People's City Mission Water Supply Low

By: Stephanie Morrissey - Email

Updated: Tue 7:31 AM, Jul 17, 2012

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When the temperatures skyrocket and the sweat pours down your face, there's one thing all of us crave: water.

But those who come and go at the people's city mission may soon have to do without.

"Part of the problem at the mission isn't that you have hot days but when you have a lot of hot days in a row. It starts to really wear on folks. We use a lot of water. We let people in who normally we wouldn't let in," said Pastor Tom Barber, Executive Director.

Those extra people mean demand for water is higher than ever before.

"We're talking about kids, women, men all the groups here walking around the mission. It's hard on everybody," Barber said.

But why does the mission need bottled water when tap water is always available?

"Often times when we ask for water, a lot of folks think we want it for people here at the mission. They question why they can't take water from the sink in the kitchen. Of course they do, we don't pass water out here at the mission. But most are walking, out on the street. They don't have cars. They wait for buses walk everywhere. This heat can really wreck havoc on them," Barber added.

And it's not only bodies that take a toll.
"In here it's tough, tempers flare. Heat often makes people a lot crankier. It causes a great strain on utilities and resources here at the mission," Barber said.

If the mission runs out of water, Pastor Tom knows what could happen.

"We'll have to live with the repercussions of what happens to someone who has to walk out on the streets. We'll see more dehydration, more medical issues. We'll see some of it anyway but without water, it will just increase," Barber said.