Severe storms left one family in Gary, Indiana, facing a daily struggle without electricity as indoor temperatures rise, food spoils, devices need charging, and a young child needs care.
As ABC7 Chicago reported, Gary resident Cynthia Bailey said the strain comes from having to live in those conditions while simply waiting for power to return.
Here's what to know
In a video report on the station's TikTok account (@abc7chicago), she allowed cameras into her home to show the reality of a prolonged outage.
@abc7chicago Nearly a week after severe storms knocked out power across northwest Indiana, Gary resident Cynthia Bailey says each day without electricity has become a struggle to keep her family cool, fed, and connected while waiting for service to be restored. Bailey invited ABC7 into her home, where she described living conditions that she says have become increasingly difficult since the storms. #news #chicagonews #indiana #weather #poweroutage #severeweather #gary ♬ original sound - abc7chicago
She described ruined food in the refrigerator, temperatures inside the house reaching the 80s, and the problem of bugs getting in if the door is opened for airflow.
"You look in this refrigerator, it's empty. Everything spoiled," Bailey told ABC7 Chicago. "If we let this door open, bugs coming in here."
To cool off and power electronics, Bailey said she has been driving to a gas station in South Holland to charge phones and iPads.
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She explained to the station that a shelter is not a workable option for her family because her 3-year-old son has autism, leaving them little choice beyond staying home and waiting.
The resulting saga has left her understandably exasperated. Commenters on TikTok were frustrated with the scenario.
One wrote: "The power company isn't offering food or charging hubs?...that's ridiculous"
"6 days in hot humid weather with no power is absolute misery," another added.
More background
Losing electricity during summer heat can mean losing groceries, sleep, internet access, phone service, and safe indoor temperatures all at once.
ABC7 also highlighted that the hardship is often greatest for households with the fewest alternatives, including families with young children, seniors, and people with disabilities.
Not every household can relocate to a shelter, work remotely from somewhere else, or absorb the cost of spoiled food and extra travel.
Worsening extreme weather disasters endanger lives and livelihoods by exposing people to dangerous heat, disrupting access to food and medical needs, and making homes less safe and less livable.
When outages drag on, public health risks grow, community safety erodes, and economic stability takes a hit as families spend more on gas, ice, replacement groceries, and other emergency essentials.
What's being done?
According to ABC7, NIPSCO crews were still working continuously in Gary, Hammond, and nearby areas to bring service back. The report said utility workers expected power to be largely restored.
Some local relief has started to appear as well, including a Calumet Township food voucher giveaway. Bailey recorded a video there showing long lines, the station noted.
The most immediate relief often comes from a patchwork of community aid through cooling sites, food assistance, charging locations, neighbors checking in, and battery-powered devices that can make unsafe homes a little more bearable.
Outages that last longer than expected only increase reliance on backup support systems. For Bailey, the outage was wearing her down.
"Don't nobody wanna go through this," she told ABC7. "Don't nobody wanna go through what I'm going through, and this is just too much. I can't take it."
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