"Just Ask Mia" Chatbot Offers Arizona Families a Fast, Anonymous Way to Locate Life-Saving Heat Relief Sites

With summer temperatures rising across the Valley and Arizona, Valley Leadership’s Child Well-Being Impact Team is urging Arizona families to utilize Just Ask Mia—a free, anonymous family-support chatbot—to quickly connect with life-saving regional heat relief resources.

Every summer, extreme heat presents a predictable and dangerous challenge to Arizona households, particularly for children, older adults, and at-risk families. To combat heat-related illnesses and prevent tragic, heat-related deaths, the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) and the Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) officially launched the 2026 Heat Relief Network on May 1st, coordinating more than 200 cooling centers, respite sites, and hydration stations across the county.

Just Ask Mia serves as an essential, complementary digital access point to these critical resources. While MAG provides an interactive map and 211 Arizona fields vital phone calls, Mia delivers a unique alternative for families who prefer a text-based, entirely anonymous interaction without the need to speak to a live operator.

“Extreme heat is a community-wide challenge, and keeping our neighbors safe requires every tool at our disposal,” said Stephen Flaaen, Valley Leadership Impact Maker team member. “We are incredibly grateful for the immense dedication of MAG, 211 Arizona, and the hundreds of faith-based organizations, non-profits, and businesses operating heat relief sites this summer. Mia is proud to reinforce their incredible efforts by giving families an instant, stress-free portal to locate those services right from their phones.”

By texting 'Family' (English) or 'Familia' (Spanish) to (877) 558-2261 or visiting Mia on justaskmia.org or any partner websites, users can instantly locate nearby cooling resources, food pantries, clothing distribution centers, and housing resources.

Designed with equity and access in mind, Mia provides several unique benefits for families navigating peak summer stress:

• Total Anonymity: Mia does not collect or request any personally identifying information, eliminating the shame or stigma often associated with asking for help.
• Mobile-Friendly Convenience: Families can easily browse resources and screenshot the exact location details and hyperlinked directions directly to their smartphones.
• System-Wide Support: By empowering families to find standard cooling center locations autonomously, Mia helps reduce call volumes to 211, freeing up live operators to field complex, trauma-informed cases that require intensive case management.

To learn more about hosting the chatbot or to start a conversation with Mia today, visit justaskmia.org.

About Valley Leadership

Valley Leadership empowers, leverages and mobilizes leaders to meaningfully impact the most pressing issues facing Arizona. At our core, Valley Leadership builds community. We do that by empowering a broad spectrum of Arizonans to lead through our programming and activating them to make a difference on our state’s most pressing issues through our Impact Maker. Learn more about Valley Leadership on our website or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.