By Paul Davis
CRANSTON, R.I. -- Fleeing a bitter cold wind, 114 men Wednesday slept at Harrington Hall, a homeless shelter that normally sleeps 88.
The Cranston shelter will open two hours early, at 3 p.m., but officials worry about feeding the overflow crowd.
"We ran out of mats, sheets and blankets last night," said Jean Johnson, executive director of House of Hope, the agency that runs the shelter. "Twenty-six men slept on the floor."
The same thing is happening elsewhere in the state.
"We're getting calls all day from people looking for shelter," said Russell Partridge, executive director of the WARM Center in Westerly. "Our regular beds are full and our overflow winter shelter is full. We're packed."