To some folks, the six month anniversary of Superstorm Sandy snuck up on us rather suddenly, prompting many to marvel at how quickly time has passed since the most devastating storm in our history ripped through the region.

But to folks who lived and worked along the Jersey Shore, and who sustained the most severe storm damage, including the loss of their homes, possessions and livelihoods, every day that has passed since Oct. 29, 2012 must have seemed like 100.  While much of the rest of the state had to work through the loss of power and some wind damage, the people who lost the most have had to deal with this disaster non-stop – wrestling with the details of clean-up, reconstruction, insurance estimates and, for far too many, simple survival. This has been their lived reality for much of the past six months, and the rest of us can only imagine the frustration and desperation people have been feeling.

To understand how difficult their plight has been is to have some small sense of how devastating it is that so many wrecked communities remain nearly untouched, looking very much like the day that the waters receded.  Homes are missing, buried in sand, caved in and left to rot.  Progress has moved slowly in the wake of the storm, but has left some areas completely off the charts.

Six month reports published in area media point to countless families who remain in temporary housing and wholesale communities that still look like war zones.  In the town of Ortley alone, reports indicate that only 10 percent of all permanent residents have returned only to find their community virtually uninhabited.  Two hundred of the 300 homes slated for demolition remain as they were in the days after the storm, caught up in the bureaucracy that pervades disaster recovery.

To recognize how difficult their plight has been, and continues to be, is to have some small sense of how very important relief efforts have been and will continue to be.  Integral to that effort has been the Catholic community, which, through its established social service agencies and grass roots outreach that were launched by the parishes and schools, have made a real and lasting difference in the lives of so many.

A report on this effort will be the subject of a special Monitor publication slated to be delivered to parishes next week.  The report will give a recap of what’s been done thus far and will provide information on how folks can still support the work that’s continuing on behalf of people most affected by the storm.

Something all of us can do every day is simply to keep the people who have lost so much in our thoughts and prayers.  It is so easy to forget something that’s not directly in front of us, especially in light of all that we have going on in our own lives.  It will take a purposeful commitment to remember their struggles, to pray for a swift resolution to the many difficulties they are dealing with. 

With God’s grace, and our ongoing efforts, we hope to see a much improved picture of the Jersey Shore when the one year anniversary of Sandy comes around.