Amid the summer storms that have hit Northwest Indiana, most recently on Monday, nonprofits like the Humane Indiana Wildlife and Haven House have been dealing with power outages, fallen trees and damage to structures.
When Northwest Indiana was hit by two rounds of storms Monday, the Humane Indiana Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center in Valparaiso wasn’t impacted initially, said senior director of the wildlife rehabilitation center Nicole Harmon. But the last wave of rain and wind did some damage, she said.
Humane Indiana Wildlife owns 28 acres of land, Harmon said, and about four acres of the land is built on with enclosures and office spaces. The center has about 18 enclosures used for wildlife animals that are in a pre-release state, she said.
The center had staff on the grounds throughout the storm, Harmon said, and they checked on animals – 110 animals in its outside space and 400 animals sheltered inside – and the enclosures after each wave of the storms. After each check in, staff reported no injuries to animals and no damage, she said.
“It wasn’t until that very last storm that kind of came down straight off of Lake Michigan that we received the damage,” Harmon said. “After it had passed they immediately were able to go out onto the grounds, check to make sure that everyone was okay and start assessing damage.”
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Throughout the property staff reported about 18 downed trees and damage to two enclosure spaces, Harmon said. The two damaged enclosures were the only two enclosures that didn’t have animals in them, she said, as staff released the four foxes and racoons that were previously held there.
The facilities also lost power Monday around 4:30 p.m. and it wasn’t restored until 2 a.m. Wednesday, Harmon said. As a result, some staff took animals rehabilitating in incubators to their homes to continue their care, she said.
Because the center is located in an unincorporated area, the loss of power meant that it lost water access, Harmon said.
Staff worked throughout the power outage, Harmon said, wearing headlamps to care for animals and using jugs of water to have fresh water. A community member donated a generator, which allowed the facility to keep freezers and refrigerators plugged in, she said.
“It was super inconvenient, but it could’ve been much, much worse than it was,” Harmon said. “The staff was great at keeping their spirits up through that.”
As of Thursday morning, the center’s phone and internet service still hadn’t been restored, Harmon said. Staff have been utilizing social media to communicate with the public that it has remained open in the storm aftermath, she said.
“We are still there taking in animals,” Harmon said. “These animals experience the storm as well, and their care cannot wait for us to have power again. They needed assistance immediately.”
The region’s continued violent weather is also compounding the problems that other nonprofits are dealing with from earlier storms.
Domestic violence shelter Haven House will finally meet with a general contractor next week to determine the more than 100-year-old shelter’s viability after a tree in its parkway fell into one of the bedrooms during the second round of storms in late June and all the subsequent rain, Haven House Board President Jennifer Winker said.
“Everyone is so busy right now,” Winker said. “Once we get the contractor’s assessment, we’re going to have to consider if the home is salvageable, because the rains thereafter have caused further damage, and insurance initially was only going to pay for the roof.”
The delay hasn’t stopped the shelter from doing what it does best, however, she said. Shelter staff set up families in their care in a temporary shelter and are still taking clients.
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“There was a bit of confusion about that, but we are still running and helping as many people as we can,” Winker said. “We are so thankful and so grateful for all the donations people have sent to keep us going. If the house can’t be salvaged, we have some ideas on how we’ll proceed, but we are still operating; people can go to our social media page or website and contact us through there.”
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.