Overview:

Summary: Socially isolated and other vulnerable populations are at greater risk of health emergencies during heat waves. Programs to check in on these populations can reduce heat-related illness and emergencies by having people designated to check in on individuals.

Implementation: Establish a wellness check program with three steps: 1) create a voluntary registry supported by targeted outreach for individuals to sign up to be checked on during extreme heat events; 2) train members of the community to recognize heat stress symptoms and check-in on vulnerable populations during heat waves; and 3) launch a campaign; which can be paired with a heat wave alert system.

Considerations for Use: The list of program participants should be updated on an annual basis. Government can partner with community-based organizations to support outreach to hard-to-reach populations.

• Policy Levers:
  
  
  Awareness and EngagementGovernments may design and operate programs with the goal of increasing awareness and engagement among constituents or stakeholder groups about the risks and opportunities of extreme heat.
• Trigger Points:
  
  
  No-regrets actions (low cost/low effort but substantial benefit)Interventions that are relatively low-cost and low effort (in terms of requisite dependencies) but have substantial environmental and/or social benefits.
• Intervention Type:
  Communications/Outreach
• Sectors:
  Disaster Risk Management  , Informal Settlements, Public Health

Impact:

• Target Beneficiaries:
  Heat-vulnerable communities, Residents
• Phase of Impact:
  Emergency response and management
• Metrics:
  Number of community members reached

Case Studies:

• NYC MOR's Be a Buddy Program (UNEP, Pg 160)
• Paris CHALEX Directory (UDF, Pg 45)
• Barcelona, Home Care Workers Training (C40 Urban Heat & Equity, Pg 15)

Implementation:

• Intervention Scale:
  City, Neighborhood
• Authority and Governance:
  City government
• Implementation Timeline:
  Short-term (1-2 Years)
• Implementation Stakeholders:
  CBOs, City government, Public
• Funding Sources:
  Grants and philanthropy, Public investment
• Capacity to Act:
  High, Low, Medium

Benefits:

• Cost-Benefit:
  Low
• Public Good:
  High
• GHG Reduction:
  N/A
• Co-benefits (Climate/Environmental):
  Provide flood protection
• Co-benefits (Social):
  Build community capacity, Build social cohesion, Improve human health