text:
LISC partners with nonprofits, business groups to grow commercial corridors | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
October 17, 2017
Donsia Strong Hill, LISC Milwaukee executive director, speaks at Coffee Makes You Black. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
A new initiative to revitalize commercial corridors in the central city with “pop-up” shops would allow fledgling entrepreneurs to benefit from short-term leases on rental properties where they can test products and strategies. Rehabilitating and activating vacant storefronts in commercial corridors also would revitalize distressed neighborhoods and increase opportunities for residents.
“The idea is to fail fast and fail forward,” said William Thomas, co-founder of Cincinnati-based Mortar, an entrepreneurship accelerator program.
Rather than committing to one- or two-year rentals, if entrepreneurs can rent space for one to three months and test their ideas, they can learn from the experience and become successful enough to move into more permanent spaces, said Thomas, who is leading Mortar’s expansion effort across the country.
The Milwaukee affiliate of LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corp.) and a group of partners comprising nonprofits and business organizations enlisted Mortar to provide training and technical assistance for the economic development investment effort. In addition to fueling entrepreneurship and revitalizing distressed commercial districts, the pilot program, called Ramp Up, aims to lay the groundwork for a larger initiative such as Detroit’s successful Motor City Match program.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
William Thomas, co-founder of Mortar, greets news conference attendees. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
The Milwaukee partnership recently announced that its initiative will be funded by a $200,000 Pro Neighborhoods grant from JPMorgan Chase.
Three Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) have been selected for the pilot program, which is expected to include 12 to 15 retail businesses. Marketplace BID 32 along Fond du Lac and North avenues, in the Lindsay Heights neighborhood; Historic King Drive BID 8; and BID 38 on Cesar Chavez Drive were selected. “They have fairly strong BIDs and they have some business activity already” but also the promise of more businesses, according to Wendy Baumann, president of Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp (WWBIC).
“The goal is to go into the neighborhoods to extract the entrepreneurs who are already working there, who need some support,” explained Ossie Kendrix, president of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin (AACCW). He said that the partners want to “wrap our arms around those neighbors” and help them solidify their business efforts, move into storefronts and begin to revive their neighborhoods.
Kendix added, “It’s about rebuilding neighborhoods, uplifting entrepreneurs and engaging city residents.”
Sharon Adams, representing Marketplace BID 32, said she is excited about the opportunity and added that the BID will be encouraging people to come to Lindsay Heights to support the new business owners. “We have people who are ready to take the next step to try out their business concept and this provides that venue. I think it’s just so critical.”
Danielle Nabak, representing BID 38, said that the South Side corridor is different from those on the North Side because it doesn’t have much vacant retail space. But she is enthusiastic about the opportunity for the Cesar Chavez BID’s largely new board to bounce ideas off the more-established BIDs on the North Side, she said. “I’m also excited to have new partnerships between organizations like Mortar and new and existing businesses.”
LISC and the City of Milwaukee will seek out spaces and work with rehabbers to prepare retail spaces for the entrepreneurs, said Donsia Strong Hill, LISC Milwaukee’s executive director.
Strong Hill said that partners WWBIC, AACCW and the Milwaukee Urban League will help identify entrepreneurs and “create the pipeline” of businesses, while Mortar will provide culturally contextualized business training so that nearby residents will be able to participate. “We hope to spur economic development and interest in owning a business,” she said.
What is different about this initiative, said Urban League President Eve Hall, is that it’s not only about training. It focuses on “placing people in pop-up shops where they can start making some money.”
Susan Hatch, LISC Milwaukee board chair, noted that while emotional and technical support and funding are necessary, “Most importantly, we need to go and spend money in these pop-ups … because that is going to be the only measure of whether they are successful.”


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 16, 2017

source: news-milwaukeenns

created: October 16, 2017

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Adam Carr


text:
Local doctor publishes results of community-based weight loss intervention for African American breast cancer survivors in the Journal of Clinical Oncology | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Medical College of Wisconsin
October 17, 2017
Melinda Stolley, PhD, associate director of Cancer Prevention and Control at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) Cancer Center completed a study, Moving Forward, with 250 African American breast cancer survivors, successfully implementing an intervention to help these women make and maintain positive changes in weight, eating habits, physical activity and social support networks.  The results of this work were recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO), a high-impact cancer journal.
Dr. Stolley, who came to MCW in 2015, has used the experience and findings from this project to inform new interventions to address breast cancer disparities in the greater Milwaukee area, including a similar program for Milwaukee’s African American and Hispanic and Latina breast cancer survivors.
“In places like Milwaukee, Chicago and around the country, African American women who’ve had breast cancer have higher rates of death from cancer and other causes,” said Dr. Stolley.  “We wanted to show that a deliberately designed program of social support, access to exercise programs and help to change eating habits that encouraged weight loss would have a positive impact.  Now that we’ve seen these results, we’re bringing the project to Milwaukee, a city with some of the most significant breast cancer disparities in the country.”
The breast cancer survivors who participated in Moving Forward were randomized into two groups, one which received the full intervention that included group meetings that offered social support, direct instruction on diet and supervised exercise classes, free access to the City of Chicago Park District clubs, and motivational text messages from the program staff.  The second group received a self-guided binder with similar information about exercise and diet.  The intervention activities and materials were designed based on the results of focus groups with African American breast cancer survivors.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
The results of the Moving Forward program are significant and include weight loss, healthy changes to overall body composition and positive behavioral changes.  While both groups achieved and maintained positive changes, the guided group lost more weight and had greater body composition and behavioral changes.
“We knew that weight loss interventions for breast cancer survivors do work, but few of these programs were designed for or targeted African Americans,” said Stolley.  “By deliberately including assets and addressing barriers specific to this community, we created a program that truly resonated with these women, who were then able to make positive changes for themselves, their families and their community.”
Moving Forward was funded through an R01 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The results indicate that a roll-out of Moving Forwardwould be effective in Milwaukee and Dr. Stolley and her team are expanding Moving Forward to Milwaukee’s African American, Hispanic and Latino communities and have applied for NCI funding to support these current efforts.  Additionally, this team recently received funding to examine a healthy eating and exercise program, “Every Day Counts” for women in southeastern Wisconsin with metastatic breast cancer.

