This week the Valley is expecting potentially record-breaking temperatures, which is why the Salvation Army is activating their heat relief efforts for the first time in 2024.
They will have heat relief stations and also a mobile hydration unit that will be out to help people.
"The Salvation Army considers extreme heat in Arizona our natural disaster," said Public Relations Director for the Salvation Army Southwest Division Scott Johnson.
The organization's heat relief stations are spread throughout the Valley at nearly a dozen locations. The stations will be "activated" from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 5-7 and any day the National Weather Service has issued or extended an excessive heat warning.
"We have sunscreen, hats, bandanas, cooling, towels, lip balm, things like that, just to help people reset their temperatures before they have to get back out there," said Johnson.
Their mobile hydration unit will also hand out water and hygiene items to people who might have a hard time reaching a relief station.
"On any day of an excessive heat warning to portions of the Valley that we have identified with high unsheltered population," said Johnson. "A lot of people are not able to get to a Salvation Army indoor heat relief stations, so we bring the heat relief to them."
Last year, 645 people died from the heat in Maricopa County. Already this year, 48 deaths are being investigated as possibly heat-related according to the county's 2024 heat report dashboard. It also says one death in April was heat caused and three others heat contributed.
"If we can get people indoors if we can get to people that are unsheltered and get them cold water, we're hope we're hopeful that we can try to get those numbers down," said Johnson.
The Salvation Army is also encouraging people to check on their neighbors to make sure they have working air conditioning.
The organization also told ABC15 they always need volunteers for their heat relief efforts.
