11 Aug 24th–Aug 30th, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | cONTeNTs | feeDBacK | OPiNiON | NeWs | feaTuRe | NighT+Day | culTuRe | film | cafe | music | dollars for its emergency shelter services. As the landlord, HSC was responsible for addressing the air-conditioning issues. Scharf said that the CASS facilities team requested HSC send a technician on July 22. But the issue was apparently not addressed and the air-conditioning unit “completely stopped working” on July 25. “Upon this new information, we once again reached out to our property owner, who put in an emergency call for an AC technician,” Scharf said. Steve Carr, who works for a public rela- tions agency representing HSC, provided this statement regarding the air condi- tioning problems: “We have no comment on the AC issue at CASS other than to say we’re greatly relieved that the situation has been resolved.” After the unit failed, it took about 24 hours to be fixed, Scharf said. Air condi- tioning was restored in the dorms by early afternoon on July 26 — five days after the issues were first reported. An electrical issue caused the air conditioning to fail, he said. It was a difficult five days, the woman who spoke to New Times said. “Because there were so many people packed in such a small dorm, I would say it had to be at least the same temperature as outside. Maybe 5 degrees cooler, if that,” she said. It made her worried about the pregnancy. Staff at CASS said that temperatures during the outage remained at around 80 degrees. Were protocols really followed? The woman shared other concerns about her time at the shelter, too, including issues with cleanliness and the facilities. After about a week, she got a bed at the newer Respiro shelter, just down the street, which she said was a significant improvement over CASS. “I feel a lot safer here,” she said. “It was getting really bad to stay there [at CASS].” For her, the question remained, though: Why were the air-conditioning issues allowed to continue for days? Asked about CASS’s protocols during such an incident, Scharf said that the shelter “immediately reaches out to partners and service industries to start the process of repair, while activating the shelter staff to work directly with our clients.” “Additionally, in the situation of an AC unit going down, CASS brings in portable swamp coolers and fans to continue to cool the areas affected. High medical risk and vulnerable clients are offered, if possible, a bed in different areas of the shelter not affected by the AC unit being down,” he said. Although she was pregnant, the woman said she was not offered another bed or shelter placement during the outage. Phoenix City Councilmember Yassamin Ansari, who is also vice mayor and represents the district in which CASS is located, said her office began moni- toring the issues once it learned of the outage after an outcry on social media. “After hearing concerns online about a potential AC outage, I spoke with CASS leadership and requested they send me daily updates on their cooling efforts and any issues in the future,” she said in a prepared statement. “[CASS is] one of the largest shelters on the campus, providing 600 beds daily, and their clients should have consistent, reliable service — especially during these extreme heat days,” she said, adding that she was “thankful this is fixed and will continue working with them on any issues.” Tents line the street near CASS. A majority of heat deaths in Phoenix so far in 2023 occurred in areas without functional air-conditioning. (Photo by Katya Schwenk) The city has cleared four blocks of the Zone, but hundreds of people still live on the streets in the area. (Photo by Katya Schwenk) Not Cool from p 8
