The property manager put a new lock on the basement door. The squatters returned twice that night — unsuccessfully — to try to collect their belongings. The next day, October 15, another homeless man knocked on Jeanne’s door at three in the morning. He begged her to let him in the basement to get his stuff.

The Buell Street cellar dwellers illustrate a growing problem in Vermont. Over the past few years, the number of homeless people has increased dramatically. Whether by misfortune or by choice, more Vermonters — particularly families with children — are living without a roof over their heads.

Every January, Vermont service agencies participate in the Winter Census, also known as a point-in-time survey, that counts the state’s homeless population in shelters and encampments across the state. In 2008, the number was 2286; today it’s 2782.

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