PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 A Valley shelter is utilizing every bit of space it has as it works to keep pace with demand for overnight heat relief.<\/p>\n
Officials at UMOM<\/a> said the need for cool, safe places to sleep has grown so high that the shelter has had to pitch tents indoors to handle the influx of people seeking help since opening its 24\/7 overnight heat relief center this year.<\/p>\n There is currently a 200-person waitlist, officials said. <\/p>\n The surge comes as the Valley endures an unusually deadly summer, with more than 700 deaths classified as heat-related or possibly heat-related.<\/p>\n Families face nighttime heat with little relief<\/p>\n Ashley Oakley with UMOM said families experiencing homelessness are often overlooked, even as more of them turn to the shelter for help.<\/p>\n \u201cFamilies, we really refer to them as the invisible homeless,\u201d Oakley said.<\/p>\n More families are enduring the streets this summer as Arizona experiences a record number of extreme heat warnings, Oakley said, and the physical and mental strain builds the longer they go without relief.<\/p>\n \u201cThat takes a toll on the body and on the mind to not be able to physically cool down,\u201d Oakley said.<\/p>\n Shelter provides round-the-clock space<\/p>\n To help, UMOM opened its first 24\/7 heat relief center this year, giving families a round-the-clock place to escape the heat rather than facing it alone once daytime centers close.<\/p>\n \u201cMentally, to know that caregivers and parents can provide a safe place for their children to sleep at night with some consistent basis is a huge relief and really relieves the burden on these families,\u201d Oakley said.<\/p>\n Oakley said the overnight hours have long been a dangerous void for families without shelter. Daytime cooling centers offer some help, but the Valley\u2019s nighttime lows are climbing close to triple digits, leaving families with little relief once the sun goes down.<\/p>\n \u201cThe low is still 85, 90, sometimes higher. So, even though it\u2019s not the hottest part of the day, it\u2019s still extremely hot and unsafe,\u201d Oakley said.<\/p>\n Shelter outpaces original expectations<\/p>\n UMOM originally planned for the center to help 50 families over the course of the summer. Instead, demand has far outpaced that estimate, with the shelter already serving well over 700 people.<\/p>\n To handle the growing influx, the shelter set up 16 cooling tents on-site, converting available space into makeshift shelter to reach as many people as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have really pivoted to just utilize our space and provide as much care as we possibly can to as many people as we possibly can,\u201d Oakley said.<\/p>\n Even with hundreds already helped, Oakley said the numbers on the waitlist show the need for the program remains urgent and far from met.<\/p>\n \u201cThe need is huge. And, um, we, we are doing everything that we can to help as many people as we can as, as quickly as possible,\u201d Oakley said.<\/p>\n Overnight lows setting records<\/p>\n The strain on the shelter tracks with a broader shift in the Valley\u2019s overnight weather. So far this year, the Valley has recorded 27 days where overnight lows stayed in the 90s or above, compared with an average of seven such days in past years.<\/p>\n At its current pace, UMOM says the shelter expects to help more than 1,000 people before the program winds down in September.<\/p>\n See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n