An excessive heat warning continues at least through Thursday evening across North Texas, and the Salvation Army is expanding its mission at its office in Dallas. The non-profit holds mobile food pantries there; Wednesday, volunteers also provided box fans and cases of bottled water.
"The heat is here to stay for the rest of the summer, and it's a killer," says Salvation Army Major Paul McFarland. "More people die as a result of heat than hurricanes or tornadoes each year."
The Salvation Army was working with Ace Hardware and Reliant Energy to provide hot weather supplies.
"We are proud to work with the Salvation Army," says Reliant's Katie Register.
Reliant also works with the Salvation Army to provide cooling centers. The company has 13 cooling centers across North Texas and works with other cities to provide 45 locations across the state. A complete list is available here.
"We have had extreme heat much earlier this season than we've seen previously, so the need is great," Register says. "We've been opening our centers earlier than we have in previous years, and we're making them available for all of our neighbors to provide a cool place."
People who need help paying bills with Reliant or any energy company in Texas can call 211 or visit 211texas.org.
"I'll be really honest, they're really helpful," one woman in line said of the Salvation Army Wednesday. "There have been times when we've needed something, and they actually provide."
Another woman said the Salvation Army has adjusted its mission as needs have changed, first providing food and supplies when hourly workers lost jobs during the pandemic and now with inflation and increased rental costs in North Texas.
"They've given us toilet paper and food because sometimes it really is hard financially," another said.
Among volunteers Wednesday were two former Dallas Cowboys: Timmy Newsome and Kenny Gant.
"In a sense, the weather's hot, but the giving cools us down," Gant said after loading a fan into a person's trunk. "That gives us energy, just give, give, give and give."
Gant says he grew up in a position where his family needed help, so he wants to help others now to help them see what they can achieve.
"The donations are coming from our hearts," he says. "That's the most rewarding thing, just to give and see their faces, the relief on people's faces to get food and a nice cool fan."
The Salvation Army's McFarland says 65% of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck and cannot afford an increase in rent.
"When you add even just $100, that becomes a very big strain on the family," he says. "I hate to use the term, 'perfect storm.' It's an imperfect storm in a sense because it's putting families at great risk of becoming homeless."
More information about the Salvation Army is available here.
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