CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District is asking for local business to step up as emergency homeless shelters as triple-digit heat indices are expected next week.

Julie Pryde — the administrator of the Public Health District — asked on Facebook for an air-conditioned space like a gym with ample space for 50 cots with bedding. She said the district is also looking for businesses or donors to sponsor meals for the individuals staying at the potential location.

“People who are living out on the street are not healthy, that’s not a healthy environment and they don’t have access to the things they need like water, like shade,” Pryde said.

One month ago, WCIA reported that organizations supporting homeless individuals are advocating for one centrally-located cooling center in the Champaign-Urbana area. Now they are trying to make that a reality.

Cunningham Township said it takes the entire community, not just homeless services, to fix the root of the problem.

“We have to reframe how we think about public safety and public emergencies,” Daniell Chynoweth, supervisor of Cunningham Township, said. “Every public building needs to be a cooling center now.”

Until Chynoweth and Pryde successfully find a location to house the cooling center, they are sharing some simple advice.

“Anybody who sees anybody outside or someone’s not able to cope in this heat, help them, reach out to them and bring them to safety because we don’t have the infrastructure we need to deal with this situation,” Chynoweth said.