For more than two weeks, Gary has been dealing with the aftermath of a catastrophic storm. Some residents have gone 14 days and counting without electricity. Churches, nonprofits, businesses, volunteers and neighbors have been cooking meals, distributing food, cutting trees, checking on residents and doing whatever they can to help.
But I’m not about looking backward — rather I’m focused on what we do next.
Weather events of this magnitude are going to happen again. We may not know when the next storm will arrive or exactly what it will bring, but we know enough now to understand that waiting until disaster strikes to determine how we will respond is not a preparedness plan.
We have to get ahead of what is coming instead of constantly trying to catch up with what has already happened.
Certainly, there is responsibility that lies with our utility provider, NIPSCO, and there should be serious conversations about infrastructure, restoration times, communication and preparedness.
But there is another question we should be willing to ask ourselves: What responsibility do we have as a community to prepare ourselves?
As a Christian, my first response is prayer. We pray consistently. We pray with one another. We pray for God’s protection and covering over our city. We pray for those who are suffering. And we pray that God gives us the wisdom to work together.
But prayer should also move us toward preparation and action.
That brings me to something I believe Gary should seriously consider: a citywide Community Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Committee.
And if we create that committee, the first question should be: Who gets a seat at the table?
We cannot build it by simply inviting the same people we always invite as preparedness is too important for that.
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We have to be willing to put personal relationships, organizational differences, politics and even old disagreements aside. The next storm will not ask which church we attend, which political candidate we supported, which neighborhood we live in or which organization we belong to.
Neither should our preparedness plan.
Yes, the mayor’s office, emergency management, NIPSCO, public safety officials and other governmental agencies need to be at that table but so do the people working from the ground up:
Involve the churches that opened their doors during this storm — and not just one denomination or one circle of churches, but congregations from across Gary.
Engage nonprofit organizations and community organizers who were delivering food and checking on residents.
Bring neighborhood leaders who know which seniors live alone and which families may not have transportation.
Talk with the people who were actually out cutting fallen trees and clearing streets.
Listen to people who own chainsaws and know how to use them safely.
Rely on people with generators and those who understand how they can be safely deployed and shared.
Huddle with organizations that have trucks, kitchens, refrigeration and food-distribution capacity.
Ask questions of healthcare professionals who understand what happens when someone cannot refrigerate insulin or other temperature-sensitive medications.
Communicate with representatives who understand the needs of seniors and people with disabilities.
Welcome communications experts who can help us reach residents when internet service, electricity or cell service is interrupted.
And invite organizations with renewable-energy resources.
At Progressive Community Church, our solar power and battery backup allowed us to maintain electricity for approximately 12 hours each day during the outage. People could come into the church, charge their phones and devices and maintain an important connection to the outside world.
Now imagine if strategically located churches, community centers and other trusted institutions throughout Gary had similar capabilities and a network of neighborhood resilience hubs where residents already know where to go before a storm ever arrives.
A resident should be able to answer critical questions if power goes out for several days: Where in my neighborhood I can charge my phone? Where I can get reliable information? Where is water available? Where can find food in an emergency? Where I can safely store critical medication? How can I find out where cooling or warming centers are located?
That is being prepared.
We should also know before the next storm who has commercial kitchens, generators, solar batteries, refrigerated trucks, chainsaws, transportation, food-storage capacity and volunteers.
We should know which organizations can serve 50 people and which can serve 500.
Our most vulnerable residents should be identified before an emergency. We not begin looking for them after the lights go out.
And we need a communication system that residents understand and trust.
Most importantly, we need to practice the plan as a disaster plan sitting in a binder somewhere is not enough.
Churches, neighborhoods, nonprofits, businesses, utilities and government should periodically engage in preparedness exercises so everyone understands their role.
There is expertise at the top, and we need it. But there is also a wealth of knowledge on the ground.
For the last 14 days, those of us working directly in the community have seen things that may never appear in an official report. We have talked with the residents. We have seen the spoiled refrigerators. We have encountered people who needed food, electricity, transportation or simply information.
That knowledge belongs at the preparedness table.
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This is not about criticizing one administration, one organization or one utility company. It is about recognizing that none of us — government, NIPSCO, churches, nonprofits, or residents — can do this alone.
But together, we can build something stronger than what we had before this storm.
When the last household in Gary finally has its electricity restored, I hope we do not simply say, “Thank God that’s over,” but instead, “What did we learn, and what are we going to build before it happens again?”
Let us pray. Let us plan. Let us prepare.
Most importantly, let us put aside the things that divide us long enough to protect the city we love and call home.
Freida Graves is the FAITH CDC Farm Administrator.