As LA Temps Soared, Communication Problems Kept Skid Row Cooling Stations From Opening

L.A. officials say a miscommunication caused a weeks-long delay in opening Skid Row cooling stations that help unhoused Angelenos stay safe in the summer heat.

Due to the problems, most of the stations opened over a month late. Currently, only three of four cooling stations in Skid Row are up and running. The delays come amid record-breaking heat this summer that soared into the triple digits near Downtown L.A. on Monday.

The cooling stations — where staff hand out chilled water bottles and donated items to unhoused people in Skid Row — are a key part of L.A.’s efforts to keep unhoused people safer during often-brutal summer heat. Unhoused people are especially vulnerable — often in the sun, with physical health challenges — and staying hydrated is a core recommendation from medical experts.

The delays come after the city received $2.5 million in state grant money in January for the stations, which the city planned to use in the new budget year that started July 1. Advocates say they’re frustrated and confused by the slowdowns.

“None of this makes sense,” said Tom Grode, who’s among a group of advocates that originally proposed the cooling station idea after a scorching heat wave in 2020.

“This is like two or three hours of setup,” he told LAist in an interview Wednesday.

The timeline

• When the cooling program started two years ago, all four stations were open by July 12, according to Grode.
• This summer, the first two stations opened on Aug. 21. The third station opened on Monday, during a heat wave where temperatures reached a sweltering 102 degrees near downtown.
• The fourth and final cooling station is scheduled to open on Monday. 

What caused the problems

In interviews this week, advocates were at a loss for why it’s been taking so long, saying the city hadn’t explained the delays.

LAist started asking officials about it. And two days later, answers came.

The problem was a miscommunication around contracting between the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and the nonprofit that operates the cooling stations, according to the agency.

“The delay in opening additional climate stations on Skid Row resulted from a contracting miscommunication between LAHSA and the provider,” spokesperson Ahmad Chapman wrote in a written answer Thursday to LAist’s questions.

“We are adjusting our procedures to ensure this does not happen again,” he added.

LAHSA has struggled with approving contracts by the time each fiscal year starts on July 1, Chapman explained. But it’s been improving – 7% of contracts were approved on-time two years ago, 52% last year, and 80% this year, he said.

Chapman declined to provide details about the specific communication breakdown around the cooling centers.

Confusion around the delays

In interviews this week, Grode and another Skid Row advocate said they had gotten no explanation from city officials about the delays.

“You're not like building permanent supportive housing here,” Grode said. “You're throwing [together] some tents, some tables,” and hiring staff.

Pete White, who runs the Skid Row-based advocacy group L.A. Community Action Network, said the stations need to be opened much earlier.

“It was hot in July. It was hot in June.”

White said the cooling stations should be open from May to November, given how long the hot season is nowadays. And he considers four stations still “woefully inadequate” for a community of thousands of unhoused people across about 50 city blocks.

“It's heating up out there. And if anyone is experiencing climate change to its maximum impact, it's our houseless residents, neighbors, Angelenos,” White said.

Delays with the cooling stations were first reported by L.A. Public Press reporter Maylin Tu, who reported Monday that L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ Skid Row strategies director Jarvis Emerson declined to answer questions about it.

Who’s in charge?

Asked by LAist who’s in charge of the program, Bass’ office said in a text message that various agencies are.

“This is a City-funded program that involves various agencies including the Mayor’s Office, the Los Angeles Housing Department, [Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority], Homeless Healthcare Los Angeles and Urban Alchemy,” spokesperson Gabby Maarse wrote on behalf of the mayor’s office.

Skid Row is represented by Councilmember Kevin de León, who has refused calls to resign after he was recorded making racist remarks in an audio tape scandal last fall. De León’s spokespeople didn’t return requests for comment.

Grode says officials should have informed advocates and the community why such a crucial service was delayed.

“If someone wanted to get a Ph.D in how not to do something at City Hall, here’s your case study,” he said.

How the stations work

The cooling stations — also called climate stations — are open 24/7, with staff handing out water bottles, as well as donated items like hygiene products and clothing. In the winter, two locations are slated to stay open as warming stations and offer warm beverages. Last year, warming stations also had delayed openings.

LAist visited two of the stations on Tuesday, during the second day of the heat wave. Each station had staff offering a smile and water to people walking by. Dozens of unhoused people, as well as families with young children walking home from school, took them up on the water offer.

Idea stemmed from a brutal heat wave

After a sweltering heat wave in 2020, Grode said, he and another advocate, Katherine McNenny, teamed up with others to propose the cooling station idea that later became climate stations.

City Hall was interested, and a pilot program launched in summer 2021 – with a great response, Grode said.

“It was fantastic. People were thrilled by the positive impact it had,” he said.

But the following year, in 2022, then-Mayor Eric Garcetti reduced the number of stations from four to two, citing a lack of money.

Advocates then pushed for it to be expanded back to four stations this summer, Grode said.

Misters no longer in place, but could be coming soon

The original idea — implemented in 2021 — was for the stations to provide two things to help people in hot weather: hydration and shade, Grode said.

That year, he said, each station had extra canopies with chairs underneath for people to sit in the shade and sip their cold water. The stations also had mist to help keep people cool.

This year, the stations do not have shaded seating or mist.

“The heart of the [idea] is hydration and shade, then you lose the [places to sit in the] shade. That's not good,” Grode said.

“I look at it now and it's like a drive-thru fast food place. [You] pick up your water and leave.”

Maarse at Bass’ office told LAist on Thursday that the nonprofit Urban Alchemy is working with L.A. Department of Water and Power to get misters up and running “in the coming days.”