By Isabela Gamez
The Primavera Foundation
As Tucson continues to face longer and more intense heat seasons, community organizations and local leaders are finding creative ways to keep people safe. Recently, the City of Tucson’s Climate Action Team brought an educational twist on a beloved cultural tradition to The Primavera Foundation shelters — using a custom “Heat Lotería” game to teach about heat safety, community resilience and resources.
The interactive game was recently hosted at the Primavera’s Women’s Shelter and Drop-in Center Casa Paloma, while a volunteer from the Ward 3 office also brought the game to residents at STAR Village. The response has been positive, organizers said.
Karina Martinez, Community Relations Coordinator in the City Manager’s Office and member of the City of Tucson Climate Action Team, said the project was created as part of the city’s broader efforts to address climate change and extreme heat.
As part of the Climate Action Team, Martinez’s job is to “implement Tucson Resilient Together and the City of Tucson Heat Action Roadmap,” he said.
The team works across departments on projects related to climate resilience, but Martinez said heat-related outreach has become one of their biggest priorities.
“We work a lot with heat and it takes the majority of our time because it’s year-round work,” she said. “The heat season keeps expanding.”
For the past several years, the city has partnered with organizations including the Pima County Health Department and the American Red Cross to conduct heat canvassing events throughout Tucson. During those events, outreach workers distribute cooling center information, resource guides and heat relief supplies.
But Martinez said the team realized traditional outreach methods alone were not enough to reach some of the city’s most vulnerable residents.
“We were trying to gather all those resources and share them with the community,” Martinez said. “We realized that there’s a lot of information and we’re not able to reach everyone just by doing canvassing.”
That realization sparked the idea for Heat Lotería, a Tucson-inspired version of the traditional Mexican game that combines education with entertainment.
“We wanted to create something where we can share information, so we started to think about how we could do something fun like a game,” Martinez said. “We thought of Lotería and wanted to redesign it and make it more local, related to the City of Tucson.”
The customized cards feature heat-related topics including heat stress, heat stroke prevention, hydration and community safety. Before each game, organizers give a brief educational presentation focused on staying safe during extreme temperatures.
“The main takeaway is community resilience,” Martinez said. “Having a neighbor or a person you can call or check in on. If it’s too hot, check on your neighbors.”
At Casa Paloma, participants also heard from Celia, a nurse with the City of Tucson’s multidisciplinary outreach team and El Rio Health, who shared information about how certain medications can increase vulnerability to extreme heat.
“She gave a short presentation to share information about how heat and medication can make you more vulnerable depending on what medication you’re on,” Martinez said.
The events also include giveaways and supplies designed to help residents stay safe during Tucson’s hottest months. Participants who completed lines or full boards during the game received items including cooling towels, reusable water bottles, and pocket fans.
At Casa Paloma, organizers tailored prizes specifically for shelter residents.
“For Casa Paloma, we had yoga mats for the main prize,” Martinez said. “We’re also trying to prevent burns on their skin.”
In addition to the games, residents received heat relief kits filled with reusable water bottles, electrolytes, sunscreen, lip balm and cooling towels. Organizers also distributed feminine care products and foot care kits containing socks, bandages and ointments.
Martinez said the resource guides included in the kits are especially valuable for Tucson’s unsheltered community because they contain important information that may not always be accessible online.
“The unsheltered have access to free phones, but not all of them are able to charge them,” she said. “That doesn’t mean they have access to that information.”
The Heat Lotería program has already been introduced at recreation and senior centers throughout Tucson, including El Pueblo Center, El Rio Neighborhood Center, and programming at the Donna Liggins Center. More recently, the initiative expanded into shelters and housing communities like Casa Paloma and STAR Village.
At STAR Village, a volunteer named Shannon from Ward 3 office independently hosted a game for residents.
“She did it by herself at STAR Village and told me, ‘They loved it,’” Martinez said. “It provides some entertainment and it’s educational. We’re sharing information.”
Following the success at STAR Village, Primavera staff connected with the Climate Action Team to bring the program to Casa Paloma.
By blending cultural connection, education and community care, Heat Lotería is helping participants stay informed and supported during one of the city’s greatest climate challenges.
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