Some people even came out to Moore Square looking for Pinckney. WRAL later found her in line at a soup kitchen. Sonia Bryson was one of many people who want to see Pinckney get back on her feet.
"I know at some point, most of us go through hard times and I kind of connected with her," she said.
Bryson is willing to use her connections to get Pinckney clothes, find her a job, and arrange for a permanent address.
"I didn't think anyone was going to do anything. I was just thinking they would say, 'That's a sad story,' and get over it," Pinckney said.
Officials said 80 percent of the Triangle's homeless are people most would not expect to be homeless.
"A 20-year-old sounds awfully young to be homeless. You are still buying cars, going through college, looking for jobs, having your first job, a boyfriend -- things like that," said Tamara Gregory, an advocate for the homeless.
"I'm glad someone wants to help me because now I'm not by myself," Pinckney said.
The director of career development at Shaw University has also offered to help Pinckney find a job.
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