"There are plenty of volunteers, so as a photographer I decided to simply get their stories out to try to get more help for them," he explained.

Chiossone said the conversations helped put his life into perspective.

"As I interviewed some of the people affected and companies trying to come back to life, I realized how each individual makes their own problem the biggest one of the moment. Part of my motivation was to show how easy we had it," he said. "Four days without power or showering is not a big deal. Losing your house is another story."

He spoke to several residents of Staten Island, N.Y., including Janice Kennedy, whose house at New Dorp Beach was leveled by the storm even she was one of the few people on her street to board up her home.

Kennedy told her story on camera and showed Chiossone what little remained of her property. Kennedy's emotions were raw as she described what it's like to face starting your life over.

"My husband died three years ago, we were hit with Irene last year, and now this. I've gotta leave. I'm done," she said, her voice shaking. "We've lost everything. I got married in this house. My son grew up in this house. There's nothing left."

Weeks later, Chiossone has been unable to reach Kennedy but is eager to follow up with her. In the meantime, he continues to document life in New Dorp Beach, and sees hope.

"What was chaos almost a month ago here in New Dorp Beach now has gained a little sense of normalcy." he said.

Spitting rhymes for Sandy relief

The storm flooded Eduardo Ramos' apartment on Avenue C in Manhattan, but he feels lucky. He and his roommates had time to save all their belongings as the water was coming in, and his roommate's family welcomed him to stay in their home on the Upper East Side.

It only felt right to do what he could to help others not so fortunate.

In the weeks after Sandy, he and his friend CJ Richards -- both professional models, actors and rappers -- joined the Rockaway Beach Surf Club's relief efforts in the Queens beach community. In between jobs and castings they went to Queens to knock on doors, assess needs and help families remove moldy furniture.

They wanted to find a way to help on the days they couldn't physically be in Queens, which led them to rapping for victims. The friends, who had recently begun performing freestyle hip-hop on the streets for fun, set up their amp and microphone and performed raps on demand for $1, with the money going to Sandy relief efforts.

"One time a girl said 'rap about my friend's jeans,' we just started going off on that. At Astor Place, a couple was from York in the UK, and we started rapping about London ... You just kind of let your mind go," Ramos explained.

So far they've rapped in Times Square, the Meatpacking District and Astor Place in Lower Manhattan, where iReporter and friend Chris Luna found them and recorded a video.

In three stints, the friends have raised $200 for the victims, including one generous $100 donation from a hip-hop fan who was impressed with their rhyming skills and asked to join in. They plan to hit the streets again this weekend and will give the money to the surf club to buy socks, blankets and other needed supplies.

"I feel like they're going to need more help as people start to forget and life continues as usual," Ramos said.

'Hard-wired to tell stories'

Arriving by bus, train and plane, thousands of Mormons from across the country canceled their church plans one Sunday to help with Sandy relief. One of those volunteers, Joshua Brown, documented the day on video.

The Manhattan wedding videographer heard stories of loss, devastation and even some of hope from the people of Rockaway, New York.

"We lost everything, but with people like you, we know everything's going to be alright and we have faith in God," said one woman who choked back tears as he interviewed her.

Days earlier, Brown joined Mormons Helping Hands. His job was ripping out dry wall from waterlogged homes. As he worked, he saw a "huge need" for more volunteers to help the community rebuild.

The next time he went back to Rockaway -- that Sunday -- he brought his camera along to help get the word out.

"The day I was shooting the video, I felt a little guilty being there. Some of my friends were there doing really intense, back-breaking work," he said. "But by making the video, I felt I could persuade more people to get out there, which was the best thing I could do with my talents."

He accomplished his goal. Between Vimeo and CNN iReport, his video received about 270,000 views.