Is it easy being homeless in Abilene?

ABILENE, Texas ( KTAB/KRBC ) – A recent social media post from an Abilene real estate investor sparked a controversial conversation when he outlined certain shortcomings of local homelessness resources.

Early in June, real estate broker, college professor, and economist John Hill wrote a Facebook post, including a picture of a person sleeping outside behind his real estate office. In the post, Hill directly points out nonprofits in the Abilene community, such as Breakfast on Beech Street ( BOBS ) and Love & Care Ministries . These organizations provide aid like free meals and tents to those experiencing homelessness.

Owning several properties in Abilene. Hill said he has seen some of the effects from the unhoused occupying his properties , “There were tents, tarps, needles, shopping carts. They’d even dug a cave into the side of the creek bank.”

The question posed: Is it easy to be homeless in Abilene?

Arianna Condry and River Walker, a couple with first-hand experience of what it is like to be homeless in the Key City, say it’s not that simple.

“It’s really not easy to be homeless anywhere, but I would say Abilene is. It has more resources in a lot of places,” 18-year-old Condry described.

Originally from Wichita Falls, a pregnant Condry said she lost housing when she aged out of the foster care system after being taken away from her mother due to alleged abuse. Her partner, 20-year-old River had a similar story.

“I’ve been homeless since I was 16,” added Walker. An Abilene native, Walker said he suffered various forms of abuse at the hands of his mother, “So I fend for myself.”

The couple said they typically camp out behind buildings, “wherever the cops don’t crack down,” which is along the lines of where Hill complained of seeing a presumably homeless person sleeping outside of a building of his.

Hill now has several posts on Facebook, raising many concerns regarding homeless aid in the Abilene community and the efficacy of those efforts. Hill told KTAB/KRBC he formerly volunteered at BOBS for roughly 13 years and fed many of Abilene’s homeless. However, due to recent occurrences involving Abilene’s unhoused at several of his properties, he stepped back from that role, questioning the good of homeless outreach in the area.

“What is the way we tell folks ‘no?’ Because it seems like we have serial individuals who time and time again come back and keep taking advantage of the hospitality of the community,” Hill continued. “Our nonprofits need to take an inventory of what they do and think about; are they simply enabling, or are they actually helping people?”

According to the West Texas Homeless Network (WTHN), 46 confirmed Abilenians fall under the category of “homeless.” Those numbers have fluctuated over the past two years. In January of 2022, the Homeless Network logged 29 as homeless, and the highest number seen was 131 in July of 2023.

Another factor Hill cited in his posts were, what percentage of the homeless population originates from Abilene? The WTHN outlined with KTAB/KRBC that it would conduct case studies to accurately catalog that number during summertime.

“ There is a myth in our community that people come here because they think Abilene has resources that other communities do not have ,” the WTHN said.

As for the nonprofits Hill directly called out in his posts; many declined to respond and instead offered to outline the type of aid offered.

“ BOBS mission is to improve the quality of life in our area by providing a free, hot breakfast and sack lunch to anyone regardless of age, race, creed, ethnicity, religious affiliation, or income ,” BOBS responded.

Janet McGee, director of Love & Care’s food pantry, replied, “Anybody’s welcome here. We do food boxes for families, and we do sack lunches and food kits for the homeless.” McGee also expanded on how she believes the aid Love and Care provides goes to building those who rely on their support, “Just being able to see somebody come in homeless and we have other resources, and we help them out with and then you see them get a house, and you can get a car, then you can get a job.  So, those types of things are just- it’s just a blessing.”

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