The share of hard-hit residents who said they needed financial assistance dropped from 57 percent last year.
Financial concerns continue to weigh on many New Jerseyans hard-hit by Hurricane Sandy three years after the storm, a new poll found, though the share of residents reporting they need financial help has fallen from last year.
Of the residents surveyed in the Monmouth University poll released on Thursday, 41 percent said they still need money to rebuild or elevate their storm-damaged homes. That's down from 57 percent in 2014.
MORE: Most Sandy victims still unhappy with N.J.'s recovery effort
More than half of the residents surveyed were finished rebuilding their homes and another 28 percent said their properties were still under construction, according to the poll. Some 10 percent of those surveyed said construction had not yet started on their homes and 8 percent said they were not rebuilding.
"Although most participants of the survey have at least begun rebuilding their homes, about 1-in-10 say they have yet to begin," said Tim Tracey, project director for Monmouth University's Sandy Recovery Survey. "The need for monetary assistance may be holding these residents back."
The Monmouth University survey is tracking residents who were displaced for at least a month or sustained at least $8,000 in damage to their home during Sandy. Because of the methods used to recruit respondents, the survey's results cannot be statistically projected to the larger population of Sandy victims in New Jersey.
Beyond money for construction needs, the survey also found that 30 percent of residents needed help replacing furniture and appliances, down from 43 percent a year ago.
Mental health issues were also an ongoing concern among those surveyed, as 22 percent of residents said they needed help with mental/emotional counseling. That is essentially unchanged from last year when 21 percent of residents said they needed that help.
The survey also assessed psychological distress among the panel's participants and found 42 percent of residents displayed symptoms of serious or mild to moderate distress, down from 46 percent last year and 50 percent in 2013.
Stress was more prevalent among residents who remain displaced, according to the survey, with 60 percent of residents showing signs of serious or mild to moderate emotional distress among that group.
"Getting residents back into their pre-Sandy homes continues to be the single biggest driver in terms of reducing emotional distress," Tracey said in a statement. "It does not eliminate all the trauma, but being in the comfort of one's own home clearly seems to help those most affected."
The results presented in the survey released on Thursday are based on interviews done in August and September.
Erin O'Neill may be reached at eoneill@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LedgerErin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.