Houston Mayor announces homeless sheltering results

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - We're no stranger, here in Houston, to seeing homeless walk the streets with nowhere to go, but for over 500 of the most vulnerable the last six months has brought a lot of change.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, on Monday applauding "The Way Home", an outreach for the homeless, because they successfully found housing to 548 individuals who, the Mayor says, have been the hardest to house.

The focused work began in March and lasted six months. Although we were hit hard by Harvey, the work to house those who needed it never stopped.

A man, who the Mayor says, lived on the streets for 13 years as a substance abuser and criminal was able to find housing through this initiative. His name is Jose and had something to see at today's event.

"What I want to do is get back to life, back to reality where I needed to be," said Jose. "Looking for a job, getting back on my two feet and certainly looking for help."

"This was a heavy lift, a truly outstanding accomplishment," said Mayor Turner. "It sets a new national standard for housing the homeless. This is how we housed over 11,000 homeless individuals and reduced homelessness by 60 percent in Houston since 2011."

If you do the math, over 90 homeless men and women were able to find shelter each month during this work.

The mayor continuing on and recognizing today as "The Way Home Day" in the city of Houston.