'Nowhere to go' for Houston homeless

Houston has one of the best job markets in the country.  So it may surprise you to find out homeless shelters here are so full they are turning people away.  

“We've been homeless for four days now,” explains Samaira Truss who’s staying in a motel room for two days/  It’s a gift, getting Truss and her 11 month old son Sebastian off the street temporarily.  “I try not to cry.  He can feel when I’m upset and he gets upset”.

The single mom of one baby boy quit her job last year during a difficult pregnancy and hasn't been able to find work since.  “I'm in real estate and I put myself through school.  I just need to take my exam.  I've been in property management for eight years,” Truss adds.  “I never thought I would be in any situation like this.  I've stayed in my van, slept in my van with my baby, stopping and getting free water from fast food places.  I ask them to heat it up so I can have hot water for his bottle”.  
 
Truss turned to several homeless shelters only to find “Everything is full in Houston.  There's nowhere to go,” says Truss.

”It breaks our heart when we are at capacity.  We care about the homeless in Houston and we want to help every single one of them,” explains Scott Arthur with Star of Hope homeless shelter.  Arthur says homeless shelters filling up and turning people away is an unfortunate reality.

”More and more we've been at capacity, for a long time.  Last night we had seventy eight women and children sleep on the floor at the women and family shelter and that's about as many as we can have,” says Arthur.  

Star of Hope houses over one thousand homeless men, women and children every day.  Even now they are still giving away diapers, meals, water and a list of shelters that may have availability.  Meantime, “He's all I have and I'm all he has and I have to be strong for him,” explains Truss referring to her baby boy.         

Truss is hoping space becomes available soon.

Arthur hopes someone can help as Star of Hope prepares to make room.  “Anybody watching, if they can help out with a day or two motel stay until we can get them into our shelter and put our arms around them physically and spiritually”.