Bishop Hutterer urges Governor Hobbs to support dedicated state funding for extreme heat relief and preparedness

Arizona Lutherans: Help Protect Our Neighbors from Extreme Heat

As Arizona enters another dangerous heat season, Bishop Deborah Hutterer of the Grand Canyon Synod, ELCA, has sent a letter to Governor Katie Hobbs urging dedicated funding for cooling centers and extreme heat relief in the FY2027 Arizona budget.

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona invites Arizona Lutherans, congregations, pastors, deacons, and ministry partners to consider urge dedicated cooling center funding in the state budget as well.

This is not only a public health issue. It is a faith issue.

As Lutherans, we believe every person is created in the image of God and worthy of dignity, safety, and care. Extreme heat threatens everyone, but it does not affect everyone equally. Older adults, children, outdoor workers, people with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness, migrants, low-income families, and people without reliable access to transportation, water, air conditioning, or safe shelter face the greatest risk.

These are our neighbors.

In recent years, Arizona has seen devastating heat-related illness and death. Behind every statistic is a beloved child of God: someone’s parent, spouse, friend, coworker, parishioner, or neighbor. And while the scale of the crisis is sobering, we also know that prevention works. Coordinated heat response, cooling centers, transportation, emergency training, outreach, and reliable data collection save lives.

That is why Bishop Hutterer’s letter asks Governor Hobbs to support continued state investment in extreme heat relief and preparedness as federal ARPA funding expires at the end of 2026. Without state funding, Arizona risks losing critical infrastructure that communities now depend on during the hottest months of the year.

The letter asks for funding for:

• Cooling centers and heat relief;

• Heat relief training for EMS personnel and community responders;

• Call center operations;

• Critical transportation services; and

• Improved medical examiner data on heat-related deaths.

These are practical, modest, lifesaving investments.

Lutherans have a long tradition of public witness rooted in love of neighbor, care for creation, and concern for people pushed to the margins. We do not advocate because we believe government can solve every problem. We advocate because public decisions affect real people, and budgets reveal what we value together.

In Arizona, caring for creation and caring for vulnerable neighbors are inseparable. Extreme heat is intensified by environmental conditions, housing insecurity, poverty, lack of shade, lack of transportation, and unequal access to cooling. A faithful response must include charity and direct service — water drives, cooling centers, wellness checks, rides, and shelter — but it must also include public policy that helps prevent avoidable suffering and death.

This is why Arizona Lutherans are called to speak.

When we ask the state to fund cooling centers and heat relief, we are asking Arizona to protect life. We are asking that seniors not be left alone in unsafe apartments. We are asking that people experiencing homelessness have a place to cool down. We are asking that outdoor workers and low-income families have access to help before heat becomes an emergency. We are asking that counties, cities, congregations, nonprofits, and first responders not be left to carry this burden without adequate support.

Bishop Hutterer’s letter says it clearly: “The moral measure of a state budget is not only whether it balances, but whether it protects life, promotes the common good, and ensures that those with the fewest resources are not left to face danger alone.”

Arizona Lutherans can add their voices to this faithful public witness. Because in Arizona, love of neighbor includes making sure our neighbors can survive the heat.

Arizona Interfaith Power and Light has convened a broad-based coalition of organizations that is sending a letter to Governor Hobbs urging her to include dedicated cooling center and extreme heat relief funding in the FY2027 state budget. Please consider signing on in support of their letter to Governor Hobbs for Cooling Center funding.