From the St. Paul Pioneer Press:
But in August, camping outside the downtown facility was the only option for some of those who were trying to spend a night at the 250-bed homeless shelter.
"For the first time in our history, we actually had to turn people away because we didn't have enough space," said Tracy Berglund, director of housing and emergency services with Catholic Charities, which operates the center. "We counted 443 people who slept outside during the month of August."
Given that recent experience, Berglund said, she wasn't surprised to hear that Minnesota's poverty rate jumped to 10.8 percent during the two-year period ending last year, a statistically significant increase from the state's 9.6 percent rate during the 2007-08 period, according to a report Tuesday from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The state's numbers contributed to a record 46.2 million people across the United States who were in poverty in 2010."
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