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'Homeless In Seaside Park' Documented In Video

Toms River filmmaker Sandra Levine put Faith Liguori's moving letter to the editor in a video

Former Ocean County Director of Human Services Faith Liguori touched many recently with her letter to the editor "Homeless in Seaside Park."

Now Toms River videographer Sandra Levine - who is working on a documentary about Superstorm Sandy - has put Faith's words in film.

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Kim E January 30, 2013 at 05:07 am
Faith, well said.
Unfortunately you are not alone in this,so many others are having the same trouble with the banks and insurance companies. With the uncertainty of the Fema maps and the upcoming rates for future flood insurance if you can't raise your home, is causing insurmountable stress to everyone !
clamdigger January 30, 2013 at 11:26 am
with all the money the Twp, County,State and Country spend every year on "stuff" why hasn't a liaison or ombudsman been assigned to help people through this ridiculous maze of crap they need to deal with.
KRaz January 30, 2013 at 11:47 am
Well said Faith ... so many of us are in the same situation with many of the same questions. Wishing you the best as you rebuild your home.
Nancy zorochin January 30, 2013 at 11:55 am
What Faith says is 100% accurate and well written. Thanks for speaking for all of us. I just called my ins. co and they said that the ICC monies are not paid out for 4-5 years..... really? How does that work, after i had the town write my certificate that i was over 51% damaged and i have to rebuild and have the C.O. once this is done and "there is no going back." I was told i have to put the money out of my pocket first......... where do you turn??
Patty January 30, 2013 at 01:22 pm
Where is all the money from the concerts, shirts sales, and other donations? Our people need it distributed to them NOW! Best wishes to Faith and all the thousands of others who desperately need help to rebuild their lives.
Chief Wahoo January 30, 2013 at 01:24 pm
A nation of RENTERS is what they plan.
Cherie January 30, 2013 at 01:54 pm
God Bless you Faith I went through this a few years back everything you have said is so true ! I wish you luck in getting everything done
I am so sorry I spent many happy summers with my grandparents on Green Island and lots of time at seaside and point pleasant it broke my heart to see everything I knew destroyed
HJS January 30, 2013 at 02:01 pm
You are so right, we send money and ad all over the world
most of the people we send it to HATE us Did any county send help?
Rick January 30, 2013 at 02:20 pm
Did you mean county or country?
People, companies and police and fire departments from many different states have been here to help out.
wookfish January 30, 2013 at 02:34 pm
This is what happens when we let government get too big...this is what happens when we blindly trust government to "take care" of us....this is why we are going down the crapper.
Carl Wilton January 30, 2013 at 03:51 pm
A very moving video. Thank you for posting.
pat wenz January 30, 2013 at 05:01 pm
Faith took the words right out of my mouth. This is the most frustrating situation I have had to endure yet. We're living in a trailer for the last 3 months and from what I have been told, we will probably be living in it for close to a year....if we're lucky. At this time, we have spoken with our mortgage company every day for the last six weeks, as they are holding an insurance payment of ours and won't give us any of it to get moving forward in some way. Every day or two they need something else, something corrected, etc. They just denied us again yesterday saying that the paperwork my contractor sent in had a misspelled word.....I kid you not.
I consider myself lucky in many ways though. I do have a trailer to live in. I don't work full time, so that I can make the daily phone calls, and in many other ways I feel very fortunate compared to some others. We all need help. We didn't cause this catastrophe and we paid insurance every month to help us if something like this happened. Now we're told that nothing we did was enough. That we all risk losing the homes we have worked and paid for all our lives and expected to be able to live in in the future. That its just too bad on us and we just have to deal with it. That we are at the mercy of the very people we paid to protect us. What's going on America, President Obama, insurance conglomerates, mortgage company vultures????? This situation has gone from bad to worse. I'm pretty tough, but I'm crying alot.
Deborah "Debbie" Venedam January 30, 2013 at 05:21 pm
I agree with you Patty, where are all the millions of dolllars that all these celebrities raise and we never see. It makes them more famous and popular but does nothing for the common taxpayer who has to deal with the "real world". Debbie V
Halpha2 January 30, 2013 at 05:28 pm
This video needs to be sent to all government agencies in NJ.
Donna Matusik January 30, 2013 at 06:15 pm
I totally agree with you Halpha2!!!!
Dennis January 30, 2013 at 07:02 pm
Thanks for cutting through the red tape. Great job, BHO!
Joan Loliva January 30, 2013 at 07:59 pm
