Neighbors alarmed after woman, three children found living in Houston encampment

The discovery of a woman and three young children living behind a vacant daycare in southeast Houston has exposed a hard failure at the intersection of child welfare, homelessness and neighborhood safety. The encampment, near Sabo and Fuqua, was described by neighbors as a makeshift camp with overflowing shopping carts and only a tarp for shelter from the sun and rain.

Residents said the camp had been there since January and that they had spent months trying to get someone to intervene. Several neighbors said they called police more than once. A nearby business owner said people in the area kept pushing for action, while another neighbor said the children should not have to live in those conditions.

Child Protective Services had recently visited the site and said it was looking into the matter, a significant step because the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services says CPS investigates reports of abuse and neglect and can also provide services to children and families in their own homes. In a case involving three children living outdoors, that responsibility sits at the center of the response.

Houston Police Department said it had not received calls about the encampment, and the Harris County Precinct 2 Constable’s Office said it had not either. Law enforcement officials said they can connect families to resources if they are willing to accept help. The woman at the campsite reportedly denied needing help before leaving with the children.

The City of Houston said it learned about the encampment from media coverage and would have its public safety leadership check it out. By Friday, April 17, 2026, the woman and the three children had been given a place to stay after the city response.

The episode also underscores the scale of Houston’s homelessness challenge. A City of Houston presentation updated February 2, 2025 said 3,280 people faced nightly homelessness and 1,100 were unsheltered, based on the 2024 point-in-time count. The city says its strategy is to end street homelessness through coordinated outreach, law enforcement collaboration and unified housing resources.

That work runs through The Way Home, the regional homeless response system coordinated by the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County. The City of Houston Housing and Community Development Department says it follows The Way Home action plan and uses a Housing First model to connect people to services. In southeast Houston, where a vacant daycare became an encampment site visible enough for neighbors to spot daily, the case has become a test of whether those systems can reach families before children end up living in the open.