Coachella Valley Rescue Mission’s Cooling Center Open 7 Days A Week

As temperatures continue to rise here in the Coachella Valley, so does the need for cooling centers, especially on the weekends, when most centers are closed.

A select few have opened their doors, especially this weekend with the dangerously hot conditions.

An excessive heat warning was placed on the Coachella Valley this weekend, with temperatures close to 115 degrees and with the possibility of rising over 120 degrees.

During the summer months, many organizations turn into cooling centers, a place where people can go to get out of the sun, but only a select few are open on the weekends, like the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission.

“We deal with chronic homelessness and it’s hot out there, so you know people get dehydrated you know, we don’t want that, so our directors, you know they want people to come and get cool.” says David Douglas, the Emergency Shelter Manager for the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission.

The Coachella Valley Rescue Mission is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., offering more than just a cooling center to those who need it.

“We deal with people that just don’t want shelter, they just want a cooling center… we have showers. We have water, we have snacks, we also provide breakfast and we provide dinner. Our lunches are sack lunches.” 

The list of services goes on and on.

“We also have case management just in case they need to talk, because they need to get referred out to maybe ETS or somewhere like that. We can help them with that too, or maybe take them to the hospital. Most of them suffer from dehydration.” Douglas says.

No paperwork is needed for those heading into the center, they accept walk-ins Monday through Sunday. 

“The benefit of our cooling center is that we will counsel you. We will, we got case managers on the spot if you need to talk. If you need to get referred out to our staff health care services, we can help you with your insurance. We can do different things here, so it’s more than just a cooling center.” Douglas says.