12 May 16th-May 22nd, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | homeless encampment that was cleared out by Nov. 2. While the tents in the area vanished, the people did not — they just went elsewhere, though many still wander the area around the Zone for its resources. Ultimately, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney ordered the city to clean up the Zone. Some experts said moving people away from a centralized location did more harm than good. “They sent everyone out to underpasses all across the county,” said Will Humble, executive director of the nonprofit Arizona Public Health Association. “And it’s just a lot harder to get water and help to people when they’re scattered over hundreds of square miles.” People experiencing homelessness accounted for 45% of the county’s heat- related deaths in 2023, according to the county health department’s report. More than 75% of those who died were male, and 71% of heat-related deaths took place on a day with an excessive heat warning. Almost two-thirds of heat-related deaths occurred among people older than age 50, and while about 60% of the dead were white, African Americans were overrepre- sented in the deaths compared with the general population. The problem is not just the sun, Humble said. It’s also a lack of affordable shelter. “Quite honestly, the root cause is we have not been dealing with affordable housing and homelessness,” he said. “That’s where the bodies came from.” Just as the world is heating up, the affordable housing crisis is only worsening. Every year, it swallows more and more people. Even the middle class is no longer safe from the looming threat of homeless- ness. According to an ASU study, it takes a salary of $123,752 to afford the median home price of $460,000 in the Valley. Renting isn’t all that more affordable. The median rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,671, which the study found is out of reach for many. Every day, more people are at risk of a cataclysmic event that puts them on the street and into the heat. Scott Davis, a public information officer for the Maricopa County Justice Courts, said evic- tion filings for the first four months of the year are at a high not seen in that period since 2000. If Arizona wants to reduce heat deaths, it needs to reduce — and not just relocate — the number of people expe- riencing homelessness. “With rising temperatures, it’s all the more important that we address our housing issue,” said Dr. Rebecca Sunenshine, medical director for the Maricopa County Department of Public Health. “Because people that don’t have shelter during extreme heat are actually at 500 times the risk of dying from heat as people who do have shelter.” More cooling centers After a flat-footed response to extreme heat last year, Arizona officials at all levels of government have adopted new measures. In March, Hobbs announced the creation of a statewide office to coordinate heat relief as part of her preparedness plan and appointed Dr. Eugene Livar to lead it as chief heat officer. On May 1, Maricopa County and various cities launched a joint effort to provide more relief through cooling centers — keeping them open longer and on weekends after many seeking respite from last summer’s heat found them closed. The Maricopa Association of Governments also refreshed its annual online map that people can use to find cooling, respite and hydration stations across the Valley. Phoenix, as the most populous city in the state, has opened five cooling centers for the summer, all of which will have expanded hours. Those at the Cholla, Harmon and Yucca libraries will be open Mondays through Saturdays until 10 p.m., and the Senior Opportunities West Senior Center will operate as an overnight cooling center from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. Phoenix also has opened a new 24/7 cooling center at Burton Barr Central Library. Last year, many library cooling centers closed by 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. The overnight centers serve a maximum of 50, according to Keyera Williams, a Phoenix public Michael Felder, who lived in the downtown homeless encampment called the Zone, died from heat exposure in August 2022. (Photo courtesy of Phoenix Rescue Mission) The Heat Is On from p 11 >> p 15
