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Volunteers gathering data on homeless population across Southeast Texas

The Southeast Texas Coalition for the Homeless worked in Jefferson, Hardin and Orange counties on Thursday

BEAUMONT, Texas — Volunteers across Southeast Texas spent Thursday, also known as 'Point in Time Day,' trying to get a better idea of how many homeless people live in the area, and why they've been left without somewhere to call home. 

The South East Texas Coalition for the Homeless had volunteers set up in Hardin, Jefferson and Orange counties. 

Coordinator Janeal White says groups went out to areas where the homeless are known to gather and collected data. In addition to getting a more accurate count, they asked questions about what their needs are and what factors contributed to their homelessness. The information the volunteers collect is later used to help better prepare the programs in our community to address their needs. 

Ask Allen Williams, who says he's been homeless for five years, what he needs, and he'll tell you a job. 

"It's not our fault that ya'll take our past history and use it against us. 'Oh, you have a felony. You can't get a job.' 'If you've got a felony, you can't stay in this apartment,'" Williams said. "Hey, come on man. This is the United States of America."

For Jacob Baice, it's just help. 

"If I'm disabled, that means I'm incompetent to do anything for myself," Baice said. 

Both men ended up homeless after spending some time in jail, and haven't had much luck since. They say most of the people in positions of power who are supposed to help have done more harm than good. 

"They treat us like we're animals just because we're homeless, but we have rights, too, we're not less than anyone else," Williams said. 

"I can't read, I can't write, so what am I supposed to do," questioned Baice. 

 But there are men like Billie Harland who want to help. He's a volunteer for Point in Time, but his efforts to help the homeless are year-round. 

"It's a calling if you will," he said, "It has to do with the fact that your hungry, and I'm going to feed you, you need clothes and I'll clothe you, I'm not going to walk away." 

 Harland volunteers to feed the homeless with his church every Friday, as well as being apart of an organization that goes out to Old Town in Beaumont to take care of the homeless there. He hasn't always felt the way he does now, however. 

"I had some pretty dark thoughts about the homeless until I actually started going out and finding out that they're people who have fallen through the cracks, for one reason or another they can't get back on their feet," he said. 

Point in Time volunteers also use Thursday to create awareness among the homeless that the census is coming up. 

Later in 2020, they'll collaborate with census organizers to help them locate the homeless. 

RELATED: In rural Texas, people experiencing homelessness lead 'masked' lives outside of public view

RELATED: Silsbee family opens hearts and home to homeless man down on his luck

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