ORILLIA - Local citizens, many cold and hungry, have found an oasis of sorts inside the city's relief centre that has been set up inside the Orillia Recreation Centre in the wake of the ice storm that plunged the area into darkness.
There are still thousands of people in Orillia and area without power since the storm hit Saturday. The relief centre is the place to go for a hot shower, a bed, health care, and a place to charge electronic devices.
Danny Borzellino, who lives near Laclie and Brant streets, said he still doesn't have power at his home. He's been going to the rec centre daily.
"It's been a nightmare," he said. "We lost the windshield in the van, my classic car — a 1958 Ford Fairlane — got destroyed, the pool house got destroyed.
"We've got the only gas stove in the neighbourhood, and the neighbours have been coming over. We've been making coffee and pasta," he told OrilliaMatters while enjoying the warmth of the relief centre.
Borzellino said four of his neighbours had their hydro lines pulled right off their homes.
"I don't anticipate we get power until the lines have been reconnected," he said.
"It's been rough on everybody. My neighbour has been there 48 years and he said this is the worst he's ever seen."
Borzellino said Wednesday night was too much to take, and after going to the relief centre, he was on his way with his four-year-old son, Thor, and his two dogs, Mac and Bella, to find a hotel with a pool.
"We got our first shower in a week here yesterday because we just needed a break. I'm grateful for the rec centre and everything the City of Orillia is doing to help us through this. I just wish we had power," he said.
Don Haskins and his wife, from Orillia, who don't yet have power restored, went to the rec centre for a hot shower Thursday morning.
"It feels great, awesome," he said.
Lisa Piper, of south Orillia, also still has no power. She is looking after her son and her nephew after he was flooded out of his house.
"We stayed here last night because it's just too cold at our house. I came in crying," she said.
The three of them slept on cots in the gym and were given blankets and other supplies. Piper brought a pull wagon full of toys, snacks and clothing from home.
"The staff have been really great. They've given me lots of support. They walk around at night to keep everybody safe," she said, adding other people staying at the rec centre helped her set up her cot and comforted and protected her.
Piper said she hasn't been sleeping and it didn't help that there was a lightning storm Wednesday night.
"It was scary ... The whole room vibrated from the thunder. It felt like it was right above us," she said.
The whole experience has been "overwhelming," she said.
"It's a mess. Hydro keeps pushing the date. It's frustrating. I see other houses with lights everywhere. We keep hoping that it's just another day or two," she said.
"I just want a bed. I need some sleep. I can't sleep. It's a lot. I have anxiety as well."
What she's most worried about is replacing her food as she lives on a disability pension. She said she'll have to throw out her freezer chest full of food and a fridge with a freezer, too.
"I don't know how I'm going to replace it. It's just so expensive," she said.
The Couchiching Ontario Health Team (COHT) was one of the numerous health partners set up at the relief centre Thursday, with health professionals who are providing physical and mental health support.
"We are helping to provide health services on the spot right in the centre so people don't have to seek that out separately as power is spotty," said Melanie Moore, director of planning and patient access with Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital (OSMH).
"The goal is to make sure people don't fall through the cracks," added Terry Dyni, director of community relations with OSMH.
The COHT is also shuttling people who need to be seen by a family doctor to the Unattached Clinic at 119 Memorial Ave., with shuttle service being provided by Helping Hands.
Helping people at the rec centre and shuttling people to the Unattached Clinic helps take some pressure off the emergency department at OSMH, said Moore.
She said the COHT is working closely with Orillia's emergency operations centre, set up at the city's main fire hall.
"It's a lot of comfort to displaced residents who are seeking support, but we have physician support, nurse practitioners," said Moore.
The COHT booth will stay set up for as long as it's needed, she said.