Brown Bag Coalition helps homeless combat heat

With temperatures reaching triple digits this week the Brown Bag Coalition is taking action to help homeless people combat the heat.

The organization says they feed 50 to 80 homeless people each day. Most of them don’t have a roof over their head and are exposed to the valley’s high temperatures.

“Oh my God, it’s hot, I’m barely making it you know, I try to stay away from the sun and stay in the shade as much as I can,” said Ruben Murillo, a local homeless.

“It’s dangerous because people can die,” said Murillo.

“This week we saw the warning, the excessive heat warning, and we want to try to avoid heat related deaths that we’ve had,” said Maribel Padilla, Brown Bag Coalition Co-founder.

“Last year there were at least three deaths that I know of,” said Padilla.

The National Weather Service issued a heat warning with temperatures reaching 115 degrees today.

Padilla says high temperatures are always a concern when it comes to the homeless population living on the streets.

” In reality there is no cooling place for them, Calexico has two, which is the Clinicas De Salud Del Pueblo, but that’s very far. It would be best if the city could come up with a cooling place just for them, and we can help with manning it, ” said Padilla.

With a shortage of shelters in Calexico , Padilla says homeless people are left to take shelter wherever they can find some shade.

Padilla made stops at several parks and areas around the city where homeless people take shelter.

” They are human beings, I have two sons, what if they are in these circumstances one day, God forbid. I would like somebody to give them water, a sandwich or something. We must keep our humanity and help these people out, ” said Padilla.

The Brown Bag Coalition says they will continue to pass out cold drinks throughout the summer days.

The non-profit relies on donations from the community to help feed the homeless.

To donate you can visit their Facebook page at Brown Bag Coalition.