BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT)-- Homelessness is a problem everywhere. Just because you don't see it in your community doesn't mean it's not there.

The Community Homeless Coalition of Blount County is trying to count the homeless people in the community in order to help them with federal money.

For the next 24 hours volunteers from the coalition and Maryville College will canvas the area looking for homeless people.

They'll head to parking lots, laundry mats, 24-hour restaurants, campgrounds and parks; places that are used by the homeless.

Marianne Ferris, member of the Community Homeless Coalition told us it's not as easy as you think when you're trying to count the homeless in a community.

"Today's homeless have degrees. They just lost their job or lost their home or both. It's not the typical vision that people see when they think of a homeless person."

Plus, as Kathi Parkins of Family Promise of Blount County tells us,

"There are people that don't want you to know that are struggling. They are embarrassed and humiliated about their situation. Therefore, they stay in the shadows and try to figure it out on their own."

But with the help of volunteers the coalition will get an accurate count of the people that need help. Then, they'll be able to apply for grants and federal money.

Parkins said "Our goal is to find them [the homeless] and ultimately find a way to get them services or get them in a program to help them become stable."

It's a problem for the county that won't be solved in a day but the coalition is hopeful for the future.

Ferris said "I'd like to see homelessness fixed tomorrow but we know it's not going to happen. Hopefully in a few years we'll be able to prevent it from growing."