February 23, 2022

The Cooling Center

The St. Francis Cooling Center is a place where homeless people and those in need can escape the summer heat, cool off and rest.
More like this story
The St. Francis Cooling Center has a new home, the Z Mansion in downtown Tucson. It’s a place where homeless people and those in need can escape the summer heat, cool off and rest. Sack lunches and cold drinks are provided along with chairs, cots and a bathroom. Guests are invited to relax, rejuvenate and even sleep during open hours. The Cooling Center is open noon to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Brother David Buer, a Franciscan Friar and the founder of the Cooling Center, says it’s all about hospitality and dignity. "The streets are less harsh when we have more places like this ... our human needs are more than food and water, we have human needs of compassion and of friendliness, and a place where we feel welcome." - Br. David Buer, OFM

Producer: Mitchell Riley
By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona