Boise's only day shelter is seeing a surge in demand as record-breaking heat drives more people through its doors.
Corpus Commons is serving about 200 guests a day this summer — handing out water, serving meals, offering showers, and giving people a safe place to cool off.
WATCH: How a public camping law and record heat is putting pressure on Corpus Commons
Guest Donyeal Taylor moved to Boise in May and said the shelter has been essential.
"Where would I be without this place? I don't know worse off," Taylor said. "It'd be hard. I wouldn't know what to do."
Taylor said the shelter offers more than just relief from the heat.
"This would be a good place to find work, connections, a shower," Taylor said.
Operations Manager Jordan Schoorl said rising temperatures directly increase the need for services.
"When it's 103 degrees outside, it's hot," Schoorl said. "Especially if you're outside and you have nothing to shelter you from the elements."
While the shelter serves hundreds of people daily, Schoorl said Idaho's public camping law — known as the Galloway Law — is leaving more people scattered across the city and making it harder for some to reach available services.
Idaho's Galloway Law bans cities with populations over 100,000, including Boise, from allowing people to camp or sleep on public property.
"They're hiding out. They're so scattered everywhere else and the heat is causing folks to not be able to make it down here, especially our folks that are disabled or are elderly are especially having trouble getting their way back here," Schoorl said.
Idaho News 6 recently reported that House Speaker Mike Moyle and Representative Bruce Skaug criticized Boise leaders, saying the city failed to enforce the law following the murder of a 25-year-old man, and threatened legal action. In a statement, the Republican lawmakers said Idahoans "should not have to fear for their safety because Boise Mayor Lauren McLean won't follow the law."
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On Tuesday, Mayor Lauren McLean responded, saying Idaho cities face many challenges, including addressing mental illness, addiction, housing instability, and gaps in services.
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Schoorl agreed, saying many of the people the shelter serves have few, if any, options, with overnight shelters full and waitlists growing.
"We used to see a lot of people who were staying in shelter before the Interfaith move. Now the majority of people we're working with truly have nowhere to go," Schoorl said.
Mayor McLean also called on state lawmakers to work with local leaders on long-term solutions.
Corpus Commons said it can always use donations, including sunscreen, reusable water bottles, hats, and other lightly used summer gear.
You can also donate on the Corpus Commons website.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
