Salvation Army opens heat relief stations in Phoenix area. Here's where people can get help
Corrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this article misstated the number of water bottles given out in the Phoenix area by the Salvation Army. The organization has given out 18,000 so far this year.
With the National Weather Service's excessive heat warning in effect, the Salvation Army has activated its heat relief stations across the Valley.
The stations are organized by the Salvation Army to help those seeking refuge from the heat, with free water and access to indoor cooling. During the excessive heat warnings, locations put up canopies and help people get access to their resources on the sidewalk for anyone passing by.
"Each one of those (stations) will open up so that people can come inside and cool off," explained Maj. Tim Smith. "We also will distribute water and sunscreen or ChapStick, or sanitizer, or hats, bandanas, those kinds of things, just extra supplies when we have them so that people have something to help defend themselves from the excessive heat."
Smith is the divisional secretary for metro Phoenix for the Salvation Army.
"This is possible because we've got a number of different wonderful partners, both corporations and just private citizens who are very kind," he added.
Those partners include APS, DBP, DripDrop and Ford, which donated funding and resources like water bottles.
The Salvation Army also has mobile units giving out water to areas in the Valley with larger populations of unsheltered people.
Maj. Keith Bottjen helps run the Phoenix Citadel Corps Community Center in downtown Phoenix. He said that location passes out approximately 50 to 70 bottles of water a day, contributing to the 18,000 water bottles given out so far this year in the metro area.
At full capacity, the building can host 50 people who are seeking refuge from the summer heat.
"Sometimes they'll come in and hang out all day, sometimes they'll just come in for a few minutes. (They) love being in here," Bottjen said.
He invites people to stop by for some water and if they have the time to help out by donating or by volunteering.
Locations for Salvation Army heat relief stations
Here are the locations where the Salvation Army will be distributing water from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily:
Apache Junction: Apache Junction Corps Community Center, 605 E. Broadway Ave.
Avondale: Estrella Mountain Corps Community Center, 11 N. Third Ave.
Chandler: Chandler Corps Community Center, 85 E. Saragosa St.
Glendale: Glendale Corps Community Center, 6010 W. Northern Ave.
Mesa: Mesa Corps Community Center, 241 E. Sixth St.
Phoenix:
Phoenix Citadel Corps Community Center, 628 N. Third Ave.
Phoenix Maryvale Corps Community Center, 4318 W. Clarendon Ave.
Ray & Joan Kroc Center Phoenix, 1375 E. Broadway Road
Phoenix Family Services Office, 2707 E. Van Buren St., Bldg. 2
Surprise: North West Valley Corps Community Center, 17420 N. Avenue of the Arts Blvd.
Tempe: Tempe Corps Community Center, 40 E. University Drive
Other organizations offering heat relief
The Heat Relief Network is a partnership of different entities in Maricopa County that have put together resources to help people stay safe.
The Maricopa Association of Governments has created a map of where you can access water at https://hrn.azmag.gov/.
How to help: Our list of organizations that help with heat and those experiencing homelessness
Have a question you need answered? Reach the reporter at rromeroruiz@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @raphaeldelag.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Heat relief stations activated across Phoenix area by Salvation Army
