Heat aggravates homelessness

by | Aug 30, 2022 | Homelessness

“The stress from the heat really exacerbates psychosis, and then it becomes so much harder to get people in to engage in any services,” Gomez said.

But surviving summers in Phoenix without shelter is hard. In July, when temperatures here stayed above 110 for over a week, Yager said he collapsed and couldn’t get up for hours.

The city of Phoenix is making large investments to address the housing crisis, announcing in June that it was allocating ​$70.5 million for affordable housing and homelessness programs. But these issues can’t be solved overnight.

Read or listen to the complete article authored by Katherine Davis-Young on National Public Radio npr.org.

Alicia Williams checks the vital signs of Paul Yager inside the mobile medical unit parked outside St. Vincent de Paul, a charitable organization with a soup kitchen in Phoenix’s Sunnyslope neighborhood, on Aug. 9. Yager, 64, is unsheltered, lives with preexisting conditions and has been waiting for housing assistance for two years.
Caitlin O’Hara for NPR