Tulsa Day Center asking for donations as triple digit heat brings in more people in need

Tulsa, Okla. — Tulsa's homeless population is struggling in the triple digit heat. At the Tulsa Day Center, they're doing all they can to provide relief.

FOX23 went to the Day Center today and talked with a person experiencing homelessness about how hard days like this can be.

In these hot weather conditions, both staff workers and people staying at the Day Center run into obstacles themselves. They said it's very difficult and overwhelming.

Leslie Williams uses the services of the Tulsa Day Center for the homeless and said it's hard to be outside when it gets this hot, but he has few places to go.

"It's real brutal. A lot of times, I would have to stop at the cooling stations and rehydrate," he explained. "It really got tough when I had to wait on different buses. A lot of times, waiting on the buses got pretty hot. It's been a tough summer so far."

Mack Haltom, CEO at the Day Center, said in cases of the weather, the higher the temperatures climb so does the number of people needing their help.

"Our doors are always open. One of the things that we have to prepare for though is the increase of the numbers that have come into the building during the day time," Haltom said.

The heat isn't just a strain on the human body, but also the Day Center's resources.

"It's good to have financial donations to come in too. To help us pay that high electric bill and water bill because as numbers increase, those numbers go up too," Haltom said.

But Haltom said there's always a need for more as the weather gets hotter and hotter.

"So, we have new air conditioning units that are more efficient and heating units as well, but the expenses of just keeping those running 24/7 can sometimes get overwhelming," he explained.

Williams said even though he doesn't have a place to call home, he feels relieved that he has one place to call for help.

"I'm very thankful for the Day Center. I come here and people say, 'Why do you come back?' and I say because, I know where I came from and I like it here and I never get tired of seeing people and that's why I come back because I'm thankful."

The Tulsa Day Center is asking for donations of cases of waters, cooling towels, sunscreen, light colored clothes and even financial donations for their electricity and water bills.

If you'd like to donate to the Tulsa Day Center, you can do so by going to their facility located near Archer and Denver or visit their website here .