TEMPLE, TX — A special census kicks off Thursday in Bell County.
This count will calculate the number of homeless people in Temple and Belton in an effort to get them help.
Starting Thursday, charity groups will go around and try to count those people.
Car detailer Haze Shumpert Jr. says he became homeless when his boss wouldn't pay him for his work and only offered him a shack to sleep in.
He says those who are homeless hide in plain sight and often get overlooked, highlighting the need for a census of sorts.
The Central Texas Homeless Coalition organized the count every year.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires the count in exchange for federal money
Shumpert says depending on a patchwork of private charities doesn't always get help where it's needed.
"You have more people on the street in Houston than you have in houses," he said.
Volunteer census takers will gather beginning at 6 a.m. at the Feed My Sheep at 611 West Avenue G in Temple.
