Wichita Hydration Homies

08/30/2026

It's absolutely awful outside right now and we're headed downtown to check on folks and hand out some water, sports drinks, and electrolyte packets. Stay safe if you're being active today! 💧

NEW RECORD! Wichita has set a new daily high record of 106 degrees for August 30th. This beats the previous record set in 1939, which stood for 87 years!
ksn.com/weather
KSN TV

08/28/2026

Hey friends, we're heading right back into another heat wave as summer wants to remind us that it is NOT over yet! We know life is busy with school returning and activities filling up your free time, but would you please consider trying to be a hydration homie over the next few days whenever you leave the house?

Stick some bottles of water in your freezer and then grab them on your way out the door, or pop a cooler full of water out in your neighborhood, along your commute, or even by your kid's school! Every bottle of water can make a difference and on dangerously hot days, it could even save a life.

And thank you so much to our village of homies that go above and beyond taking care of our vulnerable neighbors everyday, not just on the hot ones! ❤️💧

08/22/2026

Another extra hot day ahead of us! We were out distributing water last night and will be putting some coolers out this morning to hopefully help our neighbors stay hydrated in the heat.💧

If you're going to be out and about today, make sure you're drinking enough water and replacing your electrolytes! And if you can keep some extra water with you to hand out, all the better. 😎

Stay safe, Wichita!

Afternoon through early evening heat indices in the 90s and 100s are expected today across the region, warmest over southern Kansas.

08/18/2026

Another 100°+ day for Wichita after mother nature gave as a little tiny break, so keep our vulnerable neighbors in mind as you're out and about today and try to be a hydration homie to anyone you see struggling! ❤️💧

We'll be out this evening with water and electrolytes for folks. Take care of each other!

Afternoon highs will reach into the upper 90s to lower 100s for much of the area. Heat indices will exceed 100 degrees areawide. Be sure to take heat precautions if outdoors this afternoon.

08/15/2026

Hydration Homies update for Friday, August 14th: we got out tonight and spent a couple hours handing out water and Gatorade to folks downtown and in the surrounding areas, most everyone is hanging in there but definitely looking forward to this heat breaking eventually!

Yesterday on the way to our regular Thursday evening distro we came across a man who had seemingly passed out from the heat and fallen on the sidewalk. We were able to get him some water and a ride to the transit center to cool off and take the bus home, but it's a good reminder to everyone to take hydration seriously, even if you're seemingly in good health! Walking in the heat uses up your body's electrolytes and if you're not replacing them or stopping to rest and drink water, you can go from feeling okay to passing out quite suddenly.

Take care of yourself and take care of each other! ❤️💧

08/13/2026

Excellent news from the city today thanks to your advocating for a better solution for our vulnerable neighbors! Rides to and from any library branch, community center, or recreation center are free through Sunday, August 16th! ❤️

Wichita, YOU did it!

I’m incredibly grateful for the overwhelming response from our community asking the City Manager to remove the voucher system that created an additional barrier for our most vulnerable neighbors trying to access transit and cooling stations.

Removing this system eliminates the cognitive and administrative barriers that can often keep working-class families and vulnerable people from asking for help. I know, because I’ve been there.

I hope this moment reminds you that your voice matters and when we use it effectively, we can make a difference.

Thank you to the grassroots leaders who held me to purpose and continue to show up, boots on the ground, for those who need us most. I’m especially thinking of Maggie Gilmore and Everetta Anderson, whose advocacy and persistence helped keep this issue front and center.

Thank you to the colleagues who stood alongside me on this challenge publicly and behind the scenes: Councilman Dalton Glasscock, Maggie Ballard for Wichita and Mike Hoheisel for Wichita.

This is what community looks like. Onward, together.

08/12/2026

Currently out making our rounds downtown with an asapproximate outside temperature of 106°. At this time of day folks are usually traversing either on foot or by bike to get to either dinner at the Lord's Diner or to find some place to spend the night, so it's a good time to catch them and give them some water to help them rehydrate and hopefully stay safe overnight. We've been going through a ton of water this week and will be sending another pallet over to the Lord's Diner next week, so any donations you're able to make will be greatly appreciated and go towards water immediately! ❤️💧

CashApp: $hydrationhomies
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PayPal: [email protected]

08/12/2026

The heat wave is here to stay for at least the next several days, so will you join us in being a hydration homie and helping to keep your community safe?

💧Keep water in your car so you can hand it out to anyone you see struggling!

💧Place a cooler with water and ice out in your neighborhood, along your commute at a bus stop, park bench, or along a bike path.

💧Know the warning signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke and ask if someone needs help getting medical attention if you think they're suffering from the latter.

💧Stay hydrated yourself if you're going to be outside, an average size adult needs to drink at least one to two bottles of water every hour that they're spending outdoors, or more if you are exerting yourself physically!

08/11/2026

Did the city really make the buses free? Let's talk about it. As you may know we've been advocating and asking for our followers to advocate for the city to make the buses free during these extreme heat waves so that people have an easier time getting to safe locations with air conditioning and resources.

On Sunday night the city announced a voucher program that would run for 3 days, 8/10 - 8/13, where riders could receive a voucher good for a one-way ride to designated "cooling centers" aka the public library branches and rec centers throughout Wichita. Once they were at the library or rec center, they could go to the desk and exchange that voucher for a return ticket voucher.

Now I don't know about you, but when I first heard this plan I was honestly baffled by how unnecessarily overcomplicated it is. Especially considering that in years past, the city has always just made the buses entirely free during extreme heat waves.

Thinking about our unhoused neighbors, not all of them have cell phones and I would guess that most of them don't have the entire city's bus route map memorized. Not to mention they recently shuffled and changed some of the bus routes when they moved the hub to Delano from downtown. So to me it seems obvious that people would have great difficulty knowing which bus to get on to make sure they were going to a cooling center and that they wouldn't get charged for a ride.

It's also worth noting that all of the public library branches were closed yesterday for technology upgrades, and it wasn't until Monday morning that the city updated their post to reflect that.

I'm also confused as to why the voucher system is only running for 3 days when we're projected to have dangerous temperatures for at least the next week to 10 days.

Ultimately, this is not a satisfactory solution and we will continue to push for the city to do better and take better care of our vulnerable populations during dangerous weather. If you're able to take the time to email or call your city council member to let them know your thoughts on this plan, please do!

08/10/2026

Some hydration deals available this week if you are a Dillons shopper! 24 packs of water are 3 for 10 and full size Gatorade 8 packs are buy 3 get 3 free.

The heat dome forecast has expanded through the rest of the week so we're looking at dangerous temperatures all week long, so anything you can do to help your vulnerable neighbors stay hydrated would be amazing! About to drop off some water at Open Door for them to give out to folks utilizing their day shelter and services, and will be back out this evening to check on people and hand out some Gatorades and water.

Remember, water is a human right and we can take care of each other! If you'd like to donate to our cause, information is in our bio. ❤️💧