Brandon, the creator of Humans of New York, began taking portraits for this project in 2010. His work has evolved from capturing portraits to now the stories as well. You can find his work here: www.humansofnewyork.com/.
Among the scenes of devastation from Hurricane Sandy, he has found a few smiles as well, as captured above.
Disasters demonstrate the connections within and among community. They bring into sharp relief the assets that bring resilience, and the spirit of nearly all people to help one another. That willingness to help also needs formal chains of command, clear communications, resources catalogued in advance, and professionals and volunteers alike to mount a large scale response.
For our part, VisionLink is contributing considerable staff and technical resources to the relief effort.