There have been days when I couldn’t really go out for very long. It’s always been hot in Montreal for a few weeks here and there, but now it feels like it’s double the amount of time we have intense heat.

I’m living at the Old Brewery Mission [a non-profit supporting the homeless in Montreal]. I’m also helping some kids on the street, they’re not in as good a situation as me because they don’t have AC.

The water situation is not that great. The mission give you popsicles [with electrolytes] … so that replenishes the salts and whatever you need. We dehydrate ourselves and we don’t even know it. Then all of a sudden you’re dizzy – that’s when accidents happen. You don’t have to buy water, you just have to buy one good water container and carry it with you. But we need more water fountains in the parks.

I have bronchitis and pneumonia. I go from here to Saint Denis and Sherbrooke [an intersection about 2km away]. I do it in two or three blocks at a time and I have to find an air-conditioned place and sit down and relax – or sit down and cough – because of the pollution and the heat. There’s a lot of coughing when it starts.

Try to find a friendly tree in the city and give it a hug. You have to find some AC, so shopping centres are good and large stores. People should be aware that other people need AC and water. Give them the time of day and a smile, and pass along a little water.