GREENFIELD — As the state experiences record-setting heat this summer, Three County Continuum of Care workers are collecting supplies to distribute “cooling kits” to the region’s homeless population.

Standing outside the Greenfield Public Library on Friday afternoon, Three County Continuum of Care Coordinated Entry Coordinator Shaundell Diaz said volunteers had already collected a significant number of items, such as sneakers, clothing and toiletries, from both public and private donors. The idea for the cooling kit drive, Diaz said, came from the Continuum of Care’s People With Lived Experience Action Board, which is made up of individuals from Franklin, Hampshire and Berkshire counties who have benefited from the organization’s services.

“Unfortunately, there aren’t that many cooling centers. People don’t have transportation to get where they need to go, plus, often, they prefer to stay hidden,” Diaz said. “It’s just hard for them to get out of the heat, so being able to give them something to alleviate the risks of heatstroke comes in handy.”

The Continuum of Care began collecting donations in Amherst on Monday. Diaz said residents can drop donations off at the Community Action Pioneer Valley office at 393 Main St. in Greenfield or Forbes Library on West Street in Northampton until Friday, Aug. 2. She noted the Northampton Recovery Center also offered Narcan kits for the Continuum of Care to distribute with information on how to safely administer the overdose reversal drug.

Data collected by Continuum of Care Data and Evaluation Manager Michele LaFleur shows that from January 2021 to January 2024, the counted population of homeless individuals and families jumped from approximately 67 to 252. Of the 67 homeless individuals and families counted in 2021, LaFleur said 21 were “persons in families” and 46 were “individuals.” In 2024, 171 were persons in families and 81 were individuals.

LaFleur said the increase in Franklin County’s homeless family population was likely the result of a statewide family shelter bed shortage. With an overflow of families in need of shelter across Massachusetts, overflow shelters are refining their criteria for which families are eligible.

“That’s a big jump. It’s mostly families in shelter in the state’s Emergency Assistance family shelter program. They made a lot of changes around services recently because it’s so at capacity,” LaFleur said. “We are seeing the state placing people in overflow shelters here [in Massachusetts].”

The national shortage of available housing is at the root of the problem, LaFleur said.

“The housing shortage is the No. 1 thing, a lack of affordable and available housing. Even when people have housing vouchers, they often can’t find a unit that they can afford even with that voucher, or they face discrimination trying to use that voucher,” LaFleur said. “Even when they do have resources that people can use, there isn’t always the housing stock available for people to use it.”

Diaz said the supplies collected through the drive will be distributed at a breakfast that will be held at Craig’s Doors in Amherst on Wednesday, Aug. 7. In the future, she said additional breakfasts will be held in Northampton and in Greenfield, where Springfield barber Donnell Wright will also offer free haircuts to those in attendance.

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.