The Salvation Army’s Kroc Center is opening a free cooling center through Saturday evening.
The Kroc Center, located at 1865 Bill Frey Dr. N.E., will be open for cooling from 4-8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, according to an email from Rick Marazzani, director of marketing.
The center will offer movies, free cool water and activities for all ages in “The Hub,” its community room. Residents can reach the center by Cherriots route 23, and Cherriots is providing free bus rides this week to those traveling to cooling centers. Pets are not allowed.
Other local cooling centers with hours are listed on a map maintained by the ARCHES Project here.
Robert Marshall, emergency services manager for the ARCHES Project, said the agency’s day center would continue extended hours through Saturday, closing at 7 p.m. to give people more time to escape the heat.
The center has seen increased activity this week as temperatures have topped 100 degrees in Salem most days. Marshall said normally about 120 people use the center daily. This week, ARCHES recorded 184 people on Monday, 190 on Tuesday and 140 on Wednesday.
ARCHES workers have also been doing outreach to check with unsheltered people and pass out cold fluids. Those teams talked to 228 people Monday, 237 people Tuesday and 307 on Wednesday.
Marshall said so far, he’s received no reports of heat-related medical emergencies or deaths during the heat wave. Unsheltered people and those living in RVs without air conditioning were among the Salemites who died during the summer 2021 heat dome.
-Rachel Alexander
