Home Care In Tempe, AZ

TEMPE, AZ (AZFamily) — Many Arizona families in need are faced with a tough choice during the summer’s extreme heat: keep the A/C on or put food on the table.

The Tempe Community Action Agency is working to ensure there’s enough to go around for both necessities.

“They helped me through the darkest times of my life trying to just catch up on bills,” said Shonda Smith, a Tempe resident.

She said the nonprofit’s rent and utility assistance program was a lifesaver for her family in January.

“The weight lifted up off you. It made a world of difference. I could catch up on food and, you know, other things I need,” Smith said.

At the time, she was working as a kitchen manager in a local school district, and during winter break, she received no pay. But Smith had to find a way to make ends meet to support herself, her pregnant daughter, and her grandchild.

“So, I’m like scrambling like how am I gonna pay this rent,” said Smith.

TCAA took care of it. She qualified for a one-time rent and utility payment, which alleviated the pressure that Smith and so many Arizonans face. The program is offered year-round, but the nonprofit said that it sees the most need during the summer.

“Sadly, last year we saw over 600 heat-related deaths in just Maricopa County and about half of those are people that we know were housed and those individuals are generally people that are on the lower socioeconomic scale,” said TCAA CEO Phillip Scharf.

Scharf said lots of families are just one hardship away from homelessness.

“So, it’s not always people that you think are down and out it’s people that are your neighbors also that are coming to us to make sure that they can remain their neighbors,” he said.

In 2024, the organization paid more than $1.1 million in rent and utility bills, helping nearly 2,000 adults and children stay in cool and safe homes. Partnerships with SRP, APS, and Maricopa County make it possible.

A large chunk of those clients also utilize the nonprofit’s food pantry, which feeds more than 30,000 people each year.

“It’s getting that person the ability to get to that next month, but then also how are we surrounding them with the support necessary so it is the last month they need to use us,” said Scharf.

Sometimes, just a little boost is enough to make a major difference and prevent those who’ve fallen on hard times from sinking deeper into debt.

“You never know what people are going through and I’m just so appreciative,” said Smith.

This is meant to support the most economically vulnerable, so there are certain criteria to be eligible.

Other programs offering similar resources:

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? .

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send with a brief description.

Dutch Bros, the ubiquitous coffee chain founded in Grants Pass in 1992, is moving its headquarters from Oregon to Arizona.

Company officials announced Dutch Bros was expanding its footprint in the Phoenix area by relocating its headquarters to Tempe.

The coffee chain known for its brightly colored drinks and friendly drive-thru staff has been eyeing Arizona since 2024.

"Over the past several months, we have seen the functional and cultural advantages of having more of our field support roles working together in one place," Erin Gray, the senior director of corporate communications for Dutch Bros, said in a statement. "Bringing more people together will allow us to better serve our customers and crews across the country."

The roasting facility and other positions will remain in Grants Pass, the company's hometown, Gray said. Dutch Bros will also continue its philanthropic work in southern Oregon, she added.The move to Tempe isn't surprising.

In 2024, Dutch Bros moved about 40% of its support services staff to the Phoenix area, despite the headquarters remaining in Grants Pass.

The company also leased an office space at Liberty Center on Rio Salado Parkway, one of the largest office rentals in 2024, according to data compiled by Kidder Mathews, an independent commercial real estate firm.

“As we look toward our long-term objective of 4,000-plus shops, strengthening our existing operations in Arizona positions us to compete for the talent we need to accomplish this ambitious goal,” Dutch Bros President and CEO Christine Barone said in January 2024.

Executives estimated the 2024 move to cost between $24 million and $31 million, with most of the expense being employee-related costs, like relocation, retention and transition costs, termination benefits and duplicate transition wages and benefits.

The company did not say what effect the headquarters move would have on current or future employment.

Dutch Bros celebrated its 1,000th location in Orlando, Florida, in February.

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at [email protected], call 503-910-6616 or follow on X at @wmwoodworth

In Tempe, Arizona, Culdesac is reimagining US cities for people, not cars – and inviting travellers to explore its plazas, paseos and Mediterranean-inspired design.

When Sheryl Murdock walks to her apartment in Culdesac – the US' first modern car-free neighbourhood built from scratch – she feels transported to a Mediterranean island. As she enters the central plaza, which serves as an al fresco communal living room, the blare of traffic fades, replaced by the clink of glasses, the hum of conversation and the thump of a cornhole game. She meanders down narrow pathways between low-slung white buildings crisscrossed with fairy lights, passing pops of colour from cheerful murals and magenta bougainvillea. Although she's in Arizona, Murdock says, "It's like being in Greece."

Architect Daniel Parolek did have the Mediterranean in mind when he designed Culdesac, though he was influenced more by his travels to the hill towns and coastal villages of Italy and France. Travellers and locals love these settings, Parolek says, because "these are places that were built prior to the automobile, so they were designed around accommodating people". Why then, he asks, do people have to vacation to places like these rather than living in them?

