By: Le’Deana

More than a week after severe storms hit Northwest Indiana, much of Gary remains without power, and the community is carrying itself while the rest of the country starts to pay attention.

Severe storms tore through Northwest Indiana in mid-August, damaging the electrical system across Gary and leaving families without power for days. Homes, schools and businesses have all felt the disruption, and full restoration has stretched well past what anyone expected.

In the gap, Gary has taken care of Gary. Residents and community organizations have stepped in with meals, water, generators, charging access and other resources, holding neighbors together through the outage.

Mayor Eddie Melton has called the damage catastrophic, directed city resources toward the response and thanked residents for supporting one another, while pressing the utility for specific and accurate answers on restoration.

Now the story is traveling beyond the Region. Food critic Keith Lee is rerouting part of his Midwest food tour to Gary to support local restaurants and help deliver aid. Activist Tamika Mallory has amplified the crisis to her audience, posting “GARY, INDIANA NEEDS POWER!!!!!!” And The Breakfast Club has brought the outage to its national platform.