The Human Services Campus in Phoenix held a drive this weekend to collect water and other items needed to help people experiencing homelessness survive the summer.
Along with deadly heat, a July 10 deadline is also approaching for those living on the streets.
That’s when Phoenix must clear out “The Zone,” a sprawling homeless encampment featuring hundreds of tents.
Development services manager Teresa Hauer says that deadline will not affect the campus’s operations.
“We are basically business as usual. We’re not, you know, stopping anything that we’re doing. We’re continuing to provide all of the most essential resources in ending homelessness for individuals everyday as well as systematically across the sector," she said.
Items listed for collection included sunscreen, lip balm, insulated jugs and cooling wraps.
Steve Davis is the development director for the Human Services Campus. He says Phoenix summers pose a lot of threats to unsheltered individuals.
“I’d say primarily from the heat standpoint is just people can suffer from heat exhaustion, dehydration also a really big one. So, primarily, health issues," he said.
According to campus officials, 100,000 water bottles are needed every month.
