Patch to Publish Series Exploring Rising Homelessness Rates in Dakota County

Anna Richardson needed a wake-up call.

For 10 years, Richardson had been hooked on methamphetamine—only stopping for brief periods when she was pregnant with her two daughters. In all that time, she never held a job, preferring to sell the meth made by her live-in partner.

But after police raided her home in 2010, Richardson became homeless and lost custody of her two children. For more than a year, she lived out of the back of a truck, at friends' homes or at homeless shelters in Dakota County.

“Once they told me I couldn’t get my kids back, I hit rock bottom," Richardson said. "I couldn’t live with myself without doing everything I could do to get my kids back."

Richardson, who got clean and dedicated her life to her daughters, is one of several Dakota County residents profiled by Patch as part of our upcoming series "Homeless in Dakota County".

In Dakota County, the number of homeless individuals or those at imminent risk of being homeless rose from 841 in 2011 to 1,013 in January 2012, according to point-in-time surveys conducted by the county.

Over the past several months, Patch editors have interviewed government agencies, nonprofits, school officials and others to find out why the homelessness rate in the county is rising. We also talked to people like Anna Richardson—people who are on the front lines of the issue—to learn about their own, personal experience with homelessness.

Look for the series starting Aug. 13 on all Dakota County Patch websites.