created: October 17, 2017

author: Medical College of Wisconsin


text:
On the Block: Getting by day to day | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Lydia Slattery
October 17, 2017
Sheila Cochran is a community activist and a member of United Auto Workers. She was also the treasurer and Chief Operating Officer at the Milwaukee Area Labor Council AFL-CIO. She serves as one of four campaign co-chairs for United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County, a nonprofit that raises money for community-based solutions to persistent problems.
Cochran is passionate long-term about financial security for Milwaukee residents who are ALICE workers. ALICE is an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!

author: Lydia Slattery


text:
37736678131_d2323fabfc_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 16, 2017


text:
South Side residents, businesses step up to help victims in Puerto Rico, Mexico | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
October 18, 2017
Victor Huyke, publisher of El Conquistador Latino Newspaper, takes inventory on a 5-foot stack of boxes containing handsoap bottles. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Sitting at a table in the lobby of the headquarters of El Conquistador Latino Newspaper, Victor Huyke recounts stories of pain, suffering and need that continue to flow in from Central Mexico, rocked last month by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake, and Puerto Rico, hit first by Hurricane Irma and then obliterated by Hurricane Maria.
“We’re hearing there’s a lot more people dead than what’s being reported (in Puerto Rico). There are stories about people burying family members to avoid disease while they wait for coroners to move from village to village,” said Huyke, who founded the paper in 2000.
And while the situation in Puerto Rico and Mexico remains bleak, a large contingent of Milwaukeeans, including residents and business owners, are lending aid. Donations have flowed in from across the city through taco sales, benefit music concerts, fundraising and supply drives, and other efforts that have taken place over the past few weeks.
One of the largest grassroots efforts in the city is being led by El Conquistador, with the support of organizations including El Rey, Landmark Credit Union, Association de Mujeres Immigrantes de Guanajuato en Accion (AMIGA) and League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Wisconsin. Elected officials, including Ald. Jose Perez, businesses and community members also are pitching in.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
The effort already has led to two truckloads of goods being shipped to Puerto Rico earlier this month and will continue this weekend during the Latino Family Expo. The “United Latino Fundraiser for Mexico and Puerto Rico Disaster Relief Drive” will be held during the seventh annual expo at St. Anthony High School, 4803 S. 2nd St. The location will serve as the final staging and sorting area for hundreds of donations that have been collected since the last boatload left for Puerto Rico.
Tammy Vest, administrative assistant at El Conquistador Latino Newspaper, sorts through boxes of donations packed in the basement of the paper’s headquarters, 4531 W. Forest Home Ave. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
And while the expo will once again feature a health, job and resource fair, as well as a costume contest, fashion show, habanero eating contest and live entertainment, this year participants will have the added opportunity of volunteering to help those in need, said Huyke.
“This year we really wanted to emphasize how a collective of community, businesses and others could come together and do something positive,” Huyke added.
Volunteers will spend the day sorting and boxing supplies that have already come in, as well as those that will be dropped off at the expo. So many donations are already filling the basement, lobby and even a separate storage facility that the El Conquistador could be mistaken for a food pantry.
The donations from this drive, as well as the others that have been held across the city, are a testament to the willingness of Latino community members to help others, said Dionisia Gonzalez, leader of AMIGA.
“We may not have the most, but we are always willing to give what we can,” said Gonzalez, who has been working with the Mexican Consulate in Milwaukee to help organize donations to Mexico.
According to Gonzalez, many of those affected by the earthquake in Mexico cannot rely on local governments to provide assistance during and after catastrophes. As a result, the need for donations such as non-perishable food, cleaning supplies and other items is especially great. Gonzalez added that a plane full of goods should be ready to send to Mexico by late October.
Huyke and other volunteers are working with a church in Puerto Rico to arrange the next delivery directly to smaller villages that, due to damaged roads and other problems with the infrastructure, have not been able to obtain needed aid.
“The intent is to reach these towns that have not gotten anything,” Huyke said.
Though hosting a large event such as the Latino Family Expo while also running a fundraiser has been a huge challenge, it’s good for the Latino community in Milwaukee and beyond, said Huyke, who’s Puerto Rican. He said it couldn’t have been done without the support of the wider community, including those who will provide resources at the expo.
Among them is Don Cohen, vice-president of Community Development and Lending at Landmark Credit Union. In addition to providing personal tellers, bankers and mortgage loan officers at the expo, Landmark also is helping to secure donations.
“The catastrophes are really helping people come together and say ‘what can I do to help Mexico and Puerto Rico?’” Cohen said.
The South Side is heeding the call loud and clear, said Huyke. And while his headquarters may already be cramped with donations, he hopes people bring even more.
“We need gently used clothes, batteries, flashlights, transistor radios, personal hygiene supplies. People need water … I mean, they’re really suffering and it’s going to take a while to rebuild,” Huyke said.

