'Painful to experience': Unhoused population faces brunt of scorching heatwave

As Arizona faces a record-breaking heatwave amid efforts to clear out homeless encampments in Tempe and Phoenix, the unhoused community faces dangerous scorching temperatures on the streets.

A network of cooling stations across the Valley have offered freezing cold water bottles and air-conditioned spaces in attempts for them to avoid heat exhaustion and dehydration.

"(People) can come in, cool down, sleep, and make sure they stay hydrated," said Rudy Soliz, the director of operations at Justa Center.

Justa Center, located off Jefferson Street and 10th Avenue in Phoenix, focuses its services mostly on seniors facing homelessness, but opens their doors to everyone to cool off when temperatures surpass 100 degrees.

Offering ice, water, food, and a cool air-conditioned room, unhoused people flock to the center which is open almost 12 hours every day to provide for the community.

"We're always looking for a place to go, so when they opened these cooling centers, it's been a lifesaver. Last year, a lot of us fell from heat stroke," said Joyce Obiru, who has been experiencing homelessness since 2016.

After migrating from Africa, Obiru said Senate Bill 1070, one of Arizona's strictest immigration enforcement bills, is what left her unhoused after having her immigration documents stolen in a robbery.

"I found myself on the streets with nothing, but centers like these allowed me to still stay alive," Obiru said. "It's important for people to seek these centers, especially now the temperature is over 100 degrees."

Last summer, Obiru suffered from heat stroke and spent a couple months in the hospital. She is now returning to Justa Center daily to avoid her time out in the heat. Soliz said last week a visitor was transported to the hospital with dehydration symptoms.

It is not much surprise that Arizona summers are hot, but the current heatwave has brought record-breaking temperatures all across the Valley. On July 8, the Phoenix-area broke the record for the most days under an excessive heat warning, which previously was eight days.

Now, as the excessive heat warning extends to Wednesday, with people facing almost three weeks of excessive, over 100-degree temperatures, it would be record-breaking 20-day stretch of extreme heat.

"We're in record-breaking heat wave right now and the temperatures that we are experiencing... they're very abnormal, even for July standards," said Matt Salerno, a meteorologist with National Weather Service in Phoenix.

He said temperatures are still expected to reach extreme levels in the coming days.

"We've been really stressing heat safety," Salerno said. "If you're outside, make sure you're taking plenty of breaks. Bring lots of water with you. Seek out shade when you can, but really try to stay indoors in the air conditioning as much as possible."

According to a report from the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, there have been 12 confirmed deaths associated with heat in Maricopa County this year. Six of those people were unhoused.

"It's just horrible. It's too hot, and you can't get any relief from it. It just affects the whole body and mind," said KC Griffin, who has been experiencing homelessness for six months due to an eviction and frequents cooling stations for water and ice.

Last week, a fourth block of "The Zone," Phoenix’s largest homeless encampment, was cleared, a continuation of the city's effort to clear the area following the lawsuit, Brown v. City of Phoenix, in which nearby residents and business owners sued the city, claiming the encampment is a public nuisance, and the city hasn’t done enough to fix it.

Unhoused people face sweltering heat being outside as the National Weather Service advises all people to remain inside and with air conditioning as much as possible.

Many heat relief stations are offered across the Valley at nonprofits, churches, libraries, and recreation centers. The map for their locations can be found at azmag.gov/Programs/Heat-Relief-Network.

Although Obiru appreciates the efforts of cooling stations, she said the main solution is getting the unhoused population housed, especially over the summer.

"People are staying in these tents, and everyday somebody is dropping, we are just listening to people die because of this heat... just give us a roof over our head with air conditioning for the summer," Obiru said. "It's very painful to see. And it's very painful to experience."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Unhoused population faces brunt of scorching heatwave