PHOENIX — Red Cross volunteers went door to door in a north Phoenix mobile home park, sharing heat safety tips and resources as summer heat arrives.
ABC15's Molly Hudson walked along with volunteers as they knocked on doors, talked with residents, and delivered bags full of resources, tips, and information, including the location of the nearest cooling centers.
Dawn Jeffers has been a Red Cross volunteer for 6 years. This is her sixth heat walk this season.
"We want people to know what they are up against and how to be prepared for it," Jeffers said.
Volunteers asked residents about working smoke detectors and handed out materials on staying safe in extreme heat.
"A day like today, when we are doing a heat walk, you can see an immediate impact to the work that we are doing, it's crazy to think that in Arizona we still have people dying and suffering through this heat," Jeffers said.
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According to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, there were 430 heat-related deaths in 2025. Of the heat-related deaths that happened indoors, 23% happened in RVs, trailers, or mobile homes.
"We are getting ready before the summer gets here, putting information in people's hands, talking about the risks of extreme heat and where they can go should they ever need help,” said Edgar Olivo, regional CEO for American Red Cross Arizona and New Mexico.
"Sometimes it's just reinforcing what we already know and sometimes it is educating them for the first time,” Jeffers said.
Vanessa Archuletta lives in the community and helped organize Saturday's event. She is also part of the Arizona Association of Manufactured Home Owners.
"It's overwhelming, beautiful, it's just so great," Archuletta said. "We are hoping this will open people up and let them know that there are resources and we are here personally to help them."
"This is truly neighbors helping neighbors and we want that impact to be felt," Jeffers said