created: October 18, 2017

author: Edgar Mendez


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 17, 2017


text:
Bader Philanthropies Provides Alma Center $100,000 in program support to break the cycle of domestic violence in Milwaukee | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Bader Philanthropies, Inc
October 19, 2017
Bader Philanthropies, Inc., one of southeastern Wisconsin’s top five foundations, announced its board of directors approved a $100,000 grant to The Alma Center, Inc., a research-based agency that provides trauma-informed healing, education, social services and a positive peer community to support abusive men’s peaceful and lasting transformation. The grant will ensure continued funding for the position of Director of Administration within the organization, a position previously supported by Bader Philanthropies’ charitable efforts. In addition to the grant to The Alma Center, the board allocated more than $13 million in grants in support of various projects in Wisconsin, the United States, and internationally in programs such as Alzheimer’s and Aging, Community Partnerships for Youth, Arts, Milwaukee Education, Social Equality and Workforce Development.
Unlike most domestic violence-related programs, The Alma Center focuses primarily on the men committing the violence. The Alma Center’s pioneering approach of Healing-Focused-Care (HFC), uses multi-disciplinary research from neuroscience, psychology, sociology, and ancient indigenous wisdom and methodologies. They support men in transforming their dysfunctional, abusive or violent behavior by healing their own trauma. This HFC approach has been successful with an almost 90 percent reduction in the recidivism rate for men who complete the center’s “Men Ending Violence” program. To date, the Alma Center has helped more than 5,000 men in Milwaukee.
The men they work with are the boys who have grown up experiencing and witnessing serious adversity, such as emotional, physical and sexual abuse, substance addicted parents, absent fathers and community violence. More than half of them have not lived with or had a relationship with their father, yet nearly 90 percent of the men who come to the center are fathers.
“Traditionally, programs that work with men who have a history of violence or abuse take a very punitive approach, focused on consequences and punishment,” said Terri Strodthoff, PhD, founder and executive director of The Alma Center. “Research on the impact of childhood trauma has taught us that children who grow up in environments with such extreme toxic stress learn to adapt their behavior to survive the adversity. Later difficulties in interpersonal relationships often have their roots in earlier trauma, and for men and boys the dysfunction is typically expressed through control, rage and violence. Research further tells us that regardless of how trauma debility expresses, even if it’s through violence, resolving the debility requires a process of emotional, psychological and physical healing. Our programs incorporate this research.”
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
The Alma Center has a history of being recognized nationally and locally for its pioneering HFC approach. Going back as far as 2012, The Alma Center was selected by Futures Without Violence (a leading national domestic violence prevention agency) as one of the top ten most promising and innovative battering intervention programs in the country. More recently in 2016, The Alma Center was selected as a national advisor to the Violence Against Women Office for developing guidelines to promote enhancement and innovation in battering intervention programs.
In 2015, Bader Philanthropies’ funding directly supported the creation of a new administrative position to enhance the agency’s capacity to continue to grow the intensity and the breadth of services, and build productive community partnerships.
The Alma Center is expanding its work to reach more men and families with a history of adversity who are involved in the criminal justice system. In order to effectively serve this population, The Alma Center anticipates hiring more direct service team members, potentially more than doubling the current size of The Alma Center.
“Our pending growth underscores the need for us to have sufficient administrative capacity so we may effectively recruit, onboard, train and manage staff, as well as operate our programs with fidelity to our core principles,” said Strodthoff. “This grant will help us step into our future and meet our next strategic goals for the community, as well as to support us in expanding national leadership toward more effective transformative work with men who have a history of violence.”
“Bader Philanthropies supports organizations in many ways,” said Daniel J. Bader, president and CEO of Bader Philanthropies. “Often, an organization like The Alma Center can vividly see how they want to transform lives, and is deliberate in building the critical infrastructure to expand its programs and services. This funding highlights innovation and supports thousands of men as they take the leap of faith to be the backbone of our city.”

created: October 19, 2017

author: Bader Philanthropies, Inc


text:
City’s complex housing issues discussed at On the Table dinner | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Elizabeth Baker
October 19, 2017
Una Van Duvall, Yvette Mason, State Rep. David Crowley and Jonnie Guernsey share dinner and conversation at the Calvary Presbyterian Church On the Table event. (Photo by Elizabeth Baker)
A nurse, a state representative, a retired public school teacher and two nonprofit case managers sit down for dinner. The issue on the table? Housing in Milwaukee.
Conversations like this — among people from diverse backgrounds, organizations and ways of thinking — rarely occur. On Tuesday, however, groups all over the city and the region came together to talk about ways to improve the community as part of On the Table, an initiative of Greater Milwaukee Foundation (GMF).
At Calvary Presbyterian Church, 935 W. Wisconsin Ave., the topic for the night was housing, place making and home. About 25 people attended.
Yvette Mason, a case manager at SET Ministry who works to provide housing for the chronically homeless — those who have been displaced for at least 12 months — came to learn what others think about the programs and organizations addressing housing in Milwaukee.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Also at her table was State Rep. David Crowley, who shared the story of how he moved every single year between his freshman year of high school and age 25. In fact, Crowley said he plans to introduce an eviction and discrimination prevention legislative package this week.
People fill their plates in preparation for their mealtime conversation. (Photo by Elizabeth Baker)
The legislation will propose “fair, equitable solutions to help families afford rent, receive help before facing evictions, fight housing discrimination, and abate rents in response to neglected maintenance issues and landlord malfeasance,” according to a news release Crowley issued on Wednesday.
However, he told his dinner companions that lasting solutions will come from spreading awareness of the problem.
“You can always put policies in place, but they still have to be practiced,” he noted, citing discrimination as an example. “We have to change the culture. We use policy to push the message out there, but that doesn’t necessarily create good actors.”
Una Van Duvall, a manager at the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee, said housing represents a connection among all the issues Milwaukee needs to address — economics, education, race, gender and more.
All the dinner conversations at the church reflected the complexity of the problem, as people shared their experiences, opinions and ideas on successes and failures in cities similar to Milwaukee, poverty, education, family life, gentrification and healthcare.
Jonnie Guernsey of Calvary Presbyterian helped choose this particular topic after an experience she had trying to help a young man who was on the streets find a place to stay. She said it was terribly difficult, and the man grew very agitated with the process.
The church often partners with nonprofit groups in the city to serve homeless people.
Vice President of Civic Engagement at GMF Marcus White said Calvary Presbyterian’s long history of social engagement and location in the heart of downtown made the church a great host for this conversation. “It’s really encouraging to see that they’re taking on a very specific, difficult topic.”
On the Table conversations took place all over the city and throughout Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties Tuesday. White said more than 5,000 people participated in more than 200 locations. Any organization, group or individual could volunteer to host one or many tables and discuss the topic of their choice, as long as the general focus centered on improving the community.
This open-endedness and flexibility was GMF’s strategy in planning its first ever On the Table, White said. “We just wanted to put an idea out there and encourage people to use On the Table as a vehicle for their own conversation.” White added that GMF was pleasantly surprised at how many groups crafted topics that align with both the theme of the region-wide initiative and their own organizational missions.
After collecting input from On the Table participants, GMF will write and make public in the coming weeks a report on what issues were identified as the most prevalent and important, White said.

author: Elizabeth Baker


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 18, 2017


text:
New Deadline: MANDI Awards accepting nominations through Oct 25th | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
LISC Milwaukee
October 19, 2017
The Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innovation (known as the MANDIs) recognize individuals, organizations and projects that enrich Milwaukee neighborhoods.  Nominations for 19th annual MANDIs will be accepted through October 25, 2017, at www.mandiawards.org.
Organized by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and sponsored by US Bank, the awards pay tribute to the people and organizations working tirelessly to make Milwaukee a great place to live, learn, work and grow. Individuals, organizations and projects in the city of Milwaukee are eligible to apply.
Nominations will be accepted in a variety of categories to recognize individuals, projects and organizations.
Categories include:
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
All of the finalists will be eligible for the Wells Fargo People’s Choice Award. The Wells Fargo People’s Choice Award is an interactive category that allows the public to vote online for their favorite finalists.
MANDI is hosted by LISC Milwaukee (Local Initiative Support Corporation). Winners are selected by an independent committee, and  announced at a gala on Thursday, March 15, 2018. MANDI winners receive public recognition and $1,000.
Visit www.lisc.org/milwaukee for detailed category descriptions and complete nomination instructions.  Entries must be submitted by October 25th, 2017.

