A computer model predicts who will become homeless. Then these workers step in

When her phone rang in February, Mashawn Cross was skeptical of the gentle voice offering help at the end of the line. "You said you do what? And you're with who?" the 52-year-old recalled saying. Cross, who wasn't working because of her ailing back and knees, was scraping by on roughly $200 a month in aid plus whatever she could make from recycling bottles and cans. Her gas and electric bills were chewing up her checks.