A Long Walk Through A Storm

Tim Loh: BRIDGEPORT — Slumped on a cot at Bassick High School Sunday evening, Maurice Ballestas offered living proof that emergency shelters have open-door policies.

His round-trip bus ticket from Hartford to New York, half used, laid across his backpack. His "Streetwise Southern New England Map," bought the night before in Stamford, was folded on a blanket. His clothes, 12 hours after he'd stumbled into the shelter, were soaked. His feet ached.

"It was the longest I ever walked," said the 34-year-old, recalling his 20-mile odyssey from Stamford to Bridgeport that took place as Hurricane Irene closed in on and then buffeted the region. "I've pretty much slept all of today."

On Saturday morning,…