author: LISC Milwaukee


text:
An evening with Raoul Peck: Conversations on identity, history, race and Baldwin | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
October 20, 2017
October 26, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm, UWM Wisconsin Room
The Distinguished Lecture Series (DLS) welcomes Raoul Peck, award winning film director and writer, for a thought provoking and insightful discussion of his latest film, I Am Not Your Negro. Peck will discuss the film, James Baldwin, and connect the Civil Rights Movement to the issues of segregation, education, and mass incarceration that we face today.
“For sure, we will have strong winds against us. The present time of discord and confusion is an unavoidable element. I am not naive to think that the road ahead will be easy or that the attacks will not be at time vicious. My commitment to make sure that this film will not be buried or sidelined is uncompromising. We are in it for the long run. Whatever time and effort it takes.” – Raoul Peck
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Tickets are free for UWM students and can be obtained at the Union Information Desk. Other prices are:
In Advance:
$5 Non-UWM Students
$8 Campus Community
$10 General Public
Students, faculty, and staff can purchase advanced tickets at the Student Union Information Desk. Members of the general public may purchase tickets at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/uwm-dls-presents-an-evening-with-raoul-peck-tickets-38363430052
At the Door:
$8 Non-UWM Students
$10 Campus Community
$12 General Publc

created: October 20, 2017

author: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 20, 2017


text:
Community leaders welcome automated traffic enforcement proposal | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Elliot Hughes
October 20, 2017
State Rep. David Crowley appears in front of 11 Milwaukee Common Council members as he introduces new legislation aimed at curbing reckless driving. (Photo by Elliot Hughes)
Community leaders welcome the idea of installing automated technology throughout the city to help ticket reckless drivers, after a state lawmaker introduced legislation Tuesday to temporarily allow the practice.
State Rep. David Crowley announced his new measure, the Safe Roads Save Lives Act, at City Hall with 11 members of the Common Council appearing alongside him.
Police departments in Wisconsin are prohibited from using automated technology, such as cameras, to enforce traffic signals and speed limits. Crowley’s measure would allow the technology during a five-year pilot program in Milwaukee, where reckless driving has become a near-constant source of complaints from residents and city officials alike.
“It’s about time and it’s well needed,” said Steve O’Connell, a member of the Sherman Park Neighborhood Association who has organized several demonstrations against reckless drivers.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
O’Connell said he and other residents have pushed for automated technology for years but couldn’t build enough momentum to have someone challenge state law.
A group of about 40 community members bow their heads in prayer before beginning a news conference on Oct. 11 in the wake of the death of a 16-year-old boy from a reckless driving incident. (Photo by Elliot Hughes)
Crowley referenced a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that says communities with red light cameras had 21 percent fewer red light-running accidents and 14 percent fewer crashes of all kinds at signalized intersections. He said he is circulating the measure among other lawmakers for co-sponsorship.
But O’Connell and others still have some hesitation about the proposal.
When it comes to speeders, Crowley’s measure would only ticket those traveling at least 20 miles above the speed limit. O’Connell said that gives drivers “quite a bit of leeway.”
He gave Capitol Drive as an example. With a speed limit of 35 miles per hour, cars could drive up to 55 without worrying about the cameras.
“I would suggest 15, not 20,” O’Connell said.
Ian Bautista, executive director of the Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative, also supports the legislation. He said his organization’s outreach efforts have shown that traffic safety is a top-three issue among Clarke Square residents. But he said he would be wary about how the technology is distributed throughout the city.
“I just want to make sure it’s evenly applied so that it’s not targeting certain communities over others,” Bautista said.
As of Oct. 2, there have been 47 traffic deaths in Milwaukee, compared to 57 traffic deaths in all of 2016 and 64 in 2015, according to the Milwaukee Police Department.
Crowley’s proposal also has the support of MPD, which on Monday announced plans to beef up traffic enforcement for the remainder of 2017 by concentrating more resources on 50 locations where high rates of crime and crashes occur. MPD Lt. Derrick Harris said at the news conference that the department supports legislation that would reduce reckless driving.
“It’s important that we give our police department the tools that they need to combat this growing epidemic of reckless driving,” added Crowley.
Two other community leaders, activist Andre Lee Ellis and Running Rebels Executive Director Victor Barnett, both said they support the proposed legislation, but emphasized the importance of educating the public and convincing community members to hold each other accountable.
“I see it as one of the many efforts that need to occur,” Barnett said.
Ellis organized a gathering at the corner of 12thStreet and Concordia Avenue last week in response to the death of Joseph N. Blunt, 16, who was thrown from the hood of a moving vehicle at the intersection a day earlier, to ask the public to drive with care and hold each other accountable.
He said the technology would “keep the subject at the forefront of conversation, get the message out there that we have to stop and live.”

author: Elliot Hughes


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 19, 2017


text:
Near West Side participates in “teal out” to help raise awareness of domestic violence | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Near West Side Partners, Inc
October 20, 2017
Near West Side Partners, Inc., in collaboration with Neighborhood House, the Marquette University Creating a Safe Campus Environment program and Aurora Health Care Better Together Fund, will conduct a range of awareness efforts regarding domestic violence for Domestic Violence Awareness month. The campaign will begin with a sexual violence prevention workshop on Monday, October 23, 2017 at 5:30 p.m. in Marquette University’s Todd Wehr Chemistry Building, 1355. Wisconsin Ave.
Throughout the Near West Side, an ongoing Teal Out campaign aims to raise awareness about domestic violence and sexual assault throughout October, which is nationally recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness month. The Teal Out – displaying posters of teal ribbons in the windows of residences, businesses, public buildings, schools/universities, hospitals, churches, etc. – is meant to be a public display of the community’s commitment to ending domestic violence and sexual assault.
This campaign also contributes to a critical goal shared by the Aurora Health Care Better Together Fund and the Near West Side Partners by making the Near West Side an even better place to live, work and play. Events taking place include:
Domestic violence awareness efforts in the Near West Side are made possible through coordination with Near West Side Partners’ Promoting Assets and Reducing Crime (PARC) initiative, Neighborhood House and the Marquette University Creating a Safe Campus Environment program through the support of Aurora Health Care’s Better Together Fund.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!

