ROANOKE, Va. – As temperatures near triple digits this week, a local nonprofit is helping families keep their air conditioning on.
Roanoke Area Ministries’ RAM House is a day shelter for people experiencing homelessness and serves about 150 meals a day. The nonprofit also provides rent and electric bill assistance.
This summer, they’re giving out about $6,000 a week to help people pay their electric bills, and so far, the RAM House has given out nearly $200,00 for rent and electric assistance, all from private donations.
The day shelter’s executive director, Melissa Woodson, said the heat is extremely dangerous for anyone without access to air conditioning or a cool environment. They can suffer from dehydration, sunburn, heat stroke, and more.
The nonprofit’s ultimate goal is to prevent people from ending up without housing.
“We are serving people who have never been here before; many fixed-income seniors and disabled people,” Woodson said. “They got along fine before, but when you increase your fuel costs by 30% and food — we all know how bad that is — these people have fallen through the cracks.”
The RAM House offers a cooling center from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for anyone in need of a place to cool off.
The shelter also needs donations of water, three-part food containers, and money.