Precinct 4 gives 300 free A/C units to vulnerable families

Three hundred free portable air-conditioning units were handed to pre-selected Precinct 4 households at Bayland Community Center in Gulfton as Commissioner Lesley Briones marked the second annual Cool 4 the Summer distribution.

Residents must live in Precinct 4 and fall into at least one of four categories: age 60 or older, low-income household, veteran or person with a disability. Applicants cannot have received a free air-conditioning unit from any program in the past two years, and the county limits households to one unit with no duplicate applications from the same address. Units are distributed first-come, first-served while supplies last, and approved applicants are told where to pick up the unit, then sign an acceptance and receipt form and a disclaimer and waiver at pickup. In a small number of cases, the precinct says its Road and Bridge Department may deliver or install a unit based on need.

Cool 4 the Summer, run with Precinct4Forward, provides 250-plus portable units and more than doubles last year’s distribution. Its 2025 timeline lists 250 free portable A/C units distributed, and Bayland Community Center received a $55,000 HVAC upgrade from Daikin and the Astros Foundation. Briones said the giveaway was tied to urgency, not convenience: “During this extreme heat, lives and quality of life are at stake.”

Harris County Public Health links extreme heat in the county to heat stroke, heat exhaustion and dehydration, while the CDC calls rising summer heat a preventable cause of death and links it to worsening cardiovascular, respiratory and kidney problems. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends cooling centers during heat waves, especially for low-income, elderly and young populations, and warns that indoor temperatures can become dangerous during a power outage. Residents can call 2-1-1 or 877-541-7905, use 2-1-1 Texas to search for air-conditioning assistance, or turn to Harris County Public Health’s climate health resources page, which lists Reliant’s Beat the Heat program for eligible seniors, disabled individuals and families without the means to cool their homes. Harris County also opens cooling centers at Harris County Public Library branches when its Heat Plan is activated.