To the editor:
I’m not sure how to start this letter as I’ve never written a letter to the editor before, but the recent heat wave has made me think a lot about the lack of third spaces.
For readers who may not know, third spaces are places aside from work/school or home. We have so few of those anymore and it’s sad, but after this heat wave it made me realized that it’s also unsafe in many ways.
For context, I live near Timothy House on the west side of town. During the day, people staying at Timothy House often have to find somewhere else to go. I’ve run into several folks at the public library so they have a quiet cool place to be where they aren’t loitering (just proof that libraries are essential, but I digress).
Although I’m glad that the community center was opened as a cooling station during the heat wave, I would like to remind readers that if more third spaces existed these measures would not be necessary, because the infrastructure to care for those who need it would already exist. The Center for Disease Control states that heatstroke onset can occur in as quickly as 10–15 minutes. That can simply happen while waiting for the bus to get someone to a place to cool off. Everyone deserves to exist in public, and more places where we can just exist are good for building social relationships, and in the case of the weather, provide a safe place to protect ourselves from the climate. This is not necessarily a call to action, but I do hope it makes a few readers think. Thanks for your time!
Odhrain Underhill
Athens, Ohio
