On August 11, a derecho, a huge, fast-moving straight-line windstorm, tore through Northwest Indiana. Winds reached about 99 mph, strong enough to uproot trees, snap utility poles and tear apart electrical infrastructure. NIPSCO says the storm and subsequent weather events ultimately affected hundreds of thousands of customers across northern Indiana.
Gary was hammered. More than 38,000 Gary homes and businesses lost electricity. But the remarkable part isn’t simply that Gary lost power.
It is how long Gary stayed without it.
Thirteen days after the storm, some Gary residents still had no electricity. People had gone nearly two weeks without lights, refrigeration, air conditioning and reliable access to electrically powered medical equipment.
And this was August.
Residents were throwing away entire refrigerators full of spoiled food. Some were sleeping elsewhere. Seniors were sitting in hot, dark apartments. One couple reportedly had to drive roughly an hour to Chicago every day so the husband could charge the BiPAP machine he needed to breathe while sleeping. People were charging phones in their cars and spending money on gasoline simply to keep themselves functioning.
This wasn’t just inconvenient. After enough days, a blackout becomes a public-safety crisis.
Streetlights and traffic signals were out. Businesses couldn’t operate normally. Schools were affected. Food spoiled. Some sanitary and sewer problems developed. People who had very little disposable income suddenly had to replace groceries, buy ice, find transportation, obtain generators or temporarily live somewhere else.
And then something happened that made people particularly suspicious.
Other communities were getting their lights back
The Atlantic reported that electricity began returning in places including Dyer, East Chicago, Hobart and Merrillville, while thousands of people in Gary remained without power.
Gary Mayor Eddie Melton eventually said that Gary apparently had not initially been on NIPSCO’s restoration schedule and that the city had to push back.
NIPSCO disputed the suggestion that customers were being neglected, saying crews were assigned to outages large and small and that “no outage is being overlooked.”
That distinction is important. We have evidence of a terribly prolonged outage and questions about restoration priorities. We do not yet have evidence establishing that NIPSCO deliberately deprived Gary of electricity because Gary is predominantly Black.
But people are absolutely entitled to ask:
Why did Gary take so long?
Gary is about 75% Black. It is also a city with substantial poverty and a large elderly population. Those characteristics make a prolonged outage particularly dangerous because residents are less likely to have spare money for hotels, generators, replacement groceries, transportation and other emergency expenses.
And Gary residents weren’t the only people asking questions.
Indiana Governor Mike Braun ordered scrutiny of NIPSCO’s response. His office subsequently issued an unusually strong statement saying:
“NIPSCO failed Hoosiers”
The governor said state police, transportation workers, natural-resources personnel, corrections workers and 71 National Guard members had helped clear routes so electrical restoration could proceed.
There is also a lawsuit alleging that inadequate vegetation maintenance around power lines contributed to outages. That’s an allegation, not an established finding, but it is another reason investigators will be looking at what happened before the storm as well as afterward.
Where things stand now
There is some good news. By August 26, NIPSCO said restoration from the August 11 storm was substantially complete, with only a limited number of individual outage cases remaining. Recent reporting says electricity is now essentially restored across Gary, although recovery and cleanup continue.
So the story now becomes bigger than “Gary has no lights.”
The questions are becoming:
Why did it take nearly two weeks for some people? Was Gary’s electrical infrastructure adequately maintained before the storm? How were restoration priorities determined? Why was Gary apparently absent from an initial restoration schedule, if the mayor’s account is correct? Were poorer neighborhoods disproportionately affected? What happened to money approved for infrastructure improvements? And what changes will prevent this from happening again?
If You Want to Help Gary, Here Are Places to Start
Support the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana
The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana has been conducting mobile food distributions as families replace groceries lost during prolonged outages. It is also seeking volunteers to help with mobile markets.
This is particularly important because replacing an entire refrigerator and freezer full of food can cost a household hundreds of dollars.
Food Bank of Northwest Indiana
Help Sojourner Truth House
Sojourner Truth House provides assistance to people and families experiencing hunger, homelessness and economic hardship.
The organization accepts monetary donations, volunteers and needed supplies. Its current needs include food as well as household necessities such as children’s pull-ups, adult incontinence products, cleaning supplies and small appliances.
This is one of those times when seemingly ordinary donations can become extraordinarily useful.
Diapers matter.
Water matters.
Food matters.
Cleaning supplies matter.
A working microwave matters when somebody is rebuilding a household.
Support Catholic Charities’ Disaster Relief Work
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Gary has been helping residents with food, clothing, housing assistance and other needs following the storms. Its own Hunger Relief Center lost electricity during the disaster, forcing workers and volunteers to quickly move refrigerated and frozen food so it could still feed people rather than spoil.
Catholic Charities Diocese of Gary
Support the YWCA of Northwest Indiana
The YWCA in Gary has become an important emergency resource during the outage, providing shelter, meals, showers, electricity and charging opportunities. The location at 150 W. 15th Avenue was also listed by Indiana emergency officials as an American Red Cross shelter.
Support World Central Kitchen
World Central Kitchen is now working with local partners to provide meals to Gary families affected by the prolonged outages.
Importantly, the organization says it is working alongside people who were already feeding their own community rather than replacing those local efforts.
World Central Kitchen’s Gary Response
Volunteer With the City
People who live close enough to physically help can also volunteer through the City of Gary.
The city maintains volunteer opportunities involving neighborhood cleanup and beautification, community engagement and local events.
City of Gary Volunteer Program
Storm recovery does not end when the lights come back on. Fallen trees have to be removed. Property has to be cleaned. Damaged homes need attention. Families have to replace what was lost.
