In Phoenix, Ariz., a disproportionate number of indoor heat-related deaths happen in mobile homes. Red Cross volunteers are working to change that.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Extreme heat kills hundreds of people in and around Phoenix, Arizona, every year. When those deaths occur indoors, nearly a quarter of the time they’re in mobile homes. Mobile homes make up only 5% of area housing. From member station KJZZ, Katherine Davis-Young reports on why that risk is so high.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOORBELL CHIMING)
UNIDENTIFIED VOLUNTEER #1: Hello, hello.
UNIDENTIFIED VOLUNTEER #2: Hi. It’s Red Cross.
KATHERINE DAVIS-YOUNG, BYLINE: It’s a sunny Saturday morning, and volunteers with the American Red Cross are knocking on doors in a Phoenix mobile home park.
UNIDENTIFIED VOLUNTEER #2: We just want to make sure you stay hydrated, check on a neighbor and know that there’s cooling centers nearby.
DAVIS-YOUNG: The Red Cross often provides relief after fires or hurricanes. But in this case, they’re here to respond to heat, says Edgar Olivo, CEO for the organization’s Arizona and New Mexico branch.
EDGAR OLIVO: You’re not thinking of it as a disaster. You’re just thinking of it as a really hot day. It’s just a dry heat. Those are the comments that we tend to hear.
DAVIS-YOUNG: Arizona’s summers have always been hot. But climate change is driving longer and more extreme heat seasons. And Olivo says, as far as the Red Cross is concerned, this qualifies as a disaster. Heat kills more Americans annually than any other weather-related event. So the organization wants to help communities that face high risk, like the lower-income older adults who live in this mobile home park.
OLIVO: Senior citizens are exposed to a lot of the risks that come with extreme heat, especially if they’re on medication, if they live in isolation, if they don’t know where to go should there be a power outage or some kind of emergency.
DAVIS-YOUNG: It’s not only income and age that raise risk. Newer manufactured homes may be well-insulated, but before 1976, there was no federal oversight of them. So older mobile homes may not have insulation or electrical systems that could support AC. The Urban Institute estimates there are more than a million of those pre-1976 units still in use nationwide, including tens of thousands in Arizona. And even if residents want to make upgrades, they often can’t get financing to do so, says Mark Kear with the University of Arizona.
MARK KEAR: Most manufactured housing is not titled as real estate. It’s titled as personal property, and it’s very difficult to get money to make investments in it.
DAVIS-YOUNG: On top of that, these parks tend to have little shade and a lot of hard, heat-absorbing surfaces.
KEAR: Which means that even if you have adequate air conditioning, it’s going to be a greater financial burden for you to keep that home cool.
DAVIS-YOUNG: And many of these residents pay for electricity through their park, so they’re not direct customers of utilities. Kear says that can make them ineligible for some forms of energy assistance. He says manufactured housing is an important affordable option, but policies are making these homes vulnerable to climate threats.
KEAR: These manufactured housing residents have really fallen through the cracks.
DAVIS-YOUNG: Last year, there were 25 heat deaths in these homes in metro Phoenix.
UNIDENTIFIED VOLUNTEER #2: We were just handing out information.
DAVIS-YOUNG: Back at the Red Cross event, volunteers are passing out information about how to recognize heat stroke and where the nearest cooling centers are. It’s just after 10 a.m. and it’s already above 90 degrees when volunteers knock on Joyce Craven’s door. Her home is getting hot.
JOYCE CRAVEN: It’s like a tin can.
DAVIS-YOUNG: She points to the bedroom window, where a small air conditioner is mounted. It’s the only AC she has, and it doesn’t cool the whole home. Her plan for the summer is just to stick close to it.
CRAVEN: Just back there in the one room that has the window air conditioner.
DAVIS-YOUNG: The volunteers give her their information packet.
UNIDENTIFIED VOLUNTEER #1: There are a lot of programs out there that are available to help.
DAVIS-YOUNG: They suggest she reach out to the city to see if she qualifies for home repair assistance or other help. She thanks them, and they head off to knock on more doors.
For NPR News, I’m Katherine Davis-Young in Phoenix.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
