VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — According to the HUD "Point in Time" count back in 2019, there were more than 567,000 homeless persons out in the streets of America on any given night. More than 37,000 of them were veterans.
It's a situation Yasmine Charles knows all too well.
The Navy vet was living in the back on her SUV in 2016, before she called 13News Now. We connected her with VetsHouse, Inc., and she has since turned her life around.
But Yasmine has not forgotten what it's like.
She now has a podcast on her Facebook page to bring attention to the plight of the homeless.
She also set up a GoFundMe page so that she can give supplies and money to homeless people when she finds them.
"I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to have that kind of mission in my hands," she said. "Because I have lived it. So, when I talk to these folks, I don't judge them because I know it can happen to anybody."
Now an NSU grad and working for the U.S. Census Bureau, Yasmine says helping the homeless is her true calling. She says she just has to do whatever she can to lend a hand to those who need it, especially now, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I cannot forget that experience, so I'm using that pain, that humbling experience to uplift other people," she said.
One homeless man in Virginia Beach who identified himself as Michael said he appreciated everything Yasmine is doing.
"Man, it's awesome," he said. "We need more people like that, that's actually out there helping instead of riding by, yelling 'Get a job!' and stuff like that."
Michael added, "They don't know your story. People are quick to judge. I'm honored there's somebody like that, that's willing to help."