ATLANTA — Temperatures are expected to rise Tuesday and emergency responders are preparing for a spike in calls for help.
Monday night, organizations across metro Atlanta activated teams trained to help.
Channel 2’s Courtney Francisco joined nonprofit A Home for Everyone in DeKalb as they handed out water to those who have no place to escape the heat overnight.
“Everybody is trying to find a place to stay cool,” said volunteer Princess Walton.
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“When it’s 90 degrees, we tend to activate,” said Executive Director Gregory White.
Firefighters said some of those most at-risk are those who have to work outdoors.
“It makes for quite the dangerous situation,“ said Forsyth County Fire Division Chief Jason Shivers.
Atlanta Fire and Rescue is handing out water to anyone who needs it at fire stations across the city this week.
The City of Atlanta is opening a cooling center at Selena S. Butler Park on Tuesday morning at 11 a.m.
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Clayton County said all libraries and recreational centers will be used as cooling stations Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. The county’s Senior Services Centers are opening Flint River Community Center to those who need to get out of the heat.
MUST Ministries is operating Cobb County’s cooling center at the Hope House on Bells Ferry Rd.
“We’re there to help make a difference,” said President and CEO Ike Reighard. “We could have as many as 50 to 100 extra people who come in out of the elements because it becomes life threatening.”
The volunteers walking the streets in DeKalb County are hoping to help get ahead of any problems Monday night.
“That heat comes early in the morning,” said Walton. “It’s overwhelming.”
She knows because she sleeps outside too. She does not have a home. She said as long as the donations keep coming, she will be helping the nonprofits get water to the right areas.
“I know where a lot of people are,” said Walton.
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