Corey Mai, Herbert Yanez, Caden Laudel and Grace Mauldin were ready to hit the streets of Turlock on Thursday, just as the sun was beginning to break through the thick morning fog.

The Stanislaus Community System of Care had begun its point-in-time count of the region’s homeless population the previous night at local shelters. Thursday morning marked the more difficult part of the event: roaming through assigned quadrants looking for uncounted homeless people.

The four were among nearly three dozen volunteers that took part in Thursday’s leg. They drove through their assigned sector of the city — a two-square mile rectangle dubbed Quadrant 4 that was bordered by Monte Vista Avenue, and Geer, Hawkeye and Waring roads — in search of Turlock’s homeless.

Mai, Yanez and Laudel are co-workers at Turlock’s We Care Program. Mauldin, who works for the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, was the newcomer to the group, more quiet and reserved than the others.

For her, the PIT count touches close to home.

“My sister is homeless,” said Mauldin, whose twin sister Tracy and nephew Moses live on the streets of Turlock. “We’ve tried and tried to help her, but she’s chosen this life.”

Last year, the count showed there were 2,052 unhoused citizens in Stanislaus County, with 201 of those living in Turlock. That was down slightly from 2023 (2,091/233).

The Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that more than 770,000 people in the U.S. experienced homelessness during a single night in January 2024, with about a quarter of those — nearly 190,000 — residing in California.

The results of this year’s count won’t be available for several months.
Mauldin hoped that she would encounter her sister, but wasn’t sure where in Turlock she likes to hang out.

Near lunchtime, the Quadrant 4 unit reported back to city hall and conferred with Marta Lujan, Housing Program Specialist for the city of Turlock.

Mai and Lujan decided that the Q4 team would swing by the area behind the United Samaritans Foundation office at 220 S. Broadway — a well-known homeless hangout.

The team once again piled into Mai’s 2016 Subaru Crosstrek — Mai’s “office on wheels” — with Mauldin wedged between Yanez and Laudel in the back seat.

Suddenly, softly, she gasped, “There she is.”

Mai stopped the car and Mauldin nearly crawled over Laudel to get out of the car.

Tracy saw her sister exit the vehicle and was visibly moved.

The sisters embraced, long and hard, for several moments. Mauldin made small talk with her twin, younger by one minute, but she was clearly in evaluation mode, assessing her sister’s health and the company she keeps.

“I’ve told her, ‘You could stay with me. You could get a part-time job, and maybe save some money,’” said Mauldin. “But I’ve told our dad that I can’t be after her like a child.”

Tracy — as children they were referred to as Gracy and Tracy — seemed reluctant to speak with the media, giving mostly one-word answers or shrugs.

“Yeah,” she said, when asked whether she was happy to see her sister, and “I forget,” when asked how long she’s been on the streets.

Tracy did reveal that she had been staying at the Turlock Gospel Mission shelter but was suspended for one week after an altercation with another resident.

Mauldin struggled to explain what happened to her sister.

“I feel like maybe it’s her self-esteem, or perhaps a mental disability,” said Mauldin, after saying goodbye to her sister. “But I just feel so sad. I feel sadness in my heart. She doesn’t belong out here.

“I miss her.”