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HVAC System at Key Campus for the Homeless in Need of Critical Repairs as Extreme Heat Looms

100 degree day forecast tomorrow

April 10, 2025 | Press Release

Phoenix, AZ (Apr 10, 2025): Keys to Change CEO Amy Schwabenlender sounded the alarm in her monthly blog, making a rare direct appeal for community support to help fund repairs to the overworked air conditioning system at Key Campus.

Keys to Change estimates the need for $115,000 in immediate repairs to ensure reliable cooling during the Phoenix summer, and is asking local businesses and individuals to assist.

“The HVAC Chiller System cools three areas on Key Campus: the Lodestar Day Resource Center (central hub for client services and respite), CASS (600-bed single adult shelter), and Brighter Way Dental Clinic,” says Schwabenlender. “Should the chillers stop working, we will put the health of clients and employees at risk.”

18,000 unhoused individuals received services at the 13-acre Key Campus in 2024, while hundreds of front-line staff and admin personnel provided 24-hour compassionate support, expert housing navigation, and more.

Heat relief is an annual priority at Key Campus, with the Thirst Aid Heat Relief Campaign – set to kick off next week – entering its 16th year. Thirst Aid alone provides the funding and volunteer support to distribute some 120,000 bottles of water each month throughout the summer.

This HVAC Chiller System repair is a simultaneous need, prompting the additional urgent request from Schwabenlender.

2024 was the hottest summer on record in Phoenix, AZ, with the first 100+ degree day of the season falling on April 22nd, 2024. Tomorrow is expected to hit triple digits.

To read the full blog post from Schwabenlender, visit www.keystochangeaz.org/calling-all-angels/

For more information about Keys to Change, visit www.keystochangeaz.org

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Media Contacts:

Amy Schwabenlender
CEO
Keys to Change
602-281-8628
amys@keystochangeaz.org

Kim Beaudoin
Marketing and Communications Manager
Keys to Change
602-282-0849
kbeaudoin@keystochangeaz.org

About Keys to Change and Key Campus

Keys to Change uses the power of collaboration to create solutions to end homelessness across Maricopa County. As the owner/operator of Key Campus in downtown Phoenix, Keys to Change facilitates coordination among 13 independent nonprofit and governmental agencies offering a holistic range of services to individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Serving over 1,000 people every day, Key Campus services include reunification with family and friends; mental, physical and dental healthcare; shelter; mail services; employment; meals; legal services; housing match; animal care, case management and more. Keys to Change is a compassionate connector, strategic partner, and relentless advocate, leveraging corporate, individual, and public funding to address systemic barriers while providing for the immediate and emerging needs of the local unhoused community. Learn more at www.keystochangeaz.org.

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