By Najma Sambul
A pop-up cooling relief centre will open in the CBD to provide Melbourne’s most vulnerable residents with a space to cool down on dangerously hot days.
The City of Melbourne and community health organisation cohealth have teamed up to create a cooling relief centre at 227-229 Bourke Street, previously a support hub for gig workers.
Former rough sleeper Jason Russell said he almost died from heat stroke during a Melbourne heatwave.Credit: Luis Ascui
It will be open for international students, the elderly, people experiencing homelessness, and those living in poorly ventilated housing or without access to air-conditioning.
The hub will be open from 1pm to 4pm on weekdays when the mercury hits 35 degrees until the end of February. Healthcare workers, including nurses, will attend on some days.
Cohealth says the recent wet weather had been difficult for those sleeping rough, with an increase in skin infections and foot problems.
Jason Russell, a former rough sleeper, said that when he lived on Melbourne’s streets he had been taken to hospital multiple times for heatstroke and dehydration during heat waves.
The cooling relief centre will be open on weekdays when the temperature hits 35 degrees, and healthcare workers will be present on some days.Credit: Luis Ascui
“I would have been totally dead or killed, it was that close,” said Russell, who now works for the Council to Homeless Persons.
He described the centre as “life support” for those living on the streets during extreme weather events.
“In places like Berlin and Moscow, in the winter, if you’re homeless, it’s a death sentence,” Russell said. “In Melbourne, it’s similar because people die every month during summer because of the weather.”
For many rough sleepers, the only places to access air-conditioning are shopping centres, banks, public toilets and libraries, Russell said. “When you go to supermarkets, you can stand in there, but you get hounded by security.”
Visitors to the centre will also receive cold refreshments, snacks, cooling packs, and vouchers for movies, 7-Eleven and Boost Juice.
Krista Milne, one of the City of Melbourne’s chief heat officers, said the hub was one of several measures being implemented by the council to tackle heat. Hours will also be extended at three city libraries on extremely hot days.
Melbourne has had three days of 35 degrees or higher so far this summer.
“We are expecting quite a hot February and some other climate phenomenons that are causing a lot of rain – the Tasman has warmed and that’s causing the rain; however, Australia is experiencing a lot of heat waves,” Milne said.
She said the council would also be planting 3000 trees a year to provide shade and help reduce temperatures. The aim is to cover 40 per cent of the city with trees by 2030 and cool Melbourne by 4 degrees.
“Our best asset to cool the city is our urban forest,” Milne said. “Making sure where we can’t plant a tree, there’s shading, as well as having permeable paving, and green tram stops with a green roof to provide more cooling.”
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