PHOENIX — The Valley’s heat relief network is working — but the money making it possible is only temporary.
For the first time in nearly a decade, Maricopa County is moving in the right direction on one of its deadliest summer problems. Heat-related deaths dropped from a record 645 in 2023 to 608 in 2024, the first year-over-year decline in ten years.
Then those same numbers dropped again to 427 in 2025, marking two consecutive years of progress in a county where the Maricopa County Department of Public Health says extreme heat kills more people than any other weather event.
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But the programs driving that progress have a problem: they were built on temporary money.
In April 2023, Maricopa County approved $3.8 million in federal COVID relief money, known as ARPA funds, to expand its heat relief network across the Valley.
Phoenix received more than $1 million for indoor, air-conditioned daytime shelters serving up to 140 people per day.
Chandler and Mesa shared $600,000 for respite centers, cooling stations, mobile services, and shower trailers serving up to 600 people daily.
Glendale received $771,000 for three new respite centers and street outreach serving up to 90 people per day.
The Human Services Campus received $1.4 million for overnight heat relief stations open from 5:30 in the evening until 5 in the morning, with sleeping mats, cots, blankets, and water for nearly 190 people per night.
Those efforts worked. But the pandemic-era federal relief money does come with an expiration date, and this summer is the last year those funds will be available for the Heat Relief Network.
No permanent replacement funding has been approved.
County staff has said they are pursuing grants, private partners, and legislative support, but so far nothing is locked in.
According to a Board of Supervisors briefing, County Supervisor Debbie Lesko has already asked staff to return with a full cost breakdown of the programs that can continue into fiscal year 2026-27.
In the meantime, the 2026 Heat Relief Network is open and operating through September 30. More than 200 locations across the Valley offer free cooling, water, and connections to services.
To find a cooling center near you, click here or call 2-1-1.
