Juanita Torres prays during an evening church service Aug. 3, 2008, at Faith Temple Fellowship church in Odessa, Texas. She said she was praying for a home for her and her daughter, and for an elderly homeless couple she met previously.
Homeless mother Juanita Torres, left, celebrates with her daughter Angelica Brito, 12, after learning that her request for financial aid is approved so that she can go back to college July 16, 2008, at the Ector County Public Library in Odessa, Texas.
Angelica Brito, 12, right, and her mother, Juanita Torres, watch television at the Salvation Army Emergency Shelter before going to an evening church service Aug. 3, 2008, in Odessa, Texas.
Angelica Brito, 12, from left, Steve Seward and Juanita Torres shop for groceries for Seward's mother Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008, at the Porter's grocer in Crane, Texas.
Juanita Torres, right, fills up a water bottle as she prepares to do laundry with fellow shelter resident Steve Seward at his mother's home Aug. 23, 2008, in Crane, Texas.
Angelica Brito, 12, celebrates successfully scaling a sand dune Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008, near the intersection of Farm to Market Roads 1053 and 1233 in Crane County, Texas. Brito and her mother took a trip out of Odessa for the day with fellow shelter resident Steve Seward.
Juanita Torres reacts after learning during a phone call she was denied housing assistance Aug. 11, 2008, at her friend's house in Odessa, Texas.
Angelica Brito, 12, swims in the pool while her mother attends a water aerobics class Sept. 3, 2008, at Odessa College in Odessa, Texas.
Odessa Salvation Army Emergency Shelter residents Steve Seward, left, and Juanita Torres fill Torres' car with clean laundry and groceries Aug. 23, 2008, after a day trip to help Seward's mother with some errands at her home in Crane, Texas.
Angelica Brito, 12, brushes her hair by the light of a street lamp while waiting for some breakfast Sept. 3, 2008, at the 6th and Jackson Church of Christ in Odessa, Texas. The church offers breakfast for the homeless on certain mornings.
Juanita Torres, left, and Angelica Brito, 12, discuss amenities and policies of their new apartment with a property manager Sept. 6, 2008, after signing the paperwork to move earlier in the day. The mother and daughter were without stable housing for over three months following an eviction from their previous apartment.
Angelica Brito, 12, removes a flat tire from her mother's car Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008, at a 7-Eleven in east Odessa, Texas. On nights when they can't make it to the Salvation Army Emergency Shelter before it closes they have to sleep in the car.
One day after moving into a new apartment, Angelica Brito, 12, from right, and her mother, Juanita Torres, pray with others for a fellow member of the congregation at Faith Temple Fellowship church in Odessa, Texas. The two attended the church, where the leadership considers eliminating homelessness a priority, while searching for a place to live.
Angelica Brito , 12, climbs the stairs to the new apartment she'll share with her mom as she brings a sack full of belongings Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008, at the Maple Terrace Apartments in Odessa, Texas.