BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - With temperatures already dipping below freezing, and snow already on the ground, the 200-plus people who sleep rough in the Burlington area are having to make plans to survive the cold.

Few will be able to head indoors. Homeless shelters are largely full, and most of the state-funded motel rooms in Chittenden County are already taken. In Burlington, for the first time in 11 years, there will be no drop-in shelter for people who aren’t sober.

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State lawmakers talk homeless housing as cold weather sets in

Aid groups are providing sleeping bags and other camping gear, recognizing that for some, there’s no alternative to tenting through the harsh Vermont winter.

Some nonprofits are planning to open more shelter beds, but there won’t be enough to mee

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