County leaders have warned of an imminent "funding cliff" that will reduce shelter beds and could force hundreds of homeless individuals and families back to unsafe outdoor encampments in St. Paul and its surrounding suburbs.
Federal aid divides homeless in the Twin Cities
The Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis have faced an alarming rise in homelessness during the pandemic, but there’s nothing similar in how they’ve confronted the crisis.
By Howard Center for Investigative Journalism
ST. PAUL, Minnesota In two rooms in separate cities, people say their names. Around a circle of chairs and tables, they gather weekly to strategize leaving the streets behind. All have been homeless before or are living on the brink.
The conversation is more urgent, as a pandemic winter sets in. And frustration is building with public leaders who they feel have not done enough to help.