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Monroe County opens cooling stations as councilors warn federal cuts could reduce homelessness services
Summary
Councilor Iverson urged residents to use county cooling stations amid a heat wave and warned of potential federal cuts to homeless assistance grants that could shrink local rapid-rehousing capacity.
Councilor Iverson told the Monroe County Council on June 24 that county emergency managers have set up public cooling stations and posted locations online and on social media as the region faced sustained high temperatures.
The councilor said the county’s Emergency Management team, led by Director Jamie Neebel, worked with the Monroe County Fire Protection District and the Monroe County Public Libraries to open cooling locations, some of which remain open late — “Some of those are open till 9PM,” Iverson said — and that the list is available on the county website.
The announcement came with a broader warning about homelessness services: “There are 466 people who are actively homeless in our region,” Iverson said, adding that last year the community rapidly rehoused 319 people. He said those rapid-rehousing programs and related services depend heavily on federal homeless assistance grants and warned the “current federal administration is looking to cut $27,000,000 from homeless assistance grants,” a reduction he said would put programs such as Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS and rapid rehousing at risk.
Why it matters: cooling stations provide short-term protection during extreme heat, but Iverson and other councilors stressed long-term services — sheltering, rapid rehousing and specialized programs for women and LGBTQ+ residents — rely on grant funding that the councilor said faces federal reductions.
Councilor Iverson urged residents to check county resources and to support local shelters. He also announced that he and Councilor Deckard planned to participate in an overnight “sleep out” fundraiser for Friends Place, a local shelter that Iverson described as one of the region’s largest shelters for women and an LGBTQ-affirming provider.
No formal action was taken by the council on funding or policy at the meeting; the item was reported as an informational update and a call to community support.
The councilor’s update included operational details provided by county staff: cooling-station locations are listed on the county website, and emergency managers continue to post updates on Facebook. Residents were urged to check those lists and to call county emergency contacts for additional guidance or to report unmet needs.
