By Jason D. King, SVP, Corporate Communications, Clear Channel Outdoor and Jason Berry, Deputy Director, Communications, Maricopa County
Weeks ago, more than 100 digital billboards across Maricopa County in Arizona began displaying real-time temperatures while directing residents and visitors to critical heat relief resources locally. This is the type of potentially life-saving campaign that is possible when the public and private sectors align their efforts and resources to support residents and visitors.
This new partnership between Maricopa County, Clear Channel Outdoor, the Maricopa Association of Governments and the City of Phoenix leverages the immediacy and real-time power of digital billboards to promote 211 Arizona and direct at-risk community members to one of 230+ local heat relief sites that can help them stay cool during the late spring and record summer heat Arizona is experiencing.
The formation of this partnership is timely as the Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) confirmed a record-breaking 645 heat-associated deaths in 2023, a significant increase from the previous year. And, the partners believe the digital billboards will help combat this trend by promoting the free, 24-hour 211 information service that can assist people experiencing heat emergencies. In addition, MCDPH has funded expanded capacity at the bilingual call center to help connect residents to cooling and respite centers, utility assistance, and A/C repair and replacement during the 2024 heat season.
“Working with our partners, we’ve expanded hours at life-saving cooling centers across the region. Now, we need as many people as possible to know about this resource. Clear Channel Outdoor understood the importance of this messaging—how it could save lives—and generously offered to share heat relief resources on their digital billboards at no cost.”
– Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers, District 1
MCDPH research found the biggest barriers to using cooling centers in 2023 were:
- Not knowing they exist
- Lack of transportation to cooling centers
- Not knowing cooling center locations
To address this, Maricopa County partnered with the City of Phoenix on branded street signs outside all cooling centers, some of which are now open on weekends, too.
“Providing extended hour and overnight respite opportunities is just one of the many ways the City of Phoenix is stepping up to protect our residents during these extreme heat days and months. We are proud to partner with MAG, Clear Channel Outdoor, and Maricopa County to ensure more people—including our most vulnerable—know how to get the help they need to stay safe.”
– Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego
Every partner organization involved wishes to prevent a summer like 2023. Thousands of Maricopa County residents and visitors will see the billboards daily as the campaign expands consumer awareness, alerting residents and visitors all over Maricopa County to real-time temperatures and the resources available.
For information on heat illnesses and prevention, visit Maricopa.gov/heat.
For real-time heat data, visit the new MCDPH dashboard.
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