BOSTON – Communities hardest hit by COVID-19 will be getting some extra help facing the dual challenges of pandemic recovery and rising summer temperatures this year, thanks to a unique partnership among local government and area non-profits.
The Boston-based Barr Foundation is working with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) and Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) this summer to distribute emergency heat mitigation funding to communities heavily impacted by COVID-19.
In this second year of the “COVID-Safe Cooling” program, five municipalities and 10 community-based organizations in Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Revere, Lawrence, Lynn and Brockton received grants of between $25,000 and $50,000.
In addition to providing direct assistance for cooling relief in communities both heavily impacted by COVID-19 and extreme heat, the program also focuses on developing and piloting new types of projects that may be replicated or scaled up in the future, as well as identifying policy barriers and opportunities to address rising temperatures over the long term at the local, regional, and state levels.
Providing ways for residents of hard-hit communities to keep cool in increasingly hot summers has become an urgent priority for policy makers, especially because lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color suffer disproportionately from extreme heat and pandemic-related economic impacts. In 2020, when many residents of vulnerable areas were forced to stay home to socially distance safely, inequitable access to cooling options became a serious issue of public health.
“While Massachusetts has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, with over 62% of the population vaccinated, not everyone feels comfortable going to a cooling center or shopping complex to find air conditioning. It’s critical that people are able to cool down at home, or with a trusted family member or friend during a heat wave,” said Jeanette Pantoja, Senior Public Health Planner at MAPC. “Our housing in Massachusetts tends to be older and ill-equipped to deal with extreme heat, and only 14% of households have central cooling. Additionally, many urban areas have not seen the same investment in shade trees, green space, and splash pads that wealthier neighboring suburban communities have, which has led to a greater heat impact when temperatures soar above 90 degrees. These items should no longer be viewed as luxuries, but as critical infrastructure to protect the health of our communities.”
The strategies implemented by the grantees range from providing personal cooling equipment such as energy efficient air conditioners, box fans, and cooling kits to residents in need to utility bill assistance, community outreach, and education on heat safety.
The City of Lawrence is leveraging funding to construct their first splash pad at Storrow Park, while the City of Revere is deploying pop-up splash parks during heat waves. The community-based organization GreenRoots in Chelsea is building off their successful project last year installing water fountains with the city, and this year will bring misting stations and temporary shade structures that they hope will become permanent installations with new shade trees. In Boston, the Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation is partnering with All In Energy to pair air conditioner installations with free energy-efficiency assessments.
“We’re very excited to provide another year of funding and assistance to these community-based organizations, who are doing such critical work on the ground with community members. While it’s important to provide cooling relief now, it’s also necessary to incorporate extreme heat planning into multiple levels of our society – at the community, municipal, and state levels,” said Melanie Gárate, Climate Resilience Manager from the Mystic River Watershed Association. “Just as we have adapted to living with snow, we now must prioritize keeping people safe from extreme heat as a top public health concern as climate change alters our daily lives.”
Massachusetts experienced two early heat waves in the month of June this year, before many people in the region were ready. This unpredictable and premature extreme heat contributed to public school closures, a scramble to convert large apartment buildings from winter heating mode into summer cooling, and a string of drownings in areas not considered safe for swimming.
“We’re proud to partner with MAPC and MyRWA to advance cooling relief in communities impacted by both the pandemic and extreme heat,” said Kalila Barnett, Barr’s Program Officer for Climate Resilience. “We know that the neighborhoods most burdened by climate impacts, like extreme heat, also deal with the highest COVID infection and death rates. Centering the real needs of neighbors and residents is critical to ensuring climate resilience work saves lives.”
In addition to the grant funding, MAPC and MyRWA are providing technical assistance to the grantees, including support with buying cooling equipment, communication templates, resources in multiple languages, and one-on-one help to troubleshoot challenges.
For more information about the COVID-Safe Cooling Program, visit www.mapc.org/resource-library/extreme-heat.
