After a deadly heat wave last summer, metro Phoenix is changing tactics
PHOENIX (AP) — Terrified of being assaulted in a shelter, Pearl Marion couch surfed with family members and friends during last year’s blistering summer so she didn’t have to sleep outdoors.
This year, the 65-year-old woman plans to spend Phoenix’s dangerously hot summer nights in a former cafeteria at the city’s main library, sleeping in a chair, her head on a table. There’s cool air, chilled water and security guards to keep anyone from stealing her bus pass.
“I love this place,” Marion said in the space where a half-dozen other people napped and charged their phones. New arrivals were asked if they needed help with housing, substance abuse or air conditioning repair.
It’s one of two overnight spaces that opened in early May after Maricopa County saw a staggering 645 heat-related deaths last year, about 50% more than the 425 confirmed for 2022.