(WHTM) -- With temperatures about to get hotter across the Midstate, local organizations are offering ways to keep cool and hydrated.
There are several locations opening their doors as cooling centers from nonprofits to libraries to senior centers. That network means there should be a place for everyone who needs it.
"When there is a heat advisory like we're under right now, being able just to alert the community so that they are aware...that we are here," director of development for New Hope Ministries Molly Helmstetter said.
All nine New Hope locations in the Midstate will be opening their doors as cooling centers. Most locations are open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., though some locations do have Saturday hours.
Helmstetter said all locations are making sure they have enough resources.
"Refreshments available beyond what we normally do, so having an extra pitcher or two of ice water," she said.
Helmstetter said New Hope will still offer all its normal services, like free lunch, but there will be some weather-related tweaks.
"We try and then use recipes that might be a little more refreshing, so maybe using some watermelon," she said.
It is not just about the upcoming heat wave, however. Helmstetter said New Hope wants to help people long term.
"Especially if they are struggling with maybe paying an electric bill to keep their air conditioning on or they don't have an air conditioning system or unit...we can talk with them and maybe help identify some resources," she said.
Particularly at-risk in this heat are people who are homeless.
"It is definitely difficult for them, we help to provide tarps and canopies to help them get out of the sun," executive director of Community CARES in Carlisle Beth Kempf said.
Community CARES' center in Carlisle is open seven days a week, and people can use it as a cooling center, but staff is also doing outreach on the streets. The biggest need is keeping people hydrated.
"We'll be going around, giving out some water," Kempf said. "They have to kind of walk to wherever the cooling station is, wherever they choose to go, is going to be a bit of the walk, so as much as we can provide water for them."
Kempf also said they work with medical teams from UPMC who can help monitor if anyone is suffering from heat stroke or heat exhaustion.
If Carlisle or a New Hope location is too far, both Helmstetter and Kempf said they can still help connect people with resources.
"We're not the only cooling station, so we might be able to point them to one closer by to them," Kempf said.
For a list of more cooling centers around the Midstate, click here.
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