KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There is help available for some of the most vulnerable who trying to beat the heat.
The Bishop Sullivan Center has already given away close to 80 air conditioning units through its Project Elder Cool Program.
FOX 4’s Mary Pulley was there as volunteers delivered a unit to a home where it was hotter inside than it was outside.
Bennie Bradford contacted The Bishop Sullivan Center, when her old unit couldn’t keep up with the temperatures.
‘I got oxygen over there. I take heart medicine. It’s just a blessing, ” she said. “I thank God for it. I just thank God for it.”
The temperature outside read 92 degrees, but it read 100 degrees inside her home.
Hot summers have proven to be more than uncomfortable. They’re also deadly.
There have been about a couple dozen deaths in the past 2 years. However it’s not nearly as many as the more than 150 local heat deaths reported in the summer of 1980.
“Do we want to see those kinds of statistics or numbers, or facts? No, we want to help people make it through the tough parts of the summer here,” said Maria Antonia, Bishop Sullivan Center communications director. “And you know how hot and how humid and how uncomfortable it gets.”
With the temperatures expected to climb in the week ahead, Bishop Sullivan volunteers will be out delivering even more units.
New this year, there’s some additional assistance for elders who worry about the cost of running their units.
Bishop Sullivan will deposit $100 to their electric accounts so they’ll have less worry when it comes to turning on the AC, when they need it.
The Bishop Sullivan Centers urges elders to give them a call if they need to. The number is 816-231-0984 You’re also urged to check on your elderly neighbors and loved ones.
