No one knew Billy Ray “Shaggy” Hagen was homeless until the janitor arrived early one morning and saw him sleeping on the floor of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.
The 27-year-old had lost his job at a pizzeria and, after having problems with his roommates, left the house where he was living with nowhere to go.
“I’ve heard that some churches leave their door unlocked at night,” Hagen said.
The janitor told a few people at church that the man was homeless. Hagen eventually told some friends. But for the most part, people in this rural town of 20,797, one hour east of Fort Worth, never realized the man walking alongside them on sidewalks and hanging out with them at neighborhood bars had no home.
“I would pretty much hide in plain sight,” Hagen said. “I showered at a friend’s house whenever I could. I would clean my clothes at the laundromat. No one would know if I wouldn’t tell them.”
Last year, Gov. Greg Abbott spotlighted homelessness in Texas urban areas after battling with Austin's mayor over tent policies and services for those in need. Meanwhile, rural Texas is experiencing a surge in homelessness, and it lacks many of the resources the big cities have to cope.
Rural counties don’t typically conduct the homelessness counts that urban areas like Austin, Dallas or Houston organize each January. But the Texas Homeless Network estimates that in 2019 more than 8,000 people experienced homelessness in 215 Texas counties outside the state’s urban regions. That’s almost how many people experience homelessness in Dallas and Houston combined. And, since 2016, homelessness in those less populated counties has increased by 33%.
“In the last few winters, the number of people coming in to ask for help have gone up here,” said Sherry Carroll, director of Grace Place Ministries in Stephenville.
Big cities are much more likely to have homeless shelters, millions in federal funds and networks of nonprofits.
But because sparsely populated areas lack the resources to find and help people experiencing homelessness, churches and faith-based organizations become one of their few lifelines.
“People might live in a home, but the housing might be substandard. Or they might live in their cars or at their workplace,” said Abraham Benavides, a public administration professor at the University of North Texas who is training 24 rural counties on homelessness solutions. “Homelessness in rural areas is masked.”
That leaves rural organizations struggling to find and keep track of people without a home.
“Today we have two or three, tomorrow we might have none. We don’t know where they go. And we want to help them,” Carroll said.
"Nobody thinks about us"
According to the The Texas Homeless Network, the nonprofit that coordinates homelessness support efforts across the state, it is becoming harder to find affordable housing in rural areas.
“In the last year, we've had a lot more interaction with communities that are more rural, who have been telling us that homelessness is an issue there,” said Sophia Checa, the network’s director of continuum of care programs. “We're seeing the same reasons as in urban areas, which is not a lot of affordable housing and stagnated wages. People just can't afford to pay for housing.”
In Stephenville, Tarleton State University students rent most of the available apartments and houses, which leaves low-income residents with fewer places to lease.