COLLIN COUNTY, Texas — November is National Homeless Awareness month.
This story brings hope about a population of homelessness we don't always see: Children who don’t know where their next meal will come from.
A local organization is making it their mission to help by going out on the streets, and finding them.
Rain or shine, Tracey Sherman, aka Mrs. T, and Katie Davis with Texas City House in Plano do what’s called, “picking."
“Alright, everyone have their seatbelts? Let’s hit the road. If you see anyone, in our age group, 24 and under, just holla [sic],” said Mrs. T.
WFAA's Malini Basu drove around Collin County with the Texas City House crew, looking for homeless children, to young adults that can get emergency shelter at the nonprofit organization.
“Right here, that person?” said Mrs. T.
The crews went from parking lot to parking lot.
“Hey, how are you today? We’re just checking to make sure everything is cool,” said Mrs. T, during the drive to DART stations, where children ride all day for shelter.
“We’re going to go to the DART station and see if there are any people hanging around,” said Mrs. T.
Building trust takes time.
“A lot of them suffer from neglect, whether it’s physical, sexual, emotional abuse,” said Mrs. T.
This is the hidden population in Collin County many don’t know about.
According to the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance, there are close to 5,000 homeless people in this area.
Texas City House helps more than 1,000 children and young adults each year.
“A lot of them are couch surfing, they might be staying with a friend for a week or two. Then they get kicked out,” said Mrs. T.
Tyran Floyd was one of the lucky ones. He found shelter at the nonprofit.
“I was in foster care three different times,” said Floyd.
At 18, after graduating high school Floyd was homeless for 3 months.
“I feel stressed. I have nowhere to go,” said Floyd.
He slept during the day... to stay awake at night in fear of getting attacked.
“I can do this. It would just be a small or short, in a large story I can tell,” said Floyd.
He kept his struggle private, showing up to work day after day.
“I felt like this was just one step it was just a step to like the whole, whole building,” said Floyd.
Now, with the help of Texas City House, he’s building his dreams.
“One day I want to become a neurosurgeon. That’s my goal in life. I will feel very accomplished once that’s achieved,” said Floyd.
He joins the team helping others who are homeless.
The crew met a couple at a Kroger in McKinney, who have been living in a broken down truck for months.
“It gets really really cold at night,” said Justin Stroman, who is 21 years old, and homeless.
“It’s scary being 18, not having anyone to call and help,” said Tabitha Tene, who is homeless.
While strangers drop off the necessities, the crew works to stay connected to each person they meet -- doing their part to help a hidden population that needs to be seen.
“It’s scary to be alone in this world and not have anyone you can count on. Don’t give up,” said Mrs. T.