The space the Kino Events Center occupies once was a local YMCA, which closed about two years ago.
A mural of brightly colored children's faces overlooks its spacious gymnasium.
The court is lined with numbered green cots, 119 total, provided by the Salvation Army. Each has a towel neatly folded on top.
All are empty at the moment, but that could change at a moment's notice, and so the shelter remains open and fully staffed, just in case.
The number of asylum-seeking families that federal officials are releasing in Tucson has been fluctuating greatly. In the past few weeks, they've overwhelmed the city's existing network of permanent and temporary shelters run by area nonprofits.
As a result, Tucson and Pima County officials were forced to open temporary shelters to house an overflow of families arriving to the city.
