SHE THOUGHT NO ONE WAS COMING. THEN A HOPE COACH SHOWED UP.
Your gifts put Hope Coach vehicles and Case Managers on the streets every day – reaching neighbors like Heather before it’s too late.Heather had stopped...
- About
-
- Get Involved
-
-
-
A Mother’s Way Back
Rebecca lost her parents, her marriage, and nearly her children. Then she found her way to Phoenix Rescue Mission.Rebecca didn’t plan to become a mother...
-
-
-
Triple Digits Can Be Deadly Without Your Help
From Ken Brissa, Chief Executive Officer
The first triple-digit day of 2026 came nearly six weeks ahead of schedule. That tells you everything about the summer ahead.
You give the people we serve hope. Your faithfulness has put more Hope Coach vehicles on the streets than ever before, and because of you, our Street Outreach teams are reaching more neighbors than we ever thought possible.
Last year, newly released final reports show heat-related deaths dropped to 430. In the same period, rescues climbed to 1,363. We may never know this side of Heaven exactly what role your generosity played in those numbers – but I believe it was a significant one.
Even more people will need us this summer – and your partnership will save more lives.
God Bless,
Ken Brissa
Chief Executive Officer
Because of You, More Rescues are Happening and
Fewer Lives are Being Lost
Your Impact by the Numbers
Because of your support, Code:Red results are headed in the right direction.
Heat-related deaths are declining. In 2023, 645 people in the Valley died from heat-related causes. In 2024, that dropped to 608. Newly released final 2025 data shows 430. That’s a 33.3% decline over the last two years.
Street Outreach rescues keep climbing. 830 in 2023. 1,044 in 2024. 1,363 in 2025. That’s a 64.2% increase over the last two years!
Our Street Outreach teams are larger than ever. More than 50 people now serve on the teams – up from just 6 a few years ago. The Hope Coach fleet has reached 38 vehicles in 2026, nearly triple the size it was 4 years ago.
Our water distribution efforts are growing. In 2024, Phoenix Rescue Mission distributed just under 900,000 bottles of water. In 2025, thanks to you, that number grew to 1.5 million. This year, we set a bold goal of 2 million water bottles.
The full count of lives your gifts have saved is something we’ll never know this side of Heaven. Newly released final 2025 data puts heat-related deaths in the Valley at 430, down from 608 the year before – evidence that as our Street Outreach presence you’ve helped build keeps growing, rescues climb and deaths decline.
She Thought No One Was Coming.
Then a Hope Coach Showed Up.
Code:Red Feature Story
Your gifts put Hope Coach vehicles and Case Managers on the streets every day – reaching neighbors like Heather before it’s too late.
Heather had stopped believing anyone would help. After years of addiction and an abusive marriage, she had lost her apartment, her children, and her health. Some nights she slept in parking lots. Others, she zip-tied her suitcase to a bus stop bench so no one could steal it while she slept.
She had been sober once before – five full years, with a steady job and her kids back. Then she relapsed, and it pulled her under faster than before.
“I hit that point where I just didn’t care anymore,” she says. “I had nothing left.”
That’s when a Hope Coach vehicle pulled up.
A Bottle of Water and an Open Door
A Case Manager stepped out, told her where he worked, and offered Heather a bottle of water.
“That right there was the most awesome thing he could have done,” Heather says. “Anything being pushed on me, I would have been like, no, leave me alone.”
She had heard of Phoenix Rescue Mission before and always found reasons to say no, but this time, something broke through.
She thought about her kids. For the first time in a long time, she wanted to be alive for them.
The next morning, she called the Mission. We picked her up and drove her to our Changing Lives Center for Women and Children.
Finding the Time to Heal
The first weeks were brutal. Heather cried for two weeks straight. She almost walked out, but a staff member pulled her aside and said, “Just sleep on it.”
She stayed.
Heather found what she had never found anywhere else – the time and support to actually heal.
“Nowhere gives you time to heal,” she says. “This place gives you the time to figure out what you want to do.”
She found God – not because anyone pressured her, but because she was finally still enough to hear Him.
“Not once was I told I had to believe,” Heather says. “And that’s this place.”
The Life She Always Wanted
Today, Heather has over a year of sobriety. She has reconnected with one of her children, and her parents attended her graduation. She read the Bible cover to cover, got baptized, and now is a part of the Ministry Training program, learning about peer support and how to help other women find the same path to healing.
Her dream is to join the Street Outreach team – to do for others what you did for her.
“I wouldn’t be alive if that Hope Coach hadn’t come for me,” she says. “The best way to use my whole life is to help others who feel like there’s nobody out there for them.”
Heather’s story and so many others are thanks to you. This Code:Red season, your gifts will put Hope Coaches and Case Managers on the Valley’s streets, reaching neighbors living on the streets with water, care, and the kind of compassion that helped Heather find a way forward. Every bottle of water is a chance to start a conversation. Every conversation is a chance to save a life.
“Nowhere gives you time to heal. This place gives you the time to figure out what you want to do.” – Heather
John Holmberg & 98KUPD
Operation Hydration
When the Valley comes together, lives are saved. Here’s how one radio station is making it happen.
For nearly 20 years, John Holmberg and 98KUPD have rallied their listeners around one cause: getting water to people who need it most.
Their annual Operation Hydration drive has become one of the Valley’s largest water collection campaigns, fueling the Mission’s Code:Red heat-relief efforts.
In 2025, with the help of partners like John Holmberg and 98KUPD, the Mission distributed 1.5 million bottles of water to our neighbors in need across the Valley.
“Last summer, when we toured with Phoenix Rescue Mission and distributed water firsthand, it changed our vision of the impact,” John says. “We knew it was important, but we got tangible evidence of the significance.”
What would he tell someone who hasn’t joined the effort?
“We live in the desert. There’s absolutely no reason why there are people lacking water. If you want to make a difference in your community, this is one of the best ways possible.”
This year’s Code:Red goal: 2 million bottles across the Valley. Thanks in advance for helping make it happen.