IS CITY OF AUSTIN HEALTH DEPARTMENT MONITORING LIVING-CONDITIONS TEMPERATURE INSIDE TENTS OF AUSTIN'S HOMELESS?

There appears to be an urgent need for the City of Austin to address this public-policy issue. KOA Campgrounds, which reportedly owns the most extensive network of privately-owned campgrounds in the entire world, offers the following factual information online at Koa.com about living conditions inside a tent during the summertime: "When it is blazing hot during the day, your tent acts like a greenhouse. It absorbs the sun’s rays and becomes a storehouse for heat, making getting back into the tent feel like stepping into a sauna." https://koa.com/blog/tips-for-staying-cool-on-summer-camping-trips/ It seems likely that many of Austin's homeless who reside in tents suffer from severe dehydration as well as heat prostration. One reliable medical-information online source, Medicine.net, defines "Heat Prostration" as "Overheating of the body due to extreme weather conditions. Unrelieved hyperthermia can lead to collapse and death, particularly in the elderly. Prevention via air conditioning, ventilation, and drinking extra water is the key for vulnerable persons. In emergency cases, injections of saline solution and rapid cooling of the body may be needed. Also known as heatstroke or hyperthermia." https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=11406