COVID-19 has hit homeless shelters especially hard, but help could be coming soon.

The demand for meals at the Thomas Merton Center in Bridgeport has more than doubled. On Monday alone, 160 people lined up for lunch.

These days, hot meals are served in the cold thanks to COVID-19.

"We have to play it safe. I always wear this mask, even when going to church," says Ronnie Glover, of Bridgeport.

The Thomas Merton Center's director, Bill Colson, says they're struggling to keep up.

"People are dealing with loss of employment. I think that people are dealing with loss of benefits," he says.

For now, the homeless can't go inside and warm up - but that may change eventually. Shelters are in Connecticut's next round of COVID-19 vaccines starting later this month.

"That would be game changer if they were able to get it as well, then we could really start to think about how we're going to facilitate having them come back in the building," Colson says.

Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Jim Himes say more stimulus money could be coming in the next few weeks with a new president and a Democratic Senate.

"They probably will not qualify for the next round of PPP, so it's a perfect example of why our job isn't done," says Murphy.

As for the vaccines, there should be more information later this week about exactly when those will arrive and who will get them.

Right now, overnight shelters have to limit capacity - but that could change if residents get vaccinated.