A Tarrant County initiative is working to put air conditioning units into the homes of the most vulnerable to heat-related illness.
Beat the Heat is an annual fundraiser in which United Way of Tarrant County hosts an AC drive to install units in the homes of adults 60 and older, those with disabilities, and low-income individuals.
“There are a lot of people out there that work really hard, but they are falling short on their day-to-day bills and basically living paycheck to paycheck,” chief communications and marketing officer for Beat the Heat, Deanna Titzler, told The Dallas Express.
“It’s not cheap to run AC in your home, and so they may not have the money to be able to run that AC unit when they have a central air conditioning system. By having a portable unit, they can cool off one room … and be able to survive the summer heat,” she said.
This year is Beat the Heat’s third year of partnering with MedStar to provide AC units to those in need in Tarrant County.
The program began on June 21, when older adults, adults with disabilities, grandparents taking care of grandkids, or others who fit the requirements were invited to fill out an intake form on United Way’s website to request an AC.
“On the first day, we already had a waitlist of over 100 people, and we had 50 units in stock,” said Titzler. “So on our day of action, we actually distributed 50 units and got some more money. As money has been coming in, we’ve been buying units, and then we’ve been knocking down our waitlist. At one time, our wait list was actually over 300 people.”
As the Texas heat climbs to record-breaking highs, it is critical that vulnerable populations be able to cool their homes.
“It literally can be a matter of life or death,” said Titzler. “In the past, a lot of people who are suffering from heat exhaustion, heat stroke, may have other comorbidities or health issues that make the heat cause them to get really, really sick and die.”
While state law requires Texas apartment owners to provide AC units, United Way provides temporary portable AC units when apartment AC units are broken and awaiting repair. The rest of the AC units are free for recipients to keep for life.
According to Titzler, Tarrant County saw 14 heat-related deaths in 2022 and 17 heat-related deaths in 2023.
It costs $400 for United Way to purchase and install each AC unit.
“We can only purchase AC units when we have money in hand,” Titzler said. “We need donations to meet the need that we currently have on our waitlist.”
United Way has distributed 175 AC units to vulnerable and in-need families in Tarrant County this summer. Still, a waitlist remains.
To donate and help United Way provide life-saving AC units across Tarrant County, visit the link here.