author: Near West Side Partners, Inc


text:
Hmong community members praise TV show highlighting ‘invisible community’ | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Leah Harris
October 23, 2017
Khoua Thao films b-roll for Nyob Zoo Milwaukee TV. (Photo by Leah Harris)
Kue Yang and Dao Lee run the bubble tea stand at the Asian Public Market Phongsavan on the Northwest Side. Although they haven’t seen the Hmong-produced Nyob Zoo Milwaukee TV show live, they’ve watched it on Facebook and YouTube.
Lee said that she sees the show as a way for Hmong voices to finally be heard. “We (Hmong people) can be old fashioned,” she said. “We keep our opinions to ourselves because that (mindset) was passed down from the older generation.”
Nyob Zoo Milwaukee TV is the first over-the-air Hmong news show in Milwaukee and the only such show in Wisconsin. Nyob Zoo means “hello” in Hmong.
The weekly show, which is predominantly in Hmong, premiered in September and airs Friday nights at 11:30 p.m., with an encore on Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. on Channel 38.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Kandi Vang preps audio equipment for an interview. (Photo by Leah Harris)
Civic Xiong, a realtor with Homestead Realty in Milwaukee, said that while his work keeps him busy, he tries his best to catch the show on TV. “It shows that we’re progressing,” he said. “It’s good for those who aren’t involved with everything all the time.”
Nyob Zoo producers Dawn Yang and her husband Thay Yang dreamed of producing their own television show for about 20 years. “It felt great when it finally aired because it was history making,” said Yang, general manager of the show.
Thay Yang has worked in the news and media industry for 20 years. It took two years of planning, brainstorming and paperwork to get the program on the air.
“We wanted to show success stories. We wanted a venue to support all the positive things in the community,” Dawn Yang said. “We want to engage all of our viewers and inspire action in the community,” she added.
Hmong Americans represent the largest Asian ethnic group in Wisconsin. Most fled Laos as refuges seeking new homes because of the Vietnam War in the 1970s. Forty years later, Dawn Yang said it was time to tell the stories of the Hmong community.
“Every community has the good and the bad, but we want to emphasize the good,” said Kandi Vang, a crew member on the show.
Vang, who wants to be a director, studies eProduction at Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC), where she learns about video production for film and TV. Vang does video, audio and post-production editing on the show. She usually works as part of a three-person production team with a reporter to cover important events in the Hmong community.
“I always wanted to be a part of it (TV). Not in front of the camera, but behind the camera to see the real magic,” Vang explained.
Nyob Zoo Milwaukee TV producers want the show to reach a larger audience. Soon, they plan to add subtitles so non-Hmong speakers also can have access to the show.
Dawn Yang also said that the producers hope to share content with Hmong TV shows in Minnesota and California, which have large Hmong populations and established Hmong TV news shows.
AC Xiong, job placement coordinator at Hmong American Friendship Association, said that the show promotes cohesion in the Hmong community. “I think there’s a big challenge because it’s Hmong Milwaukee. It’s very specific.” Nevertheless Xiong thinks the show will be successful.
Nyob Zoo Milwaukee is particularly important to the older generation of Hmong people, Xiong has noticed. “The older generations don’t have access to technology. The show is how they can stay updated,” she added.
Xong Yang didn’t know the show existed until asked about it by a reporter. He works at the Asian Public Market Phongsavan, which is owned by his mother, Pai Yang. Now that he knows, he said, “I’ll definitely check it out because it’s the first one so it’s a big and important move for the community.”
May yer Thao, Hmong Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce executive director, noted that the Hmong community is underrepresented in the media.
“We’re an invisible community,” she said. “But we’re vibrant and the show has a huge platform to highlight all the wonderful things in the Milwaukee area.”

created: October 23, 2017

author: Leah Harris


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 22, 2017

created: October 22, 2017


text:
Next Door joins On the Table conversation | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Next Door
October 23, 2017
(Photo courtesy of Next Door)
From family dining rooms to the Pfister Hotel, more than 5,000 people across the Milwaukee area engaged in a recent dialogue in hopes of building new relationships and ideas to strengthen our community.
Next Door – a leading provider of early childhood education in Milwaukee’s central city – joined in the discussion on Oct. 17 as part of the On the Table program from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. The goal was to bring people together from various backgrounds around a table, and talk about the challenges facing our community and the individual and collective ways we can take to create change.
Next Door served as a “Super Host” for On the Table and held two diverse gatherings – a breakfast at our 29th Street campus and a lunch at our Capitol Drive campus. Nearly 100 guests attended, including Milwaukee Alderman Russell Stamper and Alderman Cavalier Johnson. We also welcomed early childhood education experts from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Marquette University, plus Next Door donors, volunteers, staff members and parents.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Guests sat at tables of eight and introduced themselves by sharing their favorite childhood book. They then discussed the following questions:
Each gathering wrapped up with guests writing a self-addressed note with an action goal to take over the next month. Next Door will mail the notes to participants in a month so they are reminded of their personal commitment. The agency has future plans to invite others to similar conversations at Next Door later this year.
It is Next Door’s hope that On the Table ignites a community movement driving compassion, understanding and activism long into the future.
About Next Door:
Next Door supports the intellectual, physical and emotional development of children by partnering with their families for success in school and the community. We serve more than 2,000 children, from birth to five years old, with three locations and 12 partnership sites in Milwaukee’s central city. Through home- and center-based programs, Next Door strives to create a long-term foundation for success by closing the achievement gap for children living in poverty. Our highly qualified team provides critical educational support during a child’s most important developmental years with a focus on academic achievement, building social-emotional skills, and helping children become better prepared for school. To learn more, visit www.nextdoormke.org.

