As temperatures rise in the Texarkana area, local nonprofits are offering cooling stations to provide residents with a place to cool off during the hottest part of the day.

Cooling Stations Open

Among the locations offering cooling space is Mission Texarkana and Randy Sams’ Outreach Shelter. Randy Sams Executive Director Jennifer Lacefield said the shelter opens its doors during periods of extreme weather, even as space becomes increasingly limited.

"We have unprecedented shelter resident numbers, so we are running low on food, bottled water and Gatorade — which we badly need in this heat to give out to anyone off the street 24/7 — paper products, hygiene items. And our utility bills are higher," she said.

Mission Texarkana is also providing basic relief for people spending time outdoors. "We are going to set up a cooling station," Mission Texarkana Executive Director Caleb Maloney said. "We haven’t fully done it yet, but we have our fans going and water outside for the community right now."

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.