How The Wildfire Smoke Is Impacting Unhoused People In Chicago

ALBANY PARK — As Chicago saw record-breaking poor air quality last week, local leaders advised people to stay inside and mask up to avoid the potential health effects.

Many were able to follow the recommendation — but it was not as easy for some people, like those who are unhoused or who have to work outdoors.

Tracy Alcoser lives in a tent in Ronan Park, 3000 W. Argyle St., part of an encampment of unhoused people. Waking up on Thursday morning, she could immediately feel a difference in air quality from the smoke that had set in overnight, she said.

“It hit like a smack in the face. It was scary,” she said. 

That was the day Chicago reported its worst-ever air quality, with officials warning that the air was so polluted from wildfire smoke that it could be hazardous to everyone. People stepping outside were greeted by a smoky smell and hazy streets.

And the health effects can be serious for anyone, let alone those forced to be exposed for longer periods.

Rubabin Tooba, pulmonologist at Northwestern Medicine’s Palos Hospital, said microscopic pollution from wildfire smoke can settle into the lungs and “leave the airways in a state of inflammation.” The city’s recent high temperatures can break particles down even smaller, allowing them to “really sit in the crevices of the lungs,” Tooba said.

Tooba said her hospital has seen higher numbers of patients in the emergency room with respiratory issues from the poor air quality. Symptoms like coughing, trouble breathing and chest pain are most common, she said. Though everyone is vulnerable to health impacts from poor air quality, those with underlying lung conditions like asthma are at higher risk, she said. 

“If you have a mild airways disease already, a little bit can cause a lot of harm,” she said.

Alana Lewis, cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine’s Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, said wildfire smoke also increases stress on the heart. This can cause irregular heart rhythms, stroke, heart attack and heart failure, she said. Those with preexisting conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes are at higher risk, she said. 

Tooba and Lewis said the best way for people to protect themselves is to stay indoors, specifically with good ventilation and air conditioning.

“Our unhoused populations do not have easy access to this sort of environment. So the baseline quality and quantity of pollution that they will inhale will be a lot higher,” Tooba said. 

Alcoser has asthma and bronchitis, for which she uses multiple medications. She said she had to use her emergency inhaler three times Thursday to alleviate tightness in her chest and shortness of breath. On Friday, she passed out from what she assumed to be heat exhaustion, she said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people seek medical attention for symptoms like these during smoke exposure, especially with preexisting conditions like Alcoser’s.

Alcoser relied on fellow encampment residents to care for her. She said camp members often seek help from each other instead of medical professionals when ill or injured. 

“They’re always looking out for me. We are like family here,” Alcoser said. 

Alcoser said this was the reason she “toughed it out” instead of seeking indoor shelter during the intense smoke. As the self-described leader of the encampment, she felt a responsibility to stay behind, she said. So she stayed in her zipped-up tent as much as possible and wore a mask, which had been provided by local organizations and city agencies that passed out supplies at the encampment Thursday, she said. 

“I needed to look out for everybody. I couldn’t go and just worry about myself,” she said.

Though Alcoser volunteered to stay outside, many unhoused people are forced to during extreme weather, said Doug Shenkelberg, executive director of the Chicago Coalition To End Homelessness.

The city offers cooling centers, public libraries and park fieldhouses for unhoused people seeking shelter indoors, according to its website. But these spaces are not open overnight. And as most homeless shelters have limited capacity and long waitlists, many unhoused people get stuck outside in dangerous conditions, Shenkelberg said.

“The best way to prevent people from being impacted by these extreme weather events is for them to be housed,” Shenkelberg said. “So when emergencies like this come up, there’s fewer people outside to begin with because we adequately invested in housing services for folks.”

Shenkelberg said his organization is always pushing the city to open more 24-hour community centers to combat this. Chicago currently only offers one, according to the city website.

Shenkelberg said unhoused people’s lack of regular access to healthcare compounds the issue. He said that without regular treatment and monitoring, unhoused people often experience more severe health conditions. Tooba echoed this, pointing out that unhoused people are more likely to have asthma, a condition “very much driven by socioeconomic standing.” 

With climate change driving more wildfire activity globally, Tooba said Chicago may be “entering a new normal,” forced to cope with more health impacts from smoke in years to come. She said she hopes the medical community and the city offer better medical “resources and support” to unhoused populations in light of this. 

Shenkelberg hopes to see the same for housing. 

“The city is responsive in these situations and tries to both get the information out and tries to expand facilities where they can. And I think they would agree that there’s always more that they can do or should do,” he said.