we need to do is, how do we look at a set plan and move forward.” 

One data point highlights the need for more cooling centers in Worcester. According to First Street Foundation, the average adult who grew up in Worcester will see eight times as many hot summer days each year by the time they retire, compared to when they were young.

First Street is a nonprofit that provides peer-reviewed research to assess climate risk. Here is a breakdown of the rising heat prediction due to climate crisis:

• A hot day in Worcester is considered to be any day above a “feels like” temperature of 93 degrees.
• Worcester is expected to experience seven hot days this year. Due to a changing climate, in three decades, Worcester likely will experience more than twice as many hot days annually - 16 days every year.
• About 30 years ago, when many adults in Worcester were young, the number of days above 93 in a typical year was just two.

Cooling centers in Worcester aren't accessible to all

There are two cooling centers in Worcester, and councilors noted they’re not accessible to everyone, especially those in underserved neighborhoods without access to transportation. Talley said all such centers should be located along bus lines so more people can reach them.

The city’s two centers are located at the Worcester Senior Center on Providence Street and the public library’s main branch downtown at Salem Square. That compares to seven cooling centers in Springfield, with a population of roughly 155,000 – smaller than Worcester’s 206,000 residents.  

Batista noted that Springfield has day resource centers for the homeless that offer a complete range of services that can be used as cooling centers, and said Worcester is working to establish such a center that could serve as a cooling center, if needed. Springfield's cooling centers are located at senior and community centers, plus one public park, based on a list provided by the city.

Providence, with a population of roughly 190,000, has 11 cooling centers, and the number activated during a heating event varies depending on the hours of the facility. The three emergency cooling centers have prolonged operating hours.

Batista said he supports more centers, having them located in all of Worcester's five districts, and sufficient transportation access for all residents to reach them. He also noted the city’s relationship with the Worcester Regional Transit Authority as a way to expand transportation access, and cited the example of the deep freeze in February when the city stepped up to make sure residents were transported to the senior center for overnight shelter. 

As for the city’s overall management of the centers, Batista said hours of operation, staffing numbers and level of services provided depend on the severity of the emergency. Extreme heat over the course of a few hours might mean a brief supply of bottled water and a safe place to rest. A heat wave that lasts for several days could mean overnight meals and cots.

The city doesn't track the number of people visiting heating or cooling centers, unless they're being used overnight. A total of 68 people used the emergency heating center that was set up at the senior center during the winter.

“The interest is there, the commitment is there,” said Batista of the city’s effort to nail down a cooling center plan. “We’re committed to more locations, and a comprehensive plan for the community.” 

What about AC at lower price?

On the topic of the city offering window unit air conditioners at a discount price for income-eligible residents, Batista said there’s no money in the city budget to pay for it. 

State and federal dollars could be tapped for such a program, said Batista, including from the $146 million Worcester received in federal American Rescue Plan Act money to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than $60 million remains in the city’s ARPA account, according to a report the council recently received from Batista. 

Dr. Matilde Castiel, Worcester's health and human services commissioner, recently said that since the city doesn’t have the money budgeted for discounted AC units, community organizations and residents could fund it.

Talley doesn't see that happening.

"If those agencies had the money, then they could have (bought AC units) already," Talley said.

The Telegram & Gazette is investigating the effects of a rapidly heating planet on people who live in our city. Follow along with "City on Fire" as we report the struggle with summer temperatures, even in New England. This is part of the Paste BN project Perilous Course. Contact reporter Henry Schwan to be included in a story if you have been affected by heat: expense of air conditioning or lack of it, health risks, less access to green space, concern about pets and animals in the summer conditions, worry about an older loved one, etc.

Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter: @henrytelegram.