author: Next Door


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Name *
October 20, 2017

author: Name *


text:
Northwest Side Community Development Corporation awarded OCS Grant to finance Diamond Precision Products expansion | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Northwest Side CDC
October 23, 2017
The Northwest Side Community Development Corporation (NWSCDC), a certified Community Development Financial Institution dedicated to attracting companies and growing new jobs on the northwest side of Milwaukee, was awarded a grant to support their business-lending fund in providing a loan to Diamond Precision, a manufacturer of precision-machined components. The funds were granted to the NWSCDC by the Community Economic Development program of the Office of Community Services, Administration for Children and Families, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“Northwest Side CDC has built a reputation for collaborating with manufacturers on economic and workforce development projects and helping to bring manufacturing jobs back to our neighborhood,” said Howard Snyder, Executive Director of the Northwest Side CDC. “We are excited to work with Diamond Precision and look forward to helping them recruit workers from the communities we serve.”
Diamond Precision plans to use the loan to expand its facility on the Northwest side of Milwaukee at 11000 W. Heather Avenue by purchasing machining equipment which will allow them to hire additional production employees to fill new contracts. Diamond plans to add up to 40 new jobs in the coming years, bringing its total Milwaukee employment to about 80 jobs as a result of its expansion. Diamond Precision machines parts for a variety of industries, such as rail and trucking, with state-of- the-art equipment. Their precision processes insure that Diamond’s customers receive quality parts with a quality performance.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
NWSCDC played an integral role in the financial package when Diamond Precision initially opened their Milwaukee location in 2012. With Diamond Precision’s strong performance and growing contracts, the current expansion will provide additional equipment and new jobs in the coming years with these news. Milwaukee Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) is also a lead financing partner in the deal, jointly funding the shared loan with NWSCDC.
“The support of MEDC allows us to leverage our resources to achieve a larger impact.” said Andrew Haug, Resource Development Manager at NWSCDC. “We are thankful for our strong relationship with MEDC and their commitment to the northwest side of Milwaukee.”

author: Northwest Side CDC


text:
Advocates continue push for stronger lead-water recommendations | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jabril Faraj
October 24, 2017
In April, Robert Miranda addresses the city’s Water Quality Task Force, including (from left) Ben Gramling, Bevan Baker and Ald. James Bohl. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
Editor’s note: This is one of an occasional series of stories highlighting the health risk — particularly to children — of lead services lines, which deliver water from city water mains to about 70,000 homes in Milwaukee.
A resolution that would seek to change recommendations by the Milwaukee Health Department regarding who is defined as at risk for lead exposure, and how those groups should approach water consumption, has been struck from the agenda of Thursday’s Public Safety and Health Committee meeting.
The debate over whether the guidance in the proposed legislation, which Ald. Tony Zielinski first introduced in May, is scientifically defensible has played out for several months. Action on the proposal has been delayed on at least three occasions without debate and was tabled at an Oct. 5 Public Safety and Health Committee meeting after an alternate resolution was introduced.
According to Hunger Task Force Executive Director Sherrie Tussler, who has advocated for Zielinski’s resolution, committee chair Ald. Robert Donovan chose to delay consideration of the resolution at the last minute because Health Commissioner Bevan Baker will be out of town. Tussler said she learned of the change from Zielinski Monday morning.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Health Department Spokesperson Sarah DeRoo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tussler said advocates are disappointed by the delay because Zielinski and Bohl have agreed on yet a third version of the resolution.
“I think what’s really going on behind all of that is that, the longer they (the Health Department) delay, the less likely it is to pass because they’ll keep trying to convince the aldermen on the committee not to vote for it,” Tussler said.
More than 70,000 lead water service lines provide water to residents of Milwaukee homes built before 1951. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
She added, “We can just keep going and going until we finally get something through.”
The Health Department currently recommends “any households with residents or visitors that include pregnant or breastfeeding women, or children under the age of 6” only use bottled, filtered or “well-flushed” water.
Zielinski’s original resolution would have directed the Health Department to include women of childbearing age (15-45) as an at-risk group, and to recommend that they not drink any unfiltered water.
The Health Department opposed Zielinski’s original resolution. Department officials said that it doesn’t make sense to tell people who live in homes without a lead pipe to drink only filtered water. Doing so would erode trust in the Health Department and would unnecessarily drain resources that allow it to provide filters to at-risk families unable to purchase them. Local physicians and healthcare experts have come out in support of this position.
Tussler said Zielinski and Bohl have agreed on a “hybrid” resolution similar to a draft resolution Bohl created after the Oct. 5 meeting. That version would direct the Health Department to inform the public that lead-removing filters are “the most thorough means of lead-water safety” and that children should be tested for lead until age 6. It would also add women of childbearing age (15-45) to the populations most at-risk for lead exposure.
Advocates such as the Freshwater for Life Action Coalition (FLAC) say the Health Department’s current recommendations are “insufficient,” citing research by Marc Edwards, a foremost expert in the water safety field, that shows flushing short of three minutes can actually increase lead in water. The “hybrid” resolution also contends that at-risk groups “may not have access to accurate information about the presence of City- or privately-owned lead service lines.”
Additionally, a supporting letter from the nonpartisan Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group (WISPIRG) notes that service lines are not the only source of lead contamination in water. Fixtures, solder and other parts of internal piping may also contain lead.
At the Oct. 5 meeting, Patricia McManus, president of the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin and a former Water Quality Task Force member, stressed the importance of including women of childbearing age as an at-risk group. She said there’s still a lot of confusion about the dangers of lead in water and women sometimes don’t know they’re pregnant for four to six weeks. She added that just because something hasn’t been done elsewhere doesn’t mean it isn’t scientifically sound.
“Maybe we should get ahead of the science,” McManus said.
Ultimately, Edwards said, the correct course of action hinges on how reliable Milwaukee’s records are on which houses have lead services lines. “It’s accepted that at-risk groups … in places where water is served with a lead service line should not be drinking the water unfiltered. The next question is: how do we know where those places are?”
FLAC spokesperson Robert Miranda said the city mandated the use of lead for service lines until 1951. In 1952 it changed guidance to allow other metals, such as copper, to be used, but did not ban lead until 1962. According to Miranda, the city “didn’t keep accurate records of how many people were still using lead pipes” during that period. He estimates there may be as many as 12,000 homes with a lead pipe not listed on the city’s records. That could put the total number of homes with a lead service line over 80,000. A study, to be conducted by the Health Department, the Department of Neighborhood Services and Milwaukee Water Works, is underway to determine the veracity of the city’s records.
During an Oct. 16 Finance and Personnel Committee meeting, Water Works Commissioner Jennifer Gonda said, “We know what the material is — if it’s lead, or copper, or galvanized steel — in every single case for the public side (of the service line). We don’t necessarily know, in every single case, for the private side. And, there’s a span of years where it’s unclear.”
The utility is directing meter technicians and plumbing inspectors to visually check service lines. She said Water Works is preparing a mailing “to ask people to self-identify” their pipes and will reevaluate after these initial steps have been taken. However, Gonda noted that, so far, about 2,000 lead pipes have been identified, on the public side, in houses built after 1952.
Edwards said some cities kept good records but also outlined situations in Flint, Michigan, and Washington, D.C., where he said “the records were so bad we finally learned you had to almost assume everyone had a lead pipe in those cities, until proven otherwise.” Which side of the debate people tend to come down on, according to Edwards, depends on “whether you want to have an abundance of caution [and] how skeptical you are about the records.” He said financial resources are also a factor.
In a July interview, Milwaukee Health Department Emeritus Medical Director Geoffrey Swain said the worst case scenario is that the department may find a few neighborhoods that were built while lead service lines were being phased out where “the records aren’t as accurate as we thought.”
“If it turns out that we’ve got some inaccuracies there, that will alter our messaging and our approach for those areas,” said Swain, adding that the Health Department will not shy away from the results.
“It’s a crucial question that must be answered.”
Elliot Hughes contributed to this story.

