By Lois Rogers | Correspondent

Looking around this summer, it might seem that the worst effects of Hurricane Sandy are far behind the Trenton Diocese.

But for many residents of the four counties, troubles related to the recovery from the storm remain. Among those are burdens borne by many who have struggled mightily on their own for nearly three years before finally sending up a call for help.

That scenario was very much in evidence when Maria Axten and her family of Little Egg Harbor Township were able to return home May 20 after more than two years of trying to fight their way through mounds of red tape.

On that happy occasion, the Axten family shared their joy with the members of the Diocese of Trenton’s Catholic Charities Disaster Team.

It was the team that helped the family forge ahead, seeking and applying for any and all programs – including FEMA – that could help them in what had turned into a monumental quest.

Word came recently that the Disaster Relief Team, based in the Visitation Relief Center, Brick, would be receiving a $77,630 Long-Term Relief and Recovery grant from Catholic Charities USA, allowing the kind of work that had helped the Axten family to continue for other families in need.

Robert Hodnett, associate director of Children’s and Family Services, explained what that funding will be able to accomplish. The latest grant (from CCUSA) will help with unmet needs, Hodnett told The Monitor. “What it means is that we can help families move their recovery plans along,” he said.

As an example, he spoke of families who have both mortgage and rent to pay until their homes are habitable again. They may need help with their rent, or with some of the other expenses they face.

“We may be able to give them some help with storing their furniture while their house is being elevated. We’ll be able to help them pay those kinds of things,” Hodnett explained.

The grant was one of many given out around the country by Catholic Charities USA, Patricia Pincus Cole, senior director, National Communications and Engagement, said in an email interview.

In New Jersey, grants were also awarded to Catholic Charities in the Metuchen and Camden Dioceses and the Newark Archdiocese, she said.

In addition to New Jersey, CCUSA awarded grants to more than 24 Catholic Charities agencies in the following states: Arizona; Colorado; Connecticut; Florida; Illinois; Indiana; Lousiana; Mississippi; Missouri; New York; Oklahoma, and Texas.

In addition to Hurricane Sandy, Long-Term Disaster grants were awarded to agencies responding to tornadoes, flash flooding and hurricanes. Some of the disasters covered were the catastrophic tornadoes that hit Joplin, Mississippi, in 2011, severe flash flooding in Colorado in 2013 and communities impacted by Hurricane Isaac.

The grants represent funds collected over the past several years in disaster-related collections sponsored primarily by CCUSA and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, she said. “Thanks to the generosity of donors, Catholic Charities is able to serve those with unmet disaster needs (including) those impacted by the many disasters not declared as eligible for assistance from the federal government and those whose needs are greater than the limited assistance provided by a presidential declaration.”

Hodnett said the funding came just in time.

“We were running out of funds for unmet needs,” he said noting that statewide, the disaster relief program overseen by Trenton’s team has 800 active Sandy related cases. “That’s only a fraction of people in need statewide. There are over 500 in the Diocese of Trenton which was hardest hit by the storm. There’s many hundreds of others who are trying to (recover) on their own and still not home.”

Hodnett said that CCUSA has been very supportive of those struggling from the storm. “They’ve provided us a generous amount,” he said of this latest grant.

“It will allow us to help out roughly 40 families. With that money, we always leverage other sources, so we will also seek out help from faith-based non-profits such as the Salvation Army and the Red Cross to stretch the money.”