It’s going to be a hot weekend with temperatures warming several degrees above normal. For the city’s unhoused population or those without adequate cooling, most of the Valley’s 200 cooling centers are now open.
Arene Rushdan is the community resilience program manager with the Arizona Faith Network.
"We're operating right now 10. We like for there to always be more and there's always room for more," Rushdan said.
Rushdan says they have been operating these centers for the last five years. She says every year they evaluate and make improvements, like having nursing students on hand who are logging clinical hours.
"We do also have mobile units that may come by and they may offer testing for HIV, diabetes and things like that," Rushdan said.
Rushan says some of their centers also accept pets.
"Most of our respite centers that we're contracted with do welcome people with service animals because we realize that's very important as well for people in their pets not to be separated," Rushan said.
Phoenix forecast from National Weather Service
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 105 and low around 77. Calm wind.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 106 and low around 78. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 107 and low around 80. Light and variable wind becoming west southwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 106 and low around 80. Calm wind.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 106 and a low around 80. Light and variable wind becoming west 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
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The new plan adopted by Phoenix City Council sets goals to decrease homelessness and further expand shelter and housing availability in the city. -
Homelessness has risen dramatically since the 20-teens when there were around 5,600 people living on the street and in shelters. Today, the count is closer to 10,000. -
HB 2682 would set aside $5 million to create a new rental assistance program in Arizona. Qualifying renters would be able to apply for up to $5,000 to cover up to two months of rent. -
A bill to make it easier for unhoused individuals to get a state ID is advancing in the Arizona Legislature. -
Arizona officials want to understand how many young people are experiencing homelessness across the state. The state is launching a new survey this week to find the answer.