The answer is that societies made a Faustian deal with the automobile. As urban planners calibrated the built environment to the needs of cars rather than people, cities spread out into vast systems of traffic-clogged asphalt that disgorge solo commuters into soul-crushingly monotonous suburbs. Car-centric design has contributed to making metropolises more polluted, more socially isolating, less sustainable and hot as hell.

But the collective consciousness is shifting. Research is revealing that walkable cities make people happier, less lonely, more satisfied with life and physically healthier. Movements are afoot around the globe toward sustainable urbanism, slow travel and 15-minute (or less) cities – such as Nordhavn in Copenhagen and superblocks in Barcelona. For travellers, strolling around Culdesac's shops, restaurants and outdoor markets offers a glimpse into a future where cities are once again built for people, not traffic.

Culdesac is an especially bold experiment because of its unlikely location: Tempe, a suburb within greater Phoenix, Arizona. This sprawling metropolitan area is cursed with an inadequate public transportation system, which means residents practically need to own a car to get around. So, when Culdesac's first residents arrived in 2023, many sceptics wondered how a neighbourhood that doesn't permit private vehicles could survive in such a car-dependent place.

The key is to be "car free, but mobility rich", says Parolek. The 17-acre mixed-use neighbourhood comes complete with eateries, shops, a Korean convenience store, a doctor's office, a dog park, a pool, a gym and a coworking space – meaning locals are steps away from many amenities.

For visitors, the light rail stops right outside, linking the neighbourhood to downtown Phoenix and the airport. Self-driving electric Waymo robotaxis shuttle people further afield, while Archer's Bikes rents e-bikes for exploring Tempe Town Lake or the Desert Botanical Garden.

The prospect of shrinking her carbon footprint by living car-light is what inspired Murdock to move to Culdesac while earning her postdoctoral degree in ocean sustainability at Arizona State University (ASU). The light rail whisks her to work at ASU in 10 minutes and to supermarkets in about the same time. She can pedal her e-bike around Tempe, a designated Gold-Level Bicycle Friendly Community. If she needs to go farther afield, she rents one of Culdesac's handful of shared electric cars for $5 an hour. "Being in Culdesac has taught me that I much prefer the concept of the 15-minute city," she says. "I don't want to have to get in my car to do everything."

Switching from vehicles to public transportation, biking and walking can cut individuals' carbon emissions by 2.2 to 3.6 tonnes annually, according to the United Nations. That means that when Culdesac is fully built in a few years, with around 760 units and 1,000 residents, the community could prevent around 3,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere each year.

How to get there: Take the light rail from the Phoenix airport in 30 minutes, or from downtown Phoenix in about 45 minutes. If you're driving, Culdesac (2025 E Apache Blvd, Tempe) has parking for visitors.

Where to stay: The hip Moxy Hotel Tempe and the funky, artsy FOUND:RE in downtown Phoenix are both located along the light rail line.

What to do: Try your hand at pottery making in Pip Crafts + Clay. Shop for curated pre-loved clothing at Sew Used. Browse garden items and housewares at Maricopa Botanicals.

Where to eat: Cocina Chiwas for creative riffs on cuisine from Chihuahua, Mexico. Its seasonal beer garden, El Jardín Chiwas, feels festive thanks to cornhole, s'mores at the fire pits and trivia Thursdays. Start the day with Navajo-inspired blue corn croissants from

The neighbourhood was also designed to mitigate heat and curb air-conditioning use. That's essential in a city that last year sweated through 143 days at or above 100F (38C). To make Culdesac cooler, Parolek and his team at Opticos Design took their cue from sun-soaked locales like Italy, Greece and Mexico. They painted the buildings' walls and roofs as white as the towns on Mykonos. White paint reflects the sun much better than Phoenix's typical sand-hued homes, helping reduce the urban heat island effect.

Because no space is needed for driving and parking, the architects could also employ another classic cooling strategy in Mediterranean towns: setting buildings close together. Consequently, Culdesac's structures almost constantly shade each other, as well as the paved or earthen "paseos" (Spanish for walkways) that connect them. These narrow paseos also act like funnels that draw in breezes. Similarly, all apartments have windows on opposite sides, allowing for cross ventilation.

The shade, airflow, desert-friendly landscaping and absence of asphalt create a microclimate. As a result, in 2023, Harvard University researchers determined that the ground surface temperature within Culdesac was 30-40F (17-22C) cooler than the pavements in the surrounding area.

Culdesac also nurtures a lively street life. Around 21 small businesses operate here, including a James Beard-nominated Mexican restaurant, DIY ceramics and candle-making studios, a bike shop, and a sustainable clothing store. Some of the shop owners live in Culdesac, and special zoning rules allow residents to run businesses out of their apartments – a boon for budding entrepreneurs. On market days, live music drifts through the paseos while visitors browse handmade ceramics and snack on Najavo-inspired blue corn croissants from ReddHouse bakery.

