The Science Behind Weather
Dr. Corene Matyas is an Associate Professor in the geography department at the University of Florida. She specializes in tropical climatology, hurricanes, severe weather, remote sensing of rainfall and natural hazards. Here she speaks about the trends of severe weather and their effect on homelessness.
Dr. Chang-Yu Wu serves as the Department Head of Environmental Engineering at the University of Florida. He spoke with us about how weather has changed over the years and expressed his concerns on current shelters in Gainesville.
2017 was one of the hottest years on record. "Based on the current scientific prediction, the temperature will be warmer," he said. "Due to the fluctuation of the future weather prediction, the extreme hot and cold days will occur more frequently. This means we will have colder and colder winter days, but also hotter and hotter summer days". Additionally, in just 50 years, Miami could be completely underwater. What would this mean for Miami's population? Thousands of people would become homeless. This scenario is just one example of how quickly weather can affect the homeless population.
Dr. Wu believes extreme weather will challenge the structure and operation of current shelters and bring up many health concerns. "The high moisture and temperature will cause mold issues," he said. "It will reveal other issues that will bring about hygiene problems not only in shelters, but especially for anyone living outdoors."
In the future, the lack of precipitation could lead to droughts creating more severe storm cycles. “The homeless shelters are facing a huge challenge on how to provide a stable indoor temperature to homeless people during severe weather," he said.
All of these questions and potentially dangerous scenarios will make homeless shelters more difficult to handle in the future.
Dr. Wu believes extreme weather will challenge the structure and operation of current shelters and bring up many health concerns. "The high moisture and temperature will cause mold issues," he said. "It will reveal other issues that will bring about hygiene problems not only in shelters, but especially for anyone living outdoors."
In the future, the lack of precipitation could lead to droughts creating more severe storm cycles. “The homeless shelters are facing a huge challenge on how to provide a stable indoor temperature to homeless people during severe weather," he said.
All of these questions and potentially dangerous scenarios will make homeless shelters more difficult to handle in the future.
The City of Gainesville on Homelessness
Final Thoughts
After speaking with city officials, educators, volunteers and members of the homeless community, we were left with mixed results. Initially, we believed we would land on a simple answer to our initial question of where homeless residents go during severe weather, but the answers varied. For some residents, shelters were the safest place to be and for others, squatting in empty buildings sufficed. A few residents had no strong feelings either way. They just do what they have to do and don't think about what is being done to help them.
The city believes they are allocating an impressive amount of money to the homeless community. During severe cold weather and hurricanes, extra shelters are opened up, but nothing is being done during extreme heat. For a state that is known for it's sunshine, it seems surprising that nothing is being done to help the homeless combat the heat. Furthermore, both the mayor and commissioner mentioned that the majority of their funds go to GRACE Marketplace, but not every homeless person wants to go there. What does it mean when the city gives everything they have to a place where people feel unsafe?
In the end, the homeless residents seemed dissatisfied with the city's resources. While emergency shelters are appreciated, the residents feel that more can be done to keep them safe during rain and heat. So far, the city seems proud of the work they've done and have no plans to add additional funding to the current homeless budget.
The city believes they are allocating an impressive amount of money to the homeless community. During severe cold weather and hurricanes, extra shelters are opened up, but nothing is being done during extreme heat. For a state that is known for it's sunshine, it seems surprising that nothing is being done to help the homeless combat the heat. Furthermore, both the mayor and commissioner mentioned that the majority of their funds go to GRACE Marketplace, but not every homeless person wants to go there. What does it mean when the city gives everything they have to a place where people feel unsafe?
In the end, the homeless residents seemed dissatisfied with the city's resources. While emergency shelters are appreciated, the residents feel that more can be done to keep them safe during rain and heat. So far, the city seems proud of the work they've done and have no plans to add additional funding to the current homeless budget.