Amid the relentless heat wave, Phoenix city officials are using a public bus as a makeshift cooling shelter. The running bus, with AC on full blast, has been parked downtown, near the city’s largest homeless encampment, since July 19. 

“We’re looking at the extreme heat we’re having, the prolonged heat wave that we’re seeing, and we’re trying to bring solutions to people in real time and where they’re at,” said Michelle Litwin, with the city’s Office of Heat Response and Mitigation.

Litwin said the city was seeing a high volume of heat-related 911 calls from the area around the Human Services Campus. 

"As we're aware, people experiencing homelessness are at a higher risk of a heat-related incident," Litwin said. 

Litwin says about 120 people per day have been coming onto the bus to take a break from the heat. It’s open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Litwin said the program may eventually expand.

"We're having those conversations on a day-by-day basis, trying to assess the need, where the need is and seeing where we can activate what resources we have," Litwin said.