Two Years Later, Wait To Return Home Continues For Some Hurricane Sandy Victims In South Jersey
By Mark Abrams
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It has now been two years since Hurricane Sandy struck New Jersey, causing a path of destruction from which many are still recovering. For hundreds of residents of Atlantic County, the wait to go home continues.
Vicki Phillips, executive director of the Atlantic County's Mental Health Association, says her staff has been helping hundreds of residents displaced by the storm during the past 16 months.
Phillips says most are depressed, frustrated and even angry because they still haven't been able to go home.
"All of the programs that have been put into place to assist them have taken so very long to roll out," she says, "and are so complicated to navigate through that they feel that they are continually victimized by the storm, over and over again, just trying to get back into their homes."
Phillips says for some, the level of frustration and anger grows daily. She gives a common example recently experienced by one family.
"They were moving forward, someone came in to test for mold, the mold was so off the charts that they can basically shut down the house and told them they had to throw everything in the house away and start anew," she says. "And, so you think you're on the road to recovery and then you just keep getting setback after setback after setback."
Phillips concedes for some Superstorm Sandy victims, it may be months, even another year or two before they might get back into their homes.
For some, she says, the cost may be so high that they can't afford to return.
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