American Red Cross

Seven months after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the New Jersey Shore, destroying homes and dramatically upending lives, the tourist towns dotting the coast have ramped up repairs which are nearly complete as the summer tourist begins. But for  many of the residents in surrounding areas, still embroiled in a morass of loss and red tape, it has been their neighbors and ordinary citizens who have stepped in to provide vital help and support.From a "bucket brigade" offering food from repurposed shipping containers to an operation that returns treasured photos blown away by the storm to a movement to overturn last year's Flood Insurance Reform Act, people have stepped up to help each other as well as themselves.Some were not even living in New Jersey when Sandy ripped through October 29. Cassandra Vitale, 26,  who had lived along the Jersey Shore as a child, was at her home in Melbourne, Fla. when the epic storm hit.[pullquote]"I think people in this [N.J.] area didn't realize what could happen,...

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