OCRA, Indiana University announce Frankfort selected for second round of Beat the Heat program

The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs announced two communities have been selected to participate in the second round of the Beat the Heat program, a program focused on community health and resilience in heat emergencies.

The program is in partnership with Indiana University's Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering and Environmental Resilience Institute.

The communities chosen to participate in the Beat the Heat program include the City of Frankfort and the Town of Nashville.

"Beat the Heat is a great program that provides communities with tangible, long-term approaches to managing high temperatures,” Lieutenant Governor Beckwith said. “In the past, we've offered physical items like AC units and shade trees, but we also provide strategies and raise awareness to help Hoosiers stay safe during the warmer months."

The program is designed to help local government build capacity to adapt to heat emergencies and mitigate the public health impacts associated with extreme heat.

"With the warm summer months ahead, many communities will be dealing with the stress that comes with extreme heat, including the likelihood that some residents will experience heat-related illnesses," OCRA Executive Director Fred Glynn said. “The Beat the Heat program aims to prepare communities for this by knowing what their limitations are and how to effectively address the issues in order to best serve their citizens."

Through this initiative, the selected communities will be equipped with heat-specific data and mapping tools to transform resilient strategies into actionable projects. The communities will receive guidance from the Indiana Resilience Funding Hub to identify funding opportunities and prepare grant applications to implement at least one heat management strategy. Each community will be supported throughout the program cycle by a fellow from Indiana University to assist with workshops, assessments and project implementation.

"Extreme heat affects every Hoosier community, but each community experiences it differently," Dana Habeeb, assistant professor at IU's Luddy SICE and principal investigator for the Beat the Heat program said. "Through tools and training developed at IU, Beat the Heat empowers local governments to better understand their unique vulnerabilities and develop plans of action. We're excited to begin work this summer with our two newest Beat the Heat communities."