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player ready...While volunteering on Aug. 23, a group said they were kicked out of Miller Beach Terrace assisted living facility in Gary. However, the facility’s administrator said they did not receive the proper approval to be there.
Miracle Temple Church Pastor Phillip Burks said his congregation had made a Sunday soul dinner and preparations to serve their community. The church is about two blocks from Miller Beach Terrace, he said, so they planned to bring about 100 dinners and care packages for residents while they were without power.
Burks said he contacted the facility the day before and staff said they were allowed to hand out food.
“Upon our arrival, the residents were very happy and welcoming because we’d done this for them,” Burks said. “We were just giving out the food and care packages, and some of the supervisors at the home started threatening us and talking really loud and using inappropriate behavior and language.”
Burks’ group handed out about 45 meals before they were asked to leave, he said. Any remaining meals were taken back to Miracle Temple to be distributed.
Tracie Martin, a local podcaster, joined Miracle Temple Church to film their giveaway and work in the community. Burks told the Post-Tribune that he wanted Martin to film the giveaway.
Martin said she asked Burks who she could film beforehand, and he told her that she could talk with people at Miller Beach Terrace, and it had been approved.
Martin said she filmed people outside the building while they waited for food, asking for their permission first and if they wanted to be interviewed. Most declined, but she talked to about one or two people who wanted to participate.
Burks went inside the building, and Martin followed, she said.
“I wanted to demonstrate the negative effects of an extended power outage at a senior living facility,” Martin said. “I was only in there for like two seconds when people came up, and they started yelling at me and were immediately hostile. They didn’t identify themselves as workers at the facility, and I didn’t figure that out until I left.”
Once she was told to leave, Martin said she stopped recording and went to the back parking lot to talk with Burks. She said workers followed and “demanded” they leave the facility. Martin and Burks tried to explain what happened from their point of view, she said, but workers insisted they all leave.
“I said, ‘I won’t record, I won’t use the footage. I’m sorry, it wasn’t clear to me’,” Martin said, “‘Let the reverend continue his work.’ But they wouldn’t, and they threatened us with police more than once.”
Miller Beach Terrace Administrator January Szweda said she had to approve any volunteers wanting to hand out meals because of residents’ dietary restrictions. While Burks said he received approval, she said she never gave it to him.
Szweda also said they were never given permission to film inside the building. She added that the facility has multiple signs saying not to film.
“We don’t allow that without permission,” Szweda said. “When I told that woman that she had to stop filming in the building, she refused to listen. So then, we said, ‘Look, you need to leave, or I will call the police for trespassing’.”
Also, Szweda said volunteers need to coordinate what food they’re bringing before with the facility.
“Our residents, we have to watch their diets. We’re a health facility,” she said. “They just came and started handing food out to people. If somebody’s on a low-sodium diet, how would they know that? They didn’t come in and ask or talk to anybody.”
Had they handled the handout differently, Szweda said, it would have been a great experience for volunteers, facility workers and residents.
According to Indiana’s Facility Consumer Report, the facility has 168 beds available. As of Feb. 1, 2024, 129 people lived at Miller Beach Terrace, according to the report.
The facility has received complaints for cleanliness, most recently in 2025. Complaints included holes in walls, accumulation of dust and debris, loose tiles and base boards, missing mirrors, urine odors and “an accumulation of food spillage” in fridges, according to the Facility Consumer Report.
By mid-May 2025, the Indiana Department of Health and Human Services found the facility to meet cleanliness standards.
However, both Burks and Martin said they had concerns with upkeep at the facility, saying it seemed dirty and not well-maintained.
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Szweda said residents and the Miller Beach Terrace facility are well taken care of. During the power outage, they had generators, so lights could stay on at night and the refrigerator could keep items cooled.
Residents were able to charge their phones and devices as well, she said, and they received at least one hot meal each day. Several other organizations dropped food off during the power outage, Szweda said, and they called ahead of time and made plans with the dietary department.
“(The residents) really took it in stride,” Szweda said. “It was more chaotic for the employees because we were dealing with our own stuff at home, too.”