Maricopa County will spend an additional $3.8 million this summer to help protect homeless residents from potentially deadly heat waves.
According to county data, a record 425 people in Maricopa County died last summer as a result of heat — many of them were homeless. This summer, the county will fund additional heat relief shelters, street outreach programs and even hotel vouchers for unsheltered residents.
The county board of supervisors on Wednesday approved a plan to partner with the cities of Phoenix, Chandler, Mesa, Glendale, Peoria and Scottsdale on the heat relief efforts. The county will direct $2.4 million from federal pandemic relief funds to pay for the programs.
The county will also put $1.4 million from its general fund toward two overnight heat relief shelters operated by the Human Services Campus.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The number of heat deaths in 2022 has been updated in this story to reflect additional deaths confirmed by Maricopa County.
