Staggering stat

A 40 percent increase in the numbers of homeless people isn't drawing much attention - perhaps because the temperature in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a lovely 76 degrees today. Of course, in January that drops to an average of 21 degrees.

For the 40 percent of that group with a diagnosed mental illness, the impending cold weather is just one of the many dangers they face.

A research group says it found 587 homeless people in the [St. Paul] area last fall, a 49 percent increase since 2003. The study found more than 40 percent of the homeless were told within the last two years that they have a serious mental illness such as major depression, schizophrenia or post traumatic stress disorder.