Michele Taylor sat at a table with two other women affected by the floods. The three chatted and laughed like longtime friends gathered in a living room, sharing stories on an ordinary summer day. But life had been anything but ordinary since August 11, 2026, when powerful storms continued to strike Gary, Indiana. Michele and her new shelter roommates were staying at an American Red Cross shelter inside the Hudson Campbell Sports & Fitness Center.
Two and a half months earlier, Michele and her son had moved back to the area from Cleveland, Ohio. She was staying with a friend while looking for a permanent place to live.
“First of all, I just love helping people. I like meeting new people,” Michele said with a wide smile. She thought back on her years in hospitality and added, “My favorite job was waiting tables.” At 59, Michele was recently diagnosed with epilepsy. Doctors are still working to find the right combination of medications to prevent her seizures, making it unlikely that she can return to work soon.
Before the interview had gone far, someone called Michele’s name. A prescription bag was delivered to the table, and she stood to hug the Disaster Health Services volunteer who brought it. Several years earlier, Michele had open-heart surgery. Many of the medications she depends on were lost in the storm.
Michele spoke about her family, including her children, sister and mother. With tears in her eyes, she also shared a tender story about her husband, who died 13 years ago after battling cancer. Michele has faced many challenges over the years. She took a deep breath and said, “And now this.”
Mary, the friend Michele was staying with, was preparing to leave the next day for a conference in Indianapolis. Both women were in the apartment when the lights began flashing. Within minutes, they heard “stuff hitting” around them. Then the power went out.
“We kept expecting the power to come back on,” Michele said matter-of-factly. They had enough food to ride out what they thought would be a temporary outage.
“We thought we would let a couple more days go by,” Michele remembered. She and Mary ate what they had in the apartment, even as the food in the refrigerator began to spoil. They still believed the electricity would return soon.
By the fifth day, the power was still out. A neighbor was running a generator inside the community garage attached to the building, raising concerns about carbon monoxide exposure. Michele and Mary were running out of food. Then, without warning, the roof collapsed.
“It was a flat roof. It must have been full of water,” Michele said.
Michele and Mary escaped safely. Mary had family nearby, but Michele had nowhere to go. She was transported to an emergency shelter at the local YWCA. When she learned that the shelter would need to relocate, she grew nervous. Rick, an American Red Cross volunteer, reassured everyone. Michele remembered his words: “He said that he wouldn’t leave us until we were safe.”
After nearly a week at the YWCA, Michele arrived at the sports center. American Red Cross volunteers from across the country were waiting with cots, blankets, meals, health services and mental health support.
Tears rolled down Michele’s cheeks before giving way to a smile. “I feel so blessed with beautiful people,” she said, referring to the volunteers who helped her through the crisis. Michele’s road to recovery is still unfolding, but there is no doubt she will persevere. She has done it before.
Michele with Red Cross volunteer, Kelly at shelter in Gary, Indiana.
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