Poll: Families, communities most helpful after Sandy

A silver lining frames the cloud of destruction left by superstorm Sandy. In people's hour of greatest need, families and communities -- not the government -- were the most helpful sources of assistance and support.

A poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that after the storm in New York and New Jersey, friends, relatives and neighbors were cited the most often as the people who helped them make it through.

People overwhelmingly said the Oct. 29 storm brought out the best in their neighbors, who shared generators, food, water and other supplies. Far fewer said they found help from federal or state governments.

Stranded in her darkened 20th-floor apartment in Brooklyn's Coney Island with two small children, Irina Medvinskaya was feeling desperate in the bleak days after the storm. The elevators stopped working. The food in her refrigerator spoiled. "People who can bring you food and water, and walk up 20 floors?" she said. "That's family, not FEMA."

The nationwide survey of 2,025 individuals, including 1,007 residents of 16 hard-hit counties in New York and New Jersey, assessed the recovery and resilience of affected communities about six months after the deadly and destructive storm hit.

About 3 in 10 in the affected areas said they reached out to friends, family or neighbors for help. Sixty-three percent turned to friends, family or neighbors within a mile of their homes, and 60 percent who sought help from first responders said they helped quite a bit or a great deal.

Only 19 percent who sought help from the federal government said they were helpful; twice as many said FEMA was no help at all.