Amy Schwabenlender

For 19 years now, the Keys to Change Campus at 12th Avenue and Madison Street in downtown Phoenix (formerly known as the Human Services Campus) has offered dignified services with a 14-partner collaborative, serving some 1,200 people per day. It’s our mission: using the power of collaboration to create solutions to end homelessness. The campus shelters over 900 people nightly in four spaces.

Reflections from the front lines serving people experiencing homelessness, in an October excessive heat warning (!), continuing to shelter 900 people per night on Key Campus, outreaching 400-500 more who remain unsheltered, and seeing the ARPA finish line vividly and sadly. For those of you who are frequent readers, you probably sense I am maybe not the most positive, optimistic, cheerleader-like person.

An excessive heat warning is issued for 10 am Wednesday through 8 pm Friday. Afternoon temperatures of 108 and 113 are expected. We know there are hundreds of unsheltered individuals around the Key Campus and thousands across Maricopa County. Local government has worked to open more cooling centers and hydration stations, and they have worked to open them earlier in the year. Information is shared here: https://hrn.azmag.gov/ At the Campus we are in full-on heat relief mode.