Amid smoky piles of debris, bits and pieces of houses and cars, in Manasquan, NJ, the mouth-watering smell of seafood swirls in the air. Owners of the local restaurant “The Beach House” waste no time in the kitchen, putting their supplies to use.

This is reality for the family of History teacher Luana Hanley, who was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. Rather than allowing the food from their family-owned restaurant to spoil, they decided to cook it and give it out to people in their community who were in need of food.

“They were, of course, upset with what they’ve lost,” Hanley said. “But they’re moving on and saying ‘we’ll make the best of it.’”

Hanley grew up in the New Jersey area and has family that lives in north Jersey and near Point Pleasant. She has spent many summers in New Jersey since she was a child.

“To see the places where we stayed and all of those streets there…it’s horrendous,” Hanley said. “My heart is breaking for them when I see the destruction and the damage on the websites.”

Late on the night of the storm, her family was stuck in chest-deep water and searching for evacuation by boat. At one point after the storm, 13 of her family members were living in one house with no power.

“They’re all getting by,” Hanley said. “They said in spite of it all, we’re laughing and we’re having fun.”

Not only have they been encouraging each other as a family, but also as a community. Hanley’s high school nephews have volunteered at shelters and with clean-up around the city.

“They’re all stepping up and being part of the community,” Hanley said. “My family down at the shore, they’re tough. They hang in there together. They said ‘we’ll get through it.’”

For Junior Jackie Higgins, Hurricane Sandy also hits close to home. She has family near the boardwalk in Lavallette, NJ and has many memories of the Jersey Shore.

“It was just really devastating to see,” Higgins said. “It was part of my childhood, so I’m really going to miss that.”

The boardwalk is a tradition in the Higgins family, who has seen generations pass along the Jersey Shore.

“I’ve ridden all those rides,” Higgins said. “You can never ride those again. My mom rode those rides when she was a kid. It’s really just sad to see it all gone.”

For those like Higgins’ family who own property across the toll bridge from Seaside Heights, NJ, the National Guard was their only means of seeing all they had lost. The National Guard transported victims across the toll bridge and to their homes, giving them two hours to view the damage and collect their belongings.

Higgins’s family returned on Monday, November 19, to find their property that is more than 2/10 of a mile away from the ocean flooded with boardwalk debris, saltwater and even sand. The house was almost completely destroyed, along with the newly remodeled kitchen and brand new car.

“They’ve had [the house] since I was born, so I’m really sad to see it gone,” Higgins said. It’s been a really slow process of recovery.”

Higgins said that in spite of it all, people are still being nice to one another. Her aunt’s neighbor, the only one in the area who had power, opened up her home to all the other residents in the area. They were free to use the electricity to cook food, charge electronics, and even stay overnight if they needed to.

“They move on,” Higgins said. “If something happens, they say ‘it’s going to get better and we move on.’”

Even from 1,000 miles away, senior Carly Roggy organized a coat and sock drive in an effort to protect victims of the hurricane from the cold winter. As little as four days after the hurricane hit, Roggy was already at work.

“My whole family is from New Jersey,” Roggy said. “They told me really horrible stories about all the places I grew up in my childhood, destroyed.”

Roggy was moved to help and began collaborating with family and the swim team to collect coats and cash donations during lunch. Together they collected 13 boxes full of coats and other clothing accessories, along with $140 from students’ contributions during lunch. Coats were even turning up daily on Roggy’s doorstep.

Roggy sent the donations to the central coast, including local churches, schools and mosques. The donations also went straight to families who needed it most, including her own family members and friends she knows.

“I didn’t really see it as making a difference,” Roggy said. “I saw it more as just doing what I could. I know we collected a lot and then sent a lot, but I feel like it was just a dent in the large spectrum.”