Coalition Calls for Expansion of Chicago’s Extreme Weather Response Plan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: GetinTouch@extremeweatherplannerschicago.com
“We envision a City that cares for everyone during extreme weather. We call on Mayor Johnson, Chief Soto and City Council to organize a multi-agency, full force of government response in coordination with Chicago’s health systems and the larger community.”
Chicago, Ill. September 9, 2024—Chicago Street Medicine, the Loyola Center for Community & Global Health, the Orange Tent Project, Chicago NWS Outreach, the Chicago Help Initiative and Illinois State Representative Lindsey LaPointe come together in coalition to reiterate our June call for Mayor Johnson, Chief Soto and City Council to improve Chicago’s Extreme Weather Response Plan.
Providing for the health and safety of vulnerable groups during extreme weather is a complex task that requires significant coordination, planning and activation of resources. Our coalition is alarmed at the City’s lack of adequate advance planning and coordination this year. The need for planning was exemplified this past summer by the repeated advertisement of “cooling centers” that were closed or lacked AC.
This past winter, we saw delayed reaction to a -30° below zero wind chill forecast for the week beginning January 13, in which the City waited until the day after its emergency press conference to approve and announce the activation of Harold Washington Library as the sole 24/7 warming space for the general public. We offer the reminder that the City is currently facing a lawsuit alleging that its shelters are not accessible, and access to cooling and warming centers may be the only type of shelter available to some people with disabilities. Repeated prior calls for improvement with respect to these challenges have gone unaddressed, including but not limited to calls for the Department of Family & Support Services to be more transparent and collaborative in their role of managing access to Chicago’s shelters and warming centers.
Winter is fast approaching, and Chicago must be prepared to care for a threefold increase in unhoused Chicagoans through the extreme cold. If Chicago does not improve their Extreme Weather Response Plan before this upcoming winter, we are afraid there will be a repeat of last winter’s tragic passing of Joseph De Giraud D’Agay — whose body was left outside, exposed to the elements overnight at DFSS’s Garfield Community Service Center after he collapsed in full view of a security camera. The City has yet to take any steps to ensure that the Garfield Center (Chicago’s only advertised 24/7 shelter access point) is a safe place for people to go in dangerous conditions, nor has the City recommended a feasible alternative.
We remember Joey for the life he lived, and seek to honor his memory by taking preventative actions to save lives.
To prepare for the upcoming winter, we call on Mayor Johnson, Chief Soto, and City Council to, without further delay, make the following improvements to their Extreme Weather Response Plan and ensure unhoused Chicagoans have a safe place to stay during extreme weather:
Open all six DFSS Community Service Centers as warming centers 24/7 for the winter months, beginning on November 1.
Commit to keeping a healthy portion of the currently available 5000 emergency shelter beds from the City’s migrant shelter system for this winter for anyone in need.
Deploy warming buses throughout the city during extreme winter weather activations, which should take place whenever the temperature dips below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
Make available transportation to warming centers during extreme weather activations, which should take place whenever the temperature dips below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
Make available transportation directly from hospitals to shelters for homeless persons set to be discharged, for the winter months, beginning on November 1.
Organize a working group with City Departments, City Council, community advocates, persons with lived experience, and medical professionals to collaborate on improving Chicago’s Extreme Weather Response.
In addition to these requests, our coalition has identified and developed an outline of priorities and critical barriers to accessing extreme weather services. We shared this list with City leadership in August, share it in this document today, and will share it with City Council’s Committee on Public Safety to contribute to discussion at the upcoming subject matter hearing about Chicago’s Extreme Weather Response Plan.
We add that it is imperative that members of the public, especially those from vulnerable groups impacted by extreme weather, be able to present their ideas and thoughts on how to improve the city's Extreme Weather Response Plan. We encourage interested individuals to consider preparing public comment for the subject matter hearing, or, as an alternative, provide feedback via a public survey, located on State Representative Lindsey LaPointe’s website. Representative LaPointe’s office will share an anonymized summary of feedback received with relevant City and Aldermanic officials.
We know that leaders from the CIty of Chicago, the State of Illinois, Cook County, the One System Initiative, the Chicago Continuum of Care, the delegate service provider community, Chicago’s health systems and the community at large, including those who have taken legal action to ensure Chicago shelters are accessible, are all working hard to improve our system. We stand ready to collaborate to improve Chicago’s Extreme Weather Response Plan. Particularly in light of the recent heartbreaking tragedy on the Blue Line, we consider this collaboration and the expansion of safe shelters and centers to be more important than ever.
Critical Barriers to Warming/Cooling Access:
Lack of transportation to warming/cooling centers during extreme weather for people who have navigation difficulties.
Large tracts of the city do not have any or minimal access to warming/cooling centers.
Lack of 24/7 overnight warming/cooling centers. Currently, only people seeking a shelter referral can access a single 24/7 Chicago Community service Center, at 10 S. Kedzie, during extreme weather.
Most warming/cooling centers center hours limited to 9am to 5pm.
Notification of extreme weather activations have been last minute, with little lead time for outreach workers and volunteers to notify unsheltered individuals.
