So, You Want to Help Your Neighbor in Little Silver?

You don't need to be Bruce Springsteen or Jon Bon Jovi, who are teaming up for an upcoming Hurricane Sandy benefit, to want to help your fellow Jersey peeps.

It didn't take long for Little Silver residents to start chomping at the bit, wondering how they can help their less fortunate neighbors who suffered incredible property damage during the height of Hurricane Sandy Monday night.

But Mayor Robert C. Neff, Jr. and Little Silver Police are concerned about residents' safety, especially with wires hanging onto borough roadways that could be switched on at any moment by the power company.

So they urge residents to remain home for now and to reach out to friends and neighbors to see if any assistance is needed.

"I'm not sure what people need, except power at this point," Neff said by e-mail. "Food may become an issue if power isn't restored soon."

The Facebook page "Jersey Shore Gives Back" has launched in the hurricane's aftermath that is trying to bring together those who want to help.

Police Chief Dan Shaffery said that to help out in the future, residents could train to volunteer as a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) member for the borough, which "educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills," according to the CERT Web site.

OEM Coordinator Ptl. Frank Salerno said that CERT volunteers would have been an asset in the lead up to the storm. "They could have helped us tremendously, manning screening centers and giving water out," he told Patch. "We always can use help like that."

Interested residents can contact the program's coordinator, Ptl. Robert Chenoweth for more information.

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