created: October 24, 2017

author: Jabril Faraj


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 23, 2017


text:
Alderman Johnson thanks Senator Kohl for generous library gift of $2 million | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ald. Cavalier Johnson
October 24, 2017
On behalf of myself and the residents of the City of Milwaukee, I’d like to publicly thank former Senator Herb Kohl for his incredibly generous gift of $2 million to our Public Library Foundation. This gift, which was announced as a surprise at the foundation dinner, blew us all away. We are so grateful for his philanthropy, thoughtfulness, and true desire to inspire our youth and help them discover the wonders of learning. This seed planted early often translates to ongoing educational pursuits into adulthood, and trickles into the fibers of our city’s economic well-being.
Senator Kohl’s gift will engage our young children with literacy programs, and cannot be used to replace city funding. As a Trustee on the Library Board, I must say there is no greater gift than the investment in our future through our youth. I can only imagine the way our children’s eyes will light up when they learn that the Senator invested in programs that will positively impact their futures for decades to come.
I am touched and honored by this gracious gift from Senator Kohl. Thank you for providing our children with the hope for a brighter future.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!

author: Ald. Cavalier Johnson


text:
Housing bills aim to reduce evictions, housing discrimination | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
October 25, 2017
Ashley Hempe, 29, is worried that her eviction three years ago will prevent her from finding a new place to live. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Ashley Hempe, 29, knows firsthand how demoralizing the process of being evicted can be.
“I was working as a waitress at the time and didn’t even have money to rent a truck to move. The sheriff showed up at my house and had to put almost all of our stuff out on the sidewalk,” said Hempe, who had one child and was pregnant with a second at the time.
According to Hempe, the eviction process started after she demanded the landlord address mold issues and fix an upstairs toilet that leaked into her kitchen. She spent the next six months homeless before slowly getting back on her feet.
Stories such as Hempe’s play out often in Milwaukee, where 40 families are formally evicted each day, according to Harvard University Fellow Matthew Desmond, speaking to a crowd gathered at Boswell Books last March. His book, “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City,” based on research he conducted in the city, found that one out of eight Milwaukee families had experienced eviction within the past two years.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Since its release, the book has spurred discussion on the role of evictions in trauma, sustained poverty and other social ills, and led Rep. David Crowley of Milwaukee and Rep. Jimmy Anderson of Fitchburg to introduce a host of bills meant to help renters.
Rep. David Crowley is co-sponsoring bills aimed at reducing evictions and housing discrimination. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
The four-part “Housing Eviction and Discrimination Prevention Package,” was created to help families avoid evictions,  abate rent in instances of landlord neglect and fight housing discrimination, according to Crowley and Anderson.
The first part, “the Rental Credit Assistance Act,” would create a two-year pilot program for four Wisconsin counties, including Milwaukee, to provide up to $160 in rental credits tied to community service activities. A maximum of eight $20 credits would be made available to renters short on rent payments.
The second would create a legal defense fund for low-income tenants facing eviction, while the third bill would prohibit discrimination based on arrest, conviction or eviction records that are more than three years old.
The fourth proposed bill, “The Renter’s Abatement Act,” would require the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to enforce and clarify rules that mandate landlords to repair damages not caused by tenant negligence or improper use of the premises. According to the Department of Neighborhood Services, occupants of rental properties can apply to the department for rent withholding if the property they are renting has an overdue order for repair. Local and state regulations entitling tenants to withhold rent are unclear and difficult to enforce, according to Crowley.
Legislation clarifying a process for rent abatement and additional legal aid would be extremely beneficial, said Pete Koneazny, litigation director for the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee. According to Koneazny, the problem most tenants face is they don’t have legal representation and don’t understand the process to have a building inspector identify repair violations.
“It becomes very risky for them when they come to court and haven’t made a record of violations by going to the inspector. They might not be seen as credible or it could be looked at like retaliation for being evicted, even if there would have been a valid reduction on (their) rent,” Koneazny said.
Though the legislation seeking to reduce housing discrimination is a step in the right direction, he added, it doesn’t go far enough.
“Improper evictions or those as a result of illnesses will still show up (on court records) and other charges that didn’t lead to convictions or are unrelated to your appropriateness as a tenant can still be used against you. Eviction is a natural outgrowth of living in poverty and should not lead to discrimination,” he said.
Poverty drove Crowley’s family out of their home when he was 15 and his mom was laid off from her job.
“We suffered through two more evictions after that,” said Crowley who recalled his family having to leave their belongings on the curb. Evictions are devastating to families and to communities as a whole, he added.
They also lead families into a cycle of dependency, said Sherrie Tussler, executive director of the Hunger Task Force. Tussler, who first worked at a homeless shelter in Milwaukee, said evicted families have to rely on others to survive.
“Sometimes they end up in shelters, or even outdoors, and they need food and other services to get by and to try to get on their feet again,” Tussler said.
As for Hempe, she has three children now and hopes to move into a new house next year, one with a yard her kids can play in. She receives a monthly disability check, so paying rent is not an issue, she said. Still,  she added, it won’t be easy to find a place with an eviction staining her record.
“They automatically assume I won’t be able to pay my rent. The only places that give you a chance are owned by slumlords,” she said.