Print and social media extreme weather planning notifications have been unclear, inconsistent in messaging, and not shared comprehensively across platforms.
Current activation thresholds are unclear and vary from Department to Department.
Lack of clarity on the existence as to where warming buses are located during extreme cold weather.
A medical expert to weigh in on extreme weather activations
Not all Chicago Park District field houses used as warming/cooling centers have air conditioning or ADA compliant facilities and washrooms.
Lack of an evaluation tool or any public information sharing to analyze what worked and did not work for each extreme weather activation.
Major limitations on warming/cooling centers access over holidays, including last minute communication.
Current short term warming policies create an unintended medical risk or consequence (i.e.frostbite)
Priorities for Robust Code Blue Plan:
1. Activation Criteria
Establish standardized thresholds for extreme weather planning and response activation.
Use medical and meteorological experts on extreme weather-related illnesses to set each threshold for activation.
Publicly communicate activation criteria, including justification
Ensure advanced notification for forecasted extreme weather events.
Develop consistent messaging and activation thresholds across all City Departments.
2. Notification and Communication
Provide advance notice of warming and cooling centers availability and hours. Strive for consistency across extreme weather events.
Use streamlined and multifaceted communication strategies
Direct communication to vulnerable populations and formal and informal outreach providers (e.g., DFSS delegate agencies, library staff)
Active information sharing across agencies and departments
Clear communication, with dates, of both available and unavailable services and resources. Remove out of date information
Digital platforms, traditional media, print media and physical postings.
Establish a robust notification system for professionals who are acting as warming/cooling center staff (e.g., parks, police stations, libraries, City Colleges).
Proactive contact about upcoming weather events and subsequent center activation status.
Clear communication on operational durations and expectations.
3. Emergency Cooling/Warming Center Operations
Extended Operating Hours
Establish 24/7 cooling/warming centers.
Ensure some basic availability during weekends, overnight and holidays.
Extend hours for critical services during extreme weather events
Geographic Distribution
Provide equitable distribution of 24/7 centers across all 77 Chicago communities and/or regions of the City.
Implement mobile cooling/warming buses as part of a clearly communicated plan.
Health System Coordination
Improve coordination with hospitals on patient discharge and discharge procedures during extreme weather events, in particular for those experiencing homelessness..
Establish cooling/warming areas within hospitals to prevent discharge into extreme weather
Operational Policies
Avoid short-term warming and cooling policies that may increase health risks (e.g., allowing people to warm up for short periods of time.
Implement continuous operation during extreme weather events
Lean on best practice and procedure resources from the public health and emergency response fields.
4. Transportation
Reliable, Accessible and Diverse Transportation Options
Develop a predictable transportation plan to and from warming/ cooling centers.
Implement shuttle services from high-traffic areas and identified hot spots.
Ensure accessibility for people with different mobility needs, including group and individual transportation options.
Centralized Dispatch System
Utilize 311 as a central dispatch for transportation to warming/cooling centers
Integrate transportation requests with center capacity management
5. Outreach Efforts
Lean into CoC outreach coordination efforts in the unsheltered initiative, but also ensure induction of non CoC connected agencies.
Training and Education
Provide formal training on extreme weather plans and best practices to:
Outreach organizations beyond HOP teams
Professionals who are acting as warming/cooling center staff
Coordination and Collaboration
Leverage CoC outreach coordination efforts in the unsheltered initiative, but also ensure induction of non CoC connected agencies.
Continuous Improvement
Establish a feedback loop incorporating input from:
Outreach teams
Professionals who are acting as warming/cooling center staff
Regularly review and update processes based on collected feedback
6. Accommodations for Special Needs and Vulnerable Populations
Senior Services
Expand hours of the 21 senior centers serving as warming/cooling centers during extreme weather events, including weekends and holidays.
Accessibility
Ensure all warming/cooling centers are wheelchair accessible with ADA-compliant washrooms.
Task OEMC with reviewing and updating the list of sites to confirm ADA compliance.
Well-being Checks
Enhance the response system for well-being checks during extreme weather events.
Personal Property Management
Implement policies allowing individuals to safely store personal belongings at warming/cooling centers.
Develop plans for accommodating individuals with pets, in collaboration with local animal shelters or animal control.
Specialized Consultation
Establish regular consultations with non-profit partners specializing in disability access
Incorporate feedback to continually improve accommodations for those with special needs
Minors/Families
Ensure that warming/cooling centers’ environment are safe for children
Ensure background checks of volunteers/staff
Ensure that volunteers/staff are trained to observe and recognize needs of children for protective services, mental health referral needs, or immediate medical attention needs
7. On-going Evaluation of Extreme Weather Activations
Medical Validation
Engage CDPH weather medical expert to confirm activation criteria based on health impacts of weather events
Comprehensive Evaluation & Stakeholder Collaboration
Work with outreach and warming/cooling center staff to identify and implement process improvements
Develop an evaluation tool to analyze each extreme weather activation - what worked and what didn’t.
Publish results along with proposed corrective actions
Incorporate feedback from service system users, staff, volunteers.
Use a human-centered design feedback process and ensure evaluation is accessible and user friendly for all stakeholders.
