As temperatures begin to creep upward and summer months roll closer, Phoenix Rescue Mission is kicking off its 12th annual, city-wide Code:Red Summer Heat Relief Campaign on May 1 to save the lives of the city’s unhoused and at-risk individuals. The nonprofit’s goal is to protect the state’s most vulnerable population by collecting and distributing one million bottles of water.
From May 1 through August 31, Phoenix Rescue Mission is providing essential resources to sustain the city’s homeless population, such as nonperishable food and water supplies, and is seeking donations ahead of this Valley-wide undertaking. Monetary donations will be matched up to $150,000, made possible by several supporters of Phoenix Rescue Mission.
“In 2023, there were 645 heat-related deaths in Maricopa County, a 52% increase from 2022, and almost half were from people experiencing homelessness,” said Phoenix Rescue Mission CEO Ken Brissa. “These deaths are tragic and preventable. This campaign aims to help these communities as much as possible by meeting people where they are at and providing life-saving necessities, like water.”
During the campaign, several municipalities, including Avondale, Peoria, Glendale, Surprise, and Scottsdale, have created partnerships with the Phoenix Rescue Mission, bringing relief to the streets in the Mission’s Hope Coach vehicles to distribute water, toiletries and case management services.
More information about the 12th annual Code:Red initiative can be found here. 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 in Glendale.
For more information on what to donate or to start a Code:Red drive, please contact gikhelp@phxmission.org or 602-346-3347.
About Phoenix Rescue Mission
Phoenix Rescue Mission provides Christ-centered, life-transforming solutions to persons facing hunger, homelessness, addiction, and trauma. The nonprofit Mission, which has been operating since 1952, is asking the public for support of its many programs designed to transform lives, including Hope for Hunger Food Bank, Hope Coach Street Outreach, Men’s Residential Recovery Programs, and the Changing Lives Center for Women and Children.
