IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – On Monday, the Iowa City Shelter House posted on Facebook that it was in urgent need of bottled water to distribute.

Christine Hayes, Shelter House’s development manager, tells me they’ve had their hands full since the heatwave began this week.

From sunscreen to bottled water, the need for coolants has increased dramatically, leaving people relying on the public’s help.

Fortunately, they received a large amount of water bottle donations after their Facebook post, but Hayes says the impact is limited.

“I just did a tour of the building with our senior case manager next door and we have boxes upon boxes of water. And the reality is that quick turnaround is fantastic, but it can lead to complacency because we’re done in three days,” Hayes said.

In addition, one of the biggest problems is that many people only perceive extreme cold as a threat, but not extreme heat.

“It’s very easy to miss the symptoms of dehydration until they’re well advanced. And in fact, in our community, weather-related deaths are more often due to heat than cold,” she said.

And in addition to the increased demand, the building they normally use as a cold storage facility is currently being renovated, so they have encouraged people to use places like public libraries or wading pools to cool off.

Hayes says they still need donations of short socks, water, towels, razors and deodorant. Anyone who would like to donate can do so here.

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