Staff Reports | Community Updates
As triple-digit temperatures spike earlier and earlier each year, Phoenix Rescue Mission is kicking off its 13th annual Code:Red Summer Heat Relief Campaign on May 1 to save the lives of the Valley’s unhoused and at-risk individuals.
The nonprofit’s goal is to protect the state’s most vulnerable population by collecting and distributing one million bottles of water, according to a press release.
From May 1 through Aug. 31, Phoenix Rescue Mission is providing essential resources to sustain the Valley’s homeless population, such as water and hygiene kits, and is seeking donations ahead of this Valley-wide undertaking, the release states.
For the month of June, monetary donations will be matched up to $150,000, made possible by several supporters of Phoenix Rescue Mission, officials there say.
“Last year, Arizona lost 602 people to the dangerous heat and nearly half of that number was made up of our unhoused neighbors on the street,” said Ken Brissa, Phoenix Rescue Mission CEO, in a prepared statement.
“The work that our street outreach teams do in tandem with the dozens of other Valley organizations dedicated to heat relief is paramount in saving lives. We’re committed to lowering the number of heat-related deaths as much as possible each year but need the community’s support to do so.”
During the campaign, several municipalities, including Avondale, Peoria, Glendale, Surprise, and Scottsdale, have created partnerships with the Phoenix Rescue Mission, bringing relief to the streets in the Mission’s Hope Coach vehicles to distribute water, toiletries and case management services.
Water and all other heat-relief donations can be dropped off at the Mission’s Donation Warehouse, located at 2515 N. 34th Drive in Phoenix. The Mission is also in need of volunteers to help distribute vital, nutritious food to families in need at its Hope for Hunger Food Bank in Glendale.
For more information on what to donate or to start a Code:Red drive, please contact gikhelp@phxmission.org or 602-346-3347.