"Once you pull the cars out," Parolek says, "there's so much more opportunity to make a vibrant, thriving community."

Pedestrianisation also fosters frequent encounters among neighbours, business owners and visitors, helping mitigate another malaise partly caused by car-centric living: loneliness. Though Culdesac is technically an apartment complex, "it definitely feels more like a neighbourhood", Murdock says.

And because Culdesac's mission attracts eco-conscious and socially engaged residents, the community naturally bonds over shared values, Murdock says. "It's like finding your people," she adds.

Culdesac's company plans to expand elsewhere in the US, and they've seen growing interest from municipal governments, transit agencies and developers eager to create more walkable and mobility-rich neighbourhoods.

"Culdesac Tempe has shown that people do want to live car-free in the US, even in a metro area like Phoenix that's often seen as the poster child for car dependency," says Erin Boyd, Culdesac's government relations and external affairs lead. "This success has shifted the conversation around what's possible in American development."

For visitors, strolling, cycling and light railing around this unlikely urban laboratory fuels the imagination and shows how time-honoured design and an old-fashioned desire to cultivate community could drive the cities of the future.

As summer temperatures soar, Downtown Tempe Authority (DTA) is accelerating its own kind of energy with a new initiative that celebrates local businesses. The Summer of Local Love campaign shines a spotlight on Downtown Tempe businesses, while highlighting tools to make exploring the district easier. As part of the campaign, the REEL Love social media contest offers visitors a chance to win $250 gift cards to their favorite downtown destinations.

Heat and travel patterns create shifting dynamics for businesses every summer, but this season’s construction adds another layer of complexity for many Downtown Tempe businesses. Under the direction of the City of Tempe, Mill Avenue is undergoing a much-needed Streetscape Improvement Project that is being expedited to minimize disruption during the busy fall season.

“Even in the heat and through the construction, our local businesses are showing up every day with heart, hustle and resiliency,” said Lori Foster, President and CEO of DTA. “As Downtown Tempe evolves and consumer habits shift, one thing remains constant — the power of community support. Choosing to shop local keeps our district vibrant, resilient and ready for what’s next.”

With those sentiments in mind, DTA is bringing well-deserved recognition to the community’s 166 street-level businesses. The Summer of Local Love campaign highlights new and long-standing favorites, promotes limited-edition products and specials available at downtown businesses, and shares summer-friendly itineraries and insider tips to help visitors beat the heat.

“Our goal is to make everyone an expert on exploring Downtown Tempe,” says Bethany Kennedy, Director of Marketing and Communications. “From finding the best burger to checking out a new spot, or even where to find the best parking using the new Tempe TRiP tool, we’re here to help. This summer, we’re spreading the word that it’s easy to visit and support our amazing local businesses.”

Downtown Tempe offers a wide range of rooftop bars and restaurants, fine dining, a new dive bar, some of the best authentic Indian Grub, and expanded retail options with unique, locally made goods. Since 2024, 23 businesses have opened in Downtown Tempe, eight of those since January 2025, and more than 65% are locally owned.

“There’s always something happening downtown, and this summer is no exception,” Kennedy said. “If it’s been a while since your last visit, chances are you haven’t seen everything that is new.”

Every moment makes a difference

As part of the summer campaign, DTA is hosting the REEL Love social media contest that invites the community to create videos showing what they love most about Downtown Tempe, celebrating local businesses while inspiring others to explore and enjoy. Videos may depict a personal selection such as a favorite bar, a hidden gem like Lotions & Potions, a mouthwatering burger at Sexy Burger, or a game night at Snakes & Lattes.

Videos must be taken in Downtown Tempe and focus on events, businesses, or things to do specifically in the downtown district. Posts, reels and/or stories tagged @downtowntempe on Facebook, Instagram or Tik Tok will be entered to win one of four $250 gift cards to Downtown Tempe businesses. Multiple winners, one every two weeks, will be selected by DTA from July 8 through August 31. Each tagged video counts as an entry; there’s no limit to the number of entries per person. Learn more at downtowntempe.com/post/reel-love.

Summer fun at your fingertips

Contest participants seeing inspiration — and others simply seeking some summer fun — can take advantage of an all new website that makes it easy to find things to do, plan a visit, and get around the Downtown Tempe district. Visitors can access business directories based on their interests, browse day trip itineraries, find fun things to do indoors, make note of limited time food and drink specials and more.

In addition, the site includes easy access and a quick tutorial on Tempe TRiP, a new tool that takes the guesswork out of visiting Downtown Tempe with real-time parking availability, the fastest routes, options closest to your destination and — coming soon — transportation options.