According to Maricopa County heat reports, of the county’s 427 confirmed heat-related deaths, 27% occurred indoors. Of these indoor heat death cases, 68% occurred when a non-functioning air conditioning unit was on the property. Older adults – especially those who are homebound and have limited contact with family members to check on them – are vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat.
Tempe Community Action Agency operates a variety of volunteer-powered initiatives for older adults, such as its Meals on Wheels and Neighbors Helping Neighbors programs. While these programs provide services such as meals, visits and transportation assistance, they also act as a health check-up during Arizona’s hot summer months.
Phillip Scharf, CEO of Tempe Community Action Agency, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the initiatives.
“That fixed income senior that is choosing between running their A/C at home or maybe giving up on another cost, can come to one of our facilities and spend all day in air conditioning,” Scharf said. “Shut off that air conditioning at home which saves money, and then when they get home and the sun has gone down they can afford to run that A/C”.
During a home visit, TCA’s volunteers and community health workers make sure a senior’s A/C is functioning properly, assess their immediate needs and can connect a senior to resources for A/C repair if necessary.
If there are any issues in the community, the non profit looks to help with the money they have put away that is usually used to keep people in their homes. Then the individual is transported to a cooling service while their house is being attended to.
“We reach out to the community that we serve, and make sure that those seniors and those fixed income individuals have the basic needs they have in order to get to the next day,” Scharf said when speaking on the help that the “neighbors helping neighbors” program gives.
