Hear, hear, jocqua! And thank for your interest.

This is a unique occurrence in Minneapolis. Yes, it does get cold (is cold now). Plus, the city hasn't, til now, taken such a lenient approach to tent cities. But the city is leaning toward the model of "harm reduction," as we see West Coast cities. So they allowed this tent city to stay, promised housing all in the city, and it ballooned to what we see today. There's never been anything like it here. Its size, and the tightness of the Native American community--who mostly inhabit this camp--are keeping it going strong despite the cold.

As far as why homelessness is growing across the U.S.? I'm still working on that one...