That work can last months.
Do Not Forget Gary’s Small Businesses
There is another way to help that may not immediately look like disaster relief:
Spend money in Gary. Local businesses lost enormous amounts of income while electricity was unavailable.
Joslyn Kelly, owner of J’s Breakfast Club, told Business Insider that her restaurant was without power for more than a week and estimated that she lost approximately $19,000 in sales. Yet she and her team still found ways to help feed people during the emergency.
That tells us something important about recovery. When conditions stabilize, visit Gary. Eat at a locally owned restaurant. Buy from a local shop. Hire a Gary business. Attend an event. Recommend a business. Leave a good review after receiving good service.
If you have a platform, introduce your audience to Gary entrepreneurs.
Disaster recovery is not only about what happens during the emergency. It is about whether the businesses that hold a community together are still standing six months later.
Gary Is More Than the Pictures We See After Something Goes Wrong
There is another reason I want us to pay attention.
Gary is a historically Black American city with an extraordinary cultural history.
It is a city of families, churches, entrepreneurs, workers, artists, teachers, children and elders. It is the hometown that gave the world the Jackson family, but Gary’s story has never belonged to celebrities alone.
Too often, struggling Black cities enter national conversation primarily when something terrible happens.
Crime. Poverty. Infrastructure failure. Disaster. Then the cameras leave. We should resist that pattern.
Helping Gary today means responding to an emergency. Caring about Gary tomorrow means remaining interested in whether families recover, whether small businesses survive, whether infrastructure improves and whether children inherit a city in which they can imagine a future.
If You Cannot Give Much, Give Small
Please do not believe that helping requires wealth.
Ten people giving $10 creates $100.
A church can collect diapers.
A workplace can organize bottled water and household supplies.
A book club can choose one Gary organization and raise money.
A family can skip one takeout meal and donate what it would have spent.
Someone with a large online following can share verified relief information.
Someone with no following at all can send this information to five people.
We do not have to solve everything before we are willing to do something.
And when the electricity finally comes back on, remember this:
Power restoration is the beginning of recovery, not the end of it.
Families will still have refrigerators to refill.
Businesses will still have revenue to recover.
People will still have damaged homes and unexpected expenses.
Community organizations will still be serving people long after Gary disappears from national headlines.
So if you have been wondering what you can do, choose something.
Give. Volunteer. Buy. Share. Visit.Keep watching.
Because sometimes solidarity is not a grand gesture.
Sometimes it is simply refusing to look away while your neighbors are rebuilding.
Gary Residents Have Been Without Power For 10 Days. Here’s How You Can Help
Volunteer and Community Support
- Food and Meal Distribution: Local organizations like the Salvation Army, NAACP Gary Branch, and Operation Gary Rescue are providing hot meals and food boxes at multiple locations across Gary and nearby areas
capitalbnews.org+1. - Shelters and Emergency Housing: The YWCA (150 W. 15th Ave., Gary) and Monroe Center (4101 Washington St., Gary) offer 24/7 shelter and support gary.gov.
- Medical Support: Oxygen refill stations are available at Indiana University Northwest (Lot #9, 3301 Broadway, Gary) for home-use patients affected by the storm gary.gov.
Reporting and Assistance
- Report Storm Damage: Residents should report damage to Indiana 211 by calling 211 or 866-211-9966, or using the online tool at IN211.org. This helps the state and FEMA allocate resources effectively gary.gov+1.
- Gary 311: Use the Gary 311 system to report non-emergency issues, storm debris, or downed trees. Submit requests online at gary.gov/311, via the app, or by calling (219) 881-1311 gary.gov.
Financial and Housing Assistance
- Indiana State Disaster Relief Fund: Provides up to $5,000 per household for food, clothing, home repairs, utilities, temporary housing, and transportation indyblackbusinesses.com+1.
- Temporary Housing: Emergency hotel vouchers and disaster rental assistance are available through the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. Call 211 or the Red Cross at 1-800-733-2767 for referrals indyblackbusinesses.com.
Food and Essential Supplies
- Food Pantries and Distribution Centers: Food Bank of Northwest Indiana, Salvation Army Gary-Merrillville Corps, and local churches are distributing food and supplies. Check daily schedules as locations and times may change capitalbnews.org+1.
- SNAP Replacement: Residents who lost food due to power outages or flooding can submit State Form 40988 within 10 days to replace lost benefits indyblackbusinesses.com.
Safety and Cleanup
- Turn off gas and electricity before entering flooded buildings and have an electrician inspect before restoring power.
- Avoid downed electrical lines and contaminated floodwater.
- Dispose of food, furniture, and items touched by floodwater to prevent health hazards.
- Report unsafe trees or debris to Gary 311 for assessment and removal gary.gov.
By donating, volunteering, or helping residents access these resources, you can make a meaningful impact in Gary’s recovery from the recent storms.
From BET on X.com: Keith Lee's latest visit to Gary, Indiana is a reminder of what can happen when visibility turns into action and community answers the call.
After seeing residents of Gary struggling in the aftermath of the August 11 storms, Keith used his platform to bring attention and resources to the city. In just days, that call grew into a massive relief effort with 40+ food trucks, hundreds of volunteers, more than 10 companies and thousands of residents receiving food, cleaning supplies and other essentials.
Keith contributed $15,000 toward the effort, with Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton matching his donation for a combined $30,000. The Salvation Army, City of Gary, Ace Hardware and others also joined the effort.
Gary, we see you. 🤎
