Shelter from the Storm

Some came to warm up with a cup of coffee or to charge a cell phone.

Others stayed for days.

In either case, the emergency shelter at the served as a literal shelter from the storm.

Lunch and dinner were served to 68 people Sunday, shelter director Clare Garabedian said.

Nine people slept at the shelter, while four others stayed until 11:30 p.m., went home to sleep and returned to the warm shelter in the morning.

For Terri Booth Desmarais of South Grafton, the shelter was a welcome chance for her and her children to stay warm.

"They like it here because there are other kids here,'' she said. The children were afraid to stay home in the dark and cold.

She was grateful for the shelter and its staff members, who made her family feel at home, she said. "I'm thrilled it's here,'' she said. "If it wasn't here, we wouldn't have anything to eat.''

But of course, it is no substitute for home. And she eagerly awaits the return of power.

"I need to sleep at my house,'' she said.