With a policeman escorting her, senior Latipha "Lightning" Cross shops for school supplies, gloves and food at the Target store at Northland Mall in Southfield.

She has $100 to spend as she pleases, thanks to the "Shop With a Cop" program that aims to bring a little happiness to a needy child. This year that child is Latipha Cross, age 17.

Cross gladly places juice boxes, pancake mix and three-ring notebooks in her cart as officer Jared Womble accompanies her to pay for the goods.

Cross is one of 770,000 homeless children enrolled in public schools, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. Children make up 23 percent of the homeless on any given night, according to the Coalition.

But Cross expects that her homeless state will end abruptly in seven months. That’s when she will be able to cash in on one of the seven college scholarships she says she has been offered to run track next year.

To Cross, the track scholarship will mean a warm dorm room, regular hot meals and paid college tuition.

I’m not like the average kid," says Cross, who says she has moved 15 times in life. "I can’t just buy electronics and brand name clothing," she says. "What money I get, I spend on the things I need."

One thing she doesn’t need is speed. She was nicknamed "Lightning" by Principal Michael Horn for her lightening fast running ability. Cross is one of Southfield High’s most powerful female athletes. With her constant record breaking statistics, she’s made quite a name for herself. She holds the state record for 400 meter and and is ranked number 3 in the nation for her time of 54.29, according to Athletic Director Tim Conley.

"My struggles have made me who I am today," says Cross, "and someday it’s going to be my testimony."

For now, Cross lives in an apartment in Novi with her older sister, Nisha Graham. For the first half of the school year, she lived with a friend in Southfield. Before that, she was in and out of relative’s homes, various shelters, and occasionally slept on the streets.

To get to school on time from Novi, she wakes at 5 o’clock in the morning. Generally skipping breakfast, she gets prepared for school then catches a bus in Novi that picks her up at 6:40 a.m. It’s about a 30-minute ride to Southfield High School, making her arrive at about 7:10 a.m. at school.

Her school day usually ends around 5:30 p.m., after track practice, which she helps to coach with Varsity Coach Karla Crum.

"I’m the ghost of the school," says Cross, who says she feels alone in her struggles. That loneliness is what makes her want to get a degree in social work, maybe from Eastern Michigan University, so that she can help others who bear crosses like hers.

Being homeless is not the only demon Cross faces. On top of that, she battles lymphoma, or cancer of the lymph nodes, which was discovered this year. She also had a bout with skin cancer.

With cancer, Cross sometimes doesn’t feel like doing anything. But she still gets up and comes to school. Her cancer leaves her feeling tired, experiencing almost no relief from sleep.

On top of being tired, cancer can cause depression and trouble concentrating, according to the American Cancer Society.

Sometimes, Cross has to miss school to pull herself together.

Track is one of the main things that keeps her motivated, along with her two sisters (Shautai and Neisha), her best friend Shyenne Davis, and music.

When she’s feeling down, she has to remind herself of her motto: "What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger."

When she’s not at school, Cross likes to write and to go to the park and spend time with her friend, Davis.

It’s only when Cross runs that she doesn’t have a care in the world. It’s as if she runs away from it all. It’s a time for her to set free and get away from all her troubles.

Cross admits that there were times in 9th and 10th grade when the track star thought of quitting school, especially during her sophomore year when she was living on the streets for a month and a half. But she got through it.

"I heard my little sister’s (Ajanee’s) voice in my head, and then I thought to myself. ‘I can’t quit; if I don’t do it for myself, I at least have to do it for her."

The sister that she speaks of passed away 11 years back, but Cross says still thinks of her, Cross says that her deceased sister provides motivation and is partly the reason why Cross stands where she is today.

Four years from now, Cross hopes to be an employed social worker with a home, pushing her own cart through Target. She says, "No child should have to go through what I go through."