This is so sad! Faith is a professional Crisis Counselor and she is smuggling to speaking through her tears; now just imagine what this is like for someone without her training. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in major proportion will affect so many of Sandy's victims. OMG life will never be the same for so many who just don't have the coping skills, and or know how on how to stay strong in the face of such confusion and devastation. You need to speak to a professional counselor if you are crying all the time. You are in my prays. I pray God give you all the strength and patience to get through this terrible ordeal! So sad, just so sad.
george ackerman January 30, 2013 at 08:34 pm
I agree with Halpha, however, the video needs to be sent to all the major media outlets and also to all the pertinent federal agencies. Channel 12 news and all the NYC stations, as well. We can all commiserate, however, until it is spread all over, no action will take place.
Marilynn Dietz January 30, 2013 at 09:09 pm
I sent this video to everyone on my email list because we all need to know the level of disfunction involved in disaster relief.
My friend whose house flooded last year (Hurricane Irene) wrote this reply to me: I felt like I was reliving my experience. Unfortunately she is not done. Wait til she finds out she most likely will not be able to cash the final payment check from the insurance company, when she gets it, until she completes 98% of the work because the mortgage company won't sign it until the work is done! It's ridiculous and I feel her pain. I hope people see this to truly understand what people go through.
Note Article
Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
gerald laquay June 16, 2013 at 04:25 pm
Great story hope he is doing good,i just went through a bone marrow tranplant well actuallyi amRead More doing good it is 100 percent of the new stem cell an 92 percent which leavesme with 8 percent of myself the new stem cells will take over my whole body once the 8 percent is gone so godbless you an your family hope everything works out
barb June 17, 2013 at 11:00 pm
guess it will be awhile before we get patch stories up? all that we have now are observer and app,Read More blah.
Robert Everett June 19, 2013 at 06:39 am
Hi Pat: Thank you so much for your time & efforts. You know how important I feel a free,Read More independent and viable press is. Freedom of the press is one of our countires most vital rights and needs to be protected, literally at all costs. Without the ability for the average citizen to investigate, critiicise, praise and comment on government, business, education and all facets of our lives the Great American Democracy would not exist - even if it does produce annonymous curmudgeons like the Chief and the rest of the fan club. ;-) That being said, the digital media world is still trying to find its way into a viable business model. I was very excited about the 'hyper' local idea of the Patch, but the challenges you mentioned are real. However, I do feel based on my dealing with the Patch on several levels (blogger, community person & advertiser) the corporate leadership does not quite get the 'hyper-local' idea - they like it only if it produces revenue. What comes firt guys, the classic 'chicken or the egg'. Advertising is all about numbers, and in our community that was tough to overcome - I see both sides. It was a pleasure having a 'hometown' reporter that actually had the knowledge, perspective and understanding of our community as only one that lives here can. You will be missed on these pages, but it will be still be good to see you around town! So good luck to you in Lacey & Barnegat, Ill be happy to share any of my contacts, never dull there either! Bob Everett
Patricia A. Miller (Editor) June 19, 2013 at 11:48 am
Thanks for the kind comments, folks. I still live here!
Trish June 8, 2013 at 01:26 am
I'm glad you are home. We are still repairing in LBI but, hopefully, we will back by the 4th ofRead More July. This was not our "primary" home but it still was our home. We will never forget Oct. 29, 2012.
foggyworld June 8, 2013 at 02:24 am
This has been one heck of a learning experience and yes, it has exhausted so many of us. The onlyRead More way to keep going really is to take it one day at a time and know if you wake up tomorrow something you never dreamed of is bound to happen.
answertwoit June 5, 2013 at 10:52 pm
all three siddons lost. Kukla Fran and Ollie... you ran for revenge and not for the people. itRead More showed and you lost.
Brian Wilson June 6, 2013 at 02:12 pm
Quit whining, Fran. You were always just in it for yourself. You wanted to be "CouncilwomanRead More Fran Siddons." Most people saw right through you. You biggest mistake was believing your inflated sense of self.
Terry LiCausi June 7, 2013 at 02:43 pm
Why couldn't you just write a classy speech, you chose to look like a sore loser once again. YouRead More listed reasons for losing and you and I both, know you tried to talk to the board workers and the Republican Challenger had to ask you to stop. You stood right outside the doors and tried to talk to voters also, you did this at all the polling places. You had 3 challengers to 1 republican challenger at the polls, so how could all that you say get done. Why didn't they call the election board? Come on Fran, just admit the people DO REMEMBER and that is why you lost.