(Center Square) — Maricopa County plans to increase spending on homeless services at Phoenix heat relief stations from $2 million to $6.7 million.

“This partnership with the City of Phoenix ensures that people experiencing homelessness have a safe place to rest and recuperate during the hottest months.This is an extension of this partnership with the City of Phoenix. That’s reason enough to do so,” said Oversight Board President Clint Hickman. statement Monday. “But what is really encouraging to me is that so many people who have used these shelter services have been able to move into permanent housing.”

The station at 28th Street and Washington Street is intended to provide temporary assistance to 200 homeless people, and the facility opened in May 2022. According to the statement, the federal government’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package was aimed at helping the economy recover from the turmoil during the pandemic.

The extension comes after “The Zone,” a homeless camp housing hundreds of people in downtown Phoenix, was ordered by the Maricopa County Superior Court in March to be largely cleared by July 10. Court denied their request last week, The Center Square report.

“The people we see in these shelters need more than weather protection and a safe place to sleep,” supervisor Steve Gallardo said in a statement. We need people who give, who believe in them, who can connect them to services that can lead them to a more stable situation, and that’s what this partnership is all about.”