The summer months are here and Phoenix Rescue Mission (PRM) is kicking off its 10th annual, city-wide Code:Red Summer Heat Relief Campaign to save the lives of the city’s unhoused and at-risk individuals. According to Maricopa County, at least 130 individuals experiencing homelessness died from heat-related causes in 2021. The nonprofit’s goal is to protect our most vulnerable population by collecting and distributing one million bottles of water.

Through August 31, PRM is providing essential resources to sustain the city’s homeless population, such as nonperishable food and water supplies. PRM is seeking monetary, nonperishable food and water donations. Monetary donations will be matched up to $150,000, made possible by a grant by several supporters of Phoenix Rescue Mission.

“During the summer months in Phoenix, asphalt can heat up to a deadly 170 degrees. Anything above 104 degrees can cause brain damage and death,” says Phoenix Rescue Mission CEO Ken Brissa. “While many Valley residents find respite indoors, our unhoused neighbors cannot take shelter from the heat and need help that can come to them.”
Several municipalities have created partnerships with the Mission, bringing relief to the streets in the Mission’s Hope Coach vehicles to distribute water, toiletries, and case management services. “Anything helps in this undertaking to save and change lives, whether it’s through a monetary donation, dropping off a case of water or starting a water drive,” says Brissa. “This is so much more than a handout of water. This is arming people with the tools to change their lives and move out of harm’s way.”

More information about the 10th annual Code:Red initiative can be found at phoenixrescuemission.org/codered. Food, 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.

For more information on what to donate or to start a Code:Red drive, contact [email protected] or call 602-346-3347.