A Central Florida middle school teacher has taken the year off to travel the state while living as a homeless person. Tom Rebman hopes to raise awareness as well as compassion for the more than 40,000 people living on the street in Florida.

Rebman started his awareness program in Orlando where he survived by panhandling and relying on donations. He slept on the street or in shelters,

“After I saw the awareness that it brought to the community and the changes in polices that maybe I might have contributed to I talked to my friends and the people I had met in the homeless community and came up with the idea that I’ll go homeless in Florida,” Rebman says.

Rebman is in Tallahassee now where he’s had an opportunity to speak with local officials as well as the director of Florida’s Office on Homelessness, which is under the Department of Children and Families.

You can track Rebman's journey on his Homeless and Hungry facebook page.