HOMELESS

There was a Jesus sighting along the northbound feeder lanes of U.S. 59 near Gessner Road Friday morning. The painting was challenging for any driver to miss. Even more difficult is the task of creating it.

The U.S. Department of Labor is dedicating $57 million in grants to organizations that help veterans experiencing homelessness find meaningful work and assist them in overcoming barriers in transitioning back to the workforce.

For many of us, plastic bags are a way to get our groceries, and anything else we buy, home from the store.

The city of Houston, Harris County and a non-profit have been working amid the pandemic to reduce the number of people who are homeless and in emergency shelters.

Mayor Sylvester Turner announced the city’s $100 million initiative to house thousands of homeless people.

Homeless battled clueless on the streets of Los Angeles, where for one shining moment, a guy with no cash silenced a lady with no sense. As of Tuesday, a GoFund Me page set up in his name had brought in more than $32,000. Video posted by social media user @FilmThePoliceLA last week shows what’s described as “anti-vaxx” protesters led by a woman with a megaphone wandering down Hollywood ...

The Houston Public Library’s Central branch in downtown Houston will reopen soon, but one group has been told they will no longer be welcome there.

Princess Jackson is on a mission to stomp out poverty in Houston and across the world.

A clean pair of socks can make a big difference to a homeless person, especially during wintertime; that’s something a high school senior from Pearland understood at a very young age.

HOUSTON – The annual Houston-area homeless count and survey, conducted by the Coalition for the Homeless, found 3,055 people were experiencing homelessness on the night of the study in late January. The Coalition for the Homeless noted that this year’s published numbers are not directly comparable to those of other years due to methodology changes and circumstances surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. The count informs the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development of the effectiveness of collaboration and homeless programs in those counties. AdCoalition authorities note that the annual count cannot provide an exact number of people experiencing homelessness for several reasons, including the daily fluctuating number and the more than 3,700 square miles of the area being canvassed. The count results are combined with additional data points, like the information stored in the Homeless Management Information System, to gauge progress of the local homeless response system.

Frigid temperatures are sweeping across the country.

Eccles said to start by letting cold water drip from your faucet. Safety TipsThe Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office encourages residents to follow these heating safety tips:Place space heaters on solid and flat surfaces. Check space heaters for cracked or damaged cords and plugs. Plug space heaters directly into wall outlets, don’t use an extension cord or power strip. Create a “kid-free zone” three feet from open fires and space heaters.

ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – The pandemic may leave more than 40 million Americans without a job, risking their homes and their health. How close are you to the poverty line? “We became homeless and now we don’t have food, and now COVID, it’s been really, really tough,” said Latisha King. “Twenty-one years ago, I was homeless with my children and today I’m the founder of a nonprofit organization,” said Stephanie Bowman, Visionary at One Heart. You can find out your poverty risk assessment by logging on to www.playspent.org and taking the test.

Advocates for homeless Texans worry a new state rule barring people with certain criminal records from some tax-supported housing will cut homeless people off from a path to permanent housing. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs is proposing that people with certain criminal convictions be temporarily or permanently blocked from living in tax-supported “supportive housing” developments. Supportive housing is only one kind of the housing created by the housing program, but advocates said it is key to fighting homelessness. Advocates say there is no data that shows that supportive housing projects increase crime in neighborhoods. Some of these homes are built for people experiencing chronic homelessness who, without supportive services, won't be able to get back on their feet.

HOUSTON – After seven months of sleeping in a car, Maria Baez and her son will finally have beds to sleep in tonight. “It’s incredible because for seven months we didn’t see the light,” said Baez. Shelters wouldn’t accept the family dogs and Maria said that she couldn’t part with them so the family has been living out their SUV. Since the report aired, Maria said she has been inundated by the generous offers from others. Anything good happens to me, anything any kindness, the smallest or whatever, I am totally grateful,” said Maria.

HOUSTON – Maria Baez is a Houston area mother desperately trying to hold it together for her son, herself and their two dogs. Holding it together in the face of losing her job during the pandemic and having to live for the past seven months in their SUV seeking free meals, gas money and other help from strangers. Maria’s 16-year-old son recently started online learning and logging on for classes from parking lots during the day. “It was really difficult because it’s really difficult to be cooking all the food, preparing everything, then go to sell on the streets.”What’s been extremely difficult is not being able to part with their dogs Sugar and Bobby. Homeless shelters won’t allow them and animal shelters say Maria would have to surrender the dogs permanently.

Healthcare for the Homeless launches shelter-based COVID-19 testing cubicle with a generous donationPictured left to right: Peter Donohue, Manager, Manufacturing Engineering, Oceaneering; Naomi McCants, M.D. Chief Medical Officer with Healthcare for the Homeless Houston; Mary Ellen McEvoy, RN, MSN/MPH, Director Clinical Operations, with Healthcare for the Homeless Houston less Pictured left to right: Peter Donohue, Manager, Manufacturing Engineering, Oceaneering; Naomi McCants, M.D. Chief Medical Officer with Healthcare for the Homeless Houston; Mary Ellen McEvoy, RN, MSN/MPH, ... more Photo: Courtesy: Oceaneering International, Inc. Photo: Courtesy: Oceaneering International, Inc. Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Healthcare for the Homeless launches shelter-based COVID-19 testing cubicle with a generous donation 1 / 8 Back to GalleryHealthcare for the Homeless Houston introduced a COVID-19 testing cubicle to ramp up their efforts with the help of a group of engineers. Last month the City of Houston deemed HHH the official COVID-19 testing site for those living on the streets of downtown Houston or in shelters.

As part of our new Ask 2 series, the newsroom will answer your questions about all things Houston. The question: Is it illegal to solicit at traffic stops? The answer: A Channel 2 viewer, Atif, wrote to us with this question. The ordinance stipulates that soliciting is ONLY illegal within eight feet of the person being solicited (the “solicitee”). If a panhandler solicits from a distance greater than eight feet from the solicitee, the action is considered legal.

LAPD: Homeless man reached for officer's gun Police say a homeless man in Los Angeles tried to grab an officer's gun in an altercation that ended with officers shooting the homeless man. As Carter Evans reports, the LAPD says the officers involved all had specialized training on how to deal with the homeless and mentally ill.

Are the homeless being targeted in Atlanta? Two homeless men were shot in their sleep, three days apart. Police say the killer likely didn't know who the men were at the time of the murders. 48 Hours Crimesider reporter Michelle Sigona joins CBSN with more on the search for a suspect who is apparently targeting the homeless.