FLINT -- The number of homeless people in Genesee County is growing.
Now officials are counting the population in hopes of securing more money from the government to help them.
The annual effort is called, the Homeless Point in Time Count, but this year officials are finding the face of homelessness has changed.
Flint resident Camille Turner says she's only six credits away from earning her masters degree, but is forced to spend her nights here at the St. Michael’s Homeless Warming Center in Flint.
"My home was foreclosed on in Las Vegas, and I got sick, I was in the hospital for three months, and so I was let go from my job, so I have been trying to get back together after the divorce and things," said Camille Turner who is homeless.
Turner is one of hundreds of homeless people being counted in Genesee County this week.
The information is used to help apply for funding from the federal government for homeless programs.
"We literally don't have the amount of resources to meet the need, it doesn't mean we are doing a bad job, it doesn't mean we are deficient in our service providing, it just means we need more in order to help more people,” said Frank Woods, the Director of One Stop Housing Resource Center.
In 2009, about 2,500 homeless people were counted in Genesee County, but officials anticipate that number could increase by up to 20% for 2011.
Volunteers have been counting the homeless at abandoned homes, cars, and at shelters like this one.
This year, the director has noticed more of them have college degrees like Turner.
"I hope to be re-employed, I’ve been employed over half my life, and I don't mind working, but it’s kind of difficult in Flint these days," said Turner.
But Turner isn't just a number; she's the face of many people trying to get back up on their own two feet.
The director of One Stop Housing Resource Center says federal funding makes up 30% of his budget.
The Homeless Point in Time Count wraps up Friday in Genesee County.
