The owner of a damaged home in Lansing said the destruction was so severe it looked like "something out of a war zone." Many families across the south suburbs have been displaced from their homes since the storms struck.
The weight of the damage remains visible throughout some neighborhoods, with damaged homes, fallen trees, and debris still scattered across yards.
"So, trees just mowed over everywhere. A lot of them ended up on top of people's houses," said Justin Holland, a landlord who owns two homes in the neighborhood that were damaged by the tornadoes.
Holland said other homeowners experienced even greater losses.
"These houses had no power for, I don't know, almost a week," Holland said.
SEE ALSO | Indiana Gov. Braun calls for investigation into NIPSCO as Gary power outages approach 2nd week
While some residents have had electricity restored and have remained in their homes, others are still displaced. In Hazel Crest, families from an entire apartment complex have been unable to return home since the first tornado struck the area in July.
"This has been a long road to recovery, but everybody's been kind of stepping up and helping out," said Chief Jim Shields of the Hazel Crest Fire Department.
As recovery continues, volunteers have organized efforts to support families who are still without permanent housing. Volunteers recently packed boxes of food and gathered toiletries and clothing for those affected by the storms.
"After the tornado and families had to vacate their premises, there were kids outside basically selling anything that they could find in their home just to make $1. It was heartbreaking," said Chante Kandell.
Kandell said she lost power twice for about a week at a time during the past month. Although her home narrowly avoided damage, she said many of her neighbors were not as fortunate.
"I've never in all 30+ years of my life experienced anything like that or witnessed anything like that. And if I could help, I just want to be a helping hand to be able to help as much as I possibly can," Kandell said.
Food and clothing packages are scheduled to be distributed to families in need at the Hazel Crest Police Station from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. beginning Tuesday.
Recovery efforts continue as residents work to rebuild and community members step in to help families still struggling in the aftermath of the tornadoes.