As the extreme heat continues in Arizona, it has become vitally important to help protect those people who are homeless. Many of the local cities have created cooling stations that provide water stations and other necessary resources to those who are struggling in the heat, but the city of Phoenix has instituted a new plan this year to help those who reside in downtown Phoenix and do not have a safe place to get relief.

The city has pulled up one of their Phoenix buses and has parked it Phoenix buses in downtown Phoenix. The bus isn’t moving anywhere, but actually staying put as a means for the many homeless in the area to get on board and escape the heat.

The bus will serve as a cooling center from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The bus can hold up to 55 people, and anyone is welcome to get on. This is the first full week the bus has been in operation and reportedly more than 100 people have taken advantage of the respite from the heat.

The bus has been parked near Ninth Avenue and Jackson Street in downtown Phoenix, in the area known as “The Zone.”  The specific area was chosen due to the high density of homeless people residing in the area and also the city has received a high number of heat-related 911 calls over the last month.