When the temperature rises past 90, many Richmond residents rely on air conditioning — in their homes, their offices and their vehicles.
Others, however, do not have that luxury or easy access to a cool place. They live without air conditioning and, perhaps, must walk or bicycle to work or on errands.
Hot days impact the health of those vulnerable residents, whether by causing an illness such as heat stroke or by exacerbating an existing condition such as asthma. Heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths across the United States.
Now, the city has an opportunity to help those people after Richmond and Clarksville were selected for the state's two Beat the Heat grants made possible by Indiana University's Environmental Resilience Institute and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.
