PHOENIX — As the Valley prepares for more extreme heat, ABC15 asked shelter leaders what is being done to make sure families have a safe space to find relief.
Aesha Robinson says she found herself homeless, living outside with her kids last summer. She says when she called 211, the statewide resource that connects people with shelter services, she was told the wait time to get into a shelter was six to eight weeks.
"That is typical for the summer months," said Monique Lopez, with UMOM New Day Centers, the largest emergency shelter for families in Arizona. “We absolutely see a few hundred families on the waitlist on any given night, and the current wait time to get into shelter is eight weeks... We’ve seen families get as creative as possible, but truthfully, they can be in a number of unsafe situations."
Do you have a concern in your community or a news tip? We want to hear from you!
Connect with us: share@abc15.com
The leaders at 211 say UMOM and other shelter organizations are doing all that they can.
“Until we as a community all agree that this is an issue that requires funding, there won’t be any change," said Andrew Erwin, with Solari Crisis & Human Services. "So six to eight weeks is the baseline we have to offer, and unless the community is willing to invest in reducing that wait time, there won’t be any change."
In Aesha's case, she connected with St. Vincent de Paul, who got her a temporary place to live while she found a job. But that, too, requires funding.
Program Manager Krashanda Cleveland says she's worried about the summer, with not enough places for families to stay out of the heat. She says the long-term solution will have to go beyond more shelter space.
"Not enough housing. Not enough affordable housing and not enough employment that pays a living wage to afford the high rent of cost of living right now," she said.
If you need heat relief in the Valley, click here.
UMOM also recently partnered with the Arizona Pet Project to make sure shelter residents and their pets can stay together. You can watch more of that story in the video below.
