My iPhone screen is unresponsive and I cannot turn it off for a hard reset. How's is this resolved?

Great, glad its resolved.

If you don’t currently have a plan for regular backups (or better yet, automatic daily backups) you should consider doing so.

This link contains instructions, including setting up automatic backups ➡️ How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support. Hopefully you will never need it, but backups do create peace of mind 😁

See this Apple support link ➡️ If your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch won't turn on or has frozen – Apple Support