Earlier this summer, Ali Rheaume ended up in urgent care after working at a town festival on a hot and humid day.
Rheaume is a brain injury survivor and has several disabilities including Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and dysautonomia, which makes it hard for her body to regulate temperature.
“I was lethargic and exhausted,” she said. “I ended up having to go to urgent care to get some IV fluids.”
For many people with disabilities like Rheaume, extreme heat is a challenge. Research shows that people with disabilities are up to two to four times as likely to be injured or die from extreme weather events.
As temperatures in Boston are expected to near 100 this week, advocates for people with disabilities are asking the public to keep in mind others who might be struggling.
Rheaume, who also is the chair of the Commission on Disability in Franklin, said many disabled people are isolated at home during heat waves, and she encourages neighbors to check in.
“One of the other very real things is isolation and loneliness,” she said. “Remembering that even just a phone call with someone, a text with someone, walking next door and going to play cards with someone — anything matters just to check in with that person and let them know that they’re being thought of.”
The heat also can be particularly challenging to navigate for people with non-apparent disabilities.
Sophia Barrett, a Suffolk University student who lives in Duxbury, was recently diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, an autonomic nervous system disorder that causes an elevated heart rate.
She says during the summer she never leaves home without a water bottle and packets of salt, which help her stay hydrated. She says it can be hard to take crowded public transportation and encourages MBTA riders to be considerate during heat waves.
“On these packed train cars where it’s already so hot inside, the T and the commuter line … because of the invisible disability, nobody’s exactly scrambling to give you a seat,” she said. “Especially when it’s hot out, just be kind, be patient. Just remember that just because you can walk around fine doesn’t mean the person next to you can.”
As climate change causes more extreme weather events, many disabled people say cities and towns need to do more to include accessibility in planning for extreme heat.
“I definitely feel [heat] more than I used to as a kid,” said Nicole Homerin, a disability advocate who has a congenital heart condition. “With my heart, since it already has to work twice as hard whenever the heat comes, it just stresses out my heart even more.”
Some disabled people say more planning needs to be done to reach people who may be stuck at home. While many cities like Boston open cooling centers during extreme temperatures, Homerin notes that many disabled people can’t physically get to the locations if they can’t use stifling public transit.
“A lot of our train stations, the heat … is unbearable. It boggles my mind,” Homerin said. “If we really want to encourage the public to use public resources, then we have to make sure that [they’re] safe.”