created: October 25, 2017


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 24, 2017


text:
37194411574_66c9cc85a2_k (1) | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 25, 2017


text:
How to make Halloween healthier | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dr. Michelle Graham, UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin
October 25, 2017
Kids get temporary tattoos courtesy of Layton Boulevard West Neighbors. (Photo by John Sterr)
The candy in an average trick-or-treat bag can contain as much as 7,000 calories, according to Dr. Donna Arnett at the University of Alabama-Birmingham’s School of Public Health, and all that candy can lead to tooth decay and a lot of extra pounds for the entire family.
What’s a health-conscious parent to do without ruining one of the most kid-friendly celebrations of the year?
•Instead of candy, opt for healthier or non-food alternatives. Candy is fun, but healthy food can be as well. Making small oranges, popcorn balls or fruit cups with pumpkin faces drawn on them can encourage healthier eating while still getting into the Halloween spirit. Give trick-or-treaters dried fruit, fruit leathers, crackers or trail mix.
Or, if you want to avoid giving out candy or snack foods altogether, give small toys, stickers, temporary tattoos, pencils, Halloween erasers or glow-sticks. Kids receive plenty of candy on Halloween and will enjoy being surprised with the “extras” they gather while trick-or-treating.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
•Get out and exercise. Candy consumption certainly increases on and around Halloween, but so does walking. Fitbit recently analyzed its data and found the average user walked an additional 2,750 steps on Halloween. While those extra steps won’t cancel out all those candy bars you ate, the added walking and exercise can help you control your weight and improve your health.
Take family walks around the neighborhood before Halloween to plan your trick-or-treating route. The additional movement can benefit the whole family.
•Fill your little goblins’ tummies with healthy food before they hit their candy stash. Eating a healthy dinner before trick-or-treating will help ensure your kids are properly fueled and less tempted to snack their way around the neighborhood. Plus, for safety you should save your candy until you get home to screen for anything potentially hazardous.
If you return home and your family has more candy than they should eat, search online for a local dentist or other business participating in candy-donation or buy-back programs. Call first for each location’s program details.
This Halloween, have fun dressing up and eating a few treats, but balance the usual indulgences with healthier choices.


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 25, 2017


text:
Project Homeless Connect aids homeless for eighth consecutive year at Marquette | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Mitchell Mittelstedt
October 26, 2017
Haircuts, dentistry, hygiene kits, clothing and assessments for entry into housing programs were among the services offered at the eighth consecutive annual Project Homeless Connect, held recently at Marquette University.
“This event is more than just a one-stop connection,” said Steven Mahan, director of Community Development Grants Administration for the City of Milwaukee. “It’s also used to assess what our needs are, for individuals who are in need of homeless services or just housing services.” Mahan pointed out that the number of people going into shelter and needing services has decreased significantly in recent years.
The total number of homeless individuals in Milwaukee County dropped from 1,537 in 2009 to 900 in 2017. The greatest decline occurred after the Housing First Initiative began in September 2015, according to data from the Milwaukee County Housing Division.
Milwaukee Project Homeless Connect is run by the Milwaukee Continuum of Care, under the leadership of United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
“[United Way] pretty much creates a venue for the homeless population of our community to come together and find out what resources, what programs, what services are available to them, in addition to offering just some general, basic needs and support services for them while they’re on the [Marquette] campus,” said Shawanna Lindenberg, Community Advocates Housing Department manager.
The event relies on a cadre volunteers from organizations that include Marquette University, U.S. Bank, Harley Davidson, Hunger Task Force, Community Advocates, Mercy Housing, Salvation Army and Aurora Health Care.
“I think what we see, year in and year out, is that volunteers come back. Many have been here since day one for the past eight years, and they don’t miss it for anything,” said Rafael Acevedo, grant compliance manager for the City of Milwaukee.
LaTrina Webster became affiliated with Project Homeless Connect through her job as a driver at Outreach Community Health Centers. She has been volunteering for two years now. “We’re picking up people and dropping them off at this great event today,” she said.
Intake volunteers were tasked with signing in guests, and collecting basic data before transitioning them to guest advocates, who helped homeless individuals navigate through the resources and services.
According to Shannon Reed, director of Innovative Strategies for Boys and Men of Color at United Way, “The resources don’t just stop today. We have a lot of organizations that are doing this work, and what’s important is that we need to make sure that this collaboration happens not only today but every day.”

created: October 26, 2017

author: Mitchell Mittelstedt


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 26, 2017

author: Adam Carr


text:
Grassroots activists share thoughts about black empowerment at panel discussion | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Elizabeth Baker
October 27, 2017
Community advocates Markasa Tucker, Andre Lee Ellis and Vaun Mayes repeatedly stressed the importance of black people empowering themselves and each other to solve the community’s problems at a panel discussion Wednesday evening.
“View from the Street: Grassroots Activism in the Black Community” was moderated by Jabril Faraj, a reporter at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, which sponsored the event at the Innovations & Wellness Commons, 1617 W. North Ave.
“We’re not in Milwaukee for no reason, just to go to work and pay bills and go back and go to the club and hang out on the block. There’s way more to us than that,” Tucker said. “We are black excellence, and I want to make sure people know that about themselves.”
Outside individuals and groups are not able to stop the cycles of oppression, poverty and crime that harm the community, the panelists said. Rather, black people themselves must be leaders by realizing their potential, paying attention and organizing for change. Others can support them by being allies and spreading the message, they agreed.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
“We have to take our own fight into our own hands,” Mayes said.
The panelists expressed frustrations that regardless how often these problems are discussed, real change rarely occurs.
“And we’re sitting here — and I have to be honest — what the hell for? What are we going to do with this discussion?” Ellis said.
The discussion can be viewed on the NNS Facebook page.

created: October 27, 2017


text:
Prescription Drug Take-Back Day | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Safe & Sound
October 27, 2017

author: Safe & Sound


text:
Summit explores ways to better engage Milwaukee residents | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Elliot Hughes
October 27, 2017
Ian Bautista, executive director of the Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative, leads a panel discussing how to engage Milwaukee residents at the second annual Settlement House Neighborhood Summit. (Photo by Elliot Hughes)
At the second annual Settlement House Neighborhood Summit, a half-dozen leaders of Milwaukee institutions admitted they could do a better job engaging residents.
It started with the lead organizer of Tuesday’s event, Tony Shields, the outgoing executive director for the United Neighborhood Centers of Milwaukee, or UNCOM.
“I admit, I have to do better and I suspect some of you do too,” he said in his opening remarks. “There are many great things happening in Milwaukee, but we have a long way to go.”
That operated as the focus of Tuesday’s event at Discovery World, in which more than 200 people from Milwaukee nonprofits and other organizations attended in order to brainstorm solutions.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
More than 200 people attended Tuesday’s second annual Settlement House Neighborhood Summit, organized by the United Neighborhood Centers of Milwaukee. (Photo by Elliot Hughes)
The Settlement House Neighborhood Summit was organized to give various community entities a chance at collaborating on projects meant to improve Milwaukee neighborhoods.
Two ideas that came from last year’s meeting are now in full swing, Shields said in an interview. One is a new partnