Free Air Conditioner Programs Help Amid Life-Threatening Heat
States and local charities are helping reduce the cooling gap for low-income households as the planet heats up.
Providing a free AC can help individuals cope with heat stress and better attend to pressing challenges.
Photographer: Joe Lamberti/BloombergWith heat advisories blanketing the eastern half of the US, air conditioners are once again working over time as essential resources to keep millions cool. But they’re unevenly distributed: Many poor households are unable to afford them.
To reduce the gap between the air conditioning haves and have nots, a growing number of programs are giving them out for free with waiting lists numbering in the thousands. And they view them as means to protect public health and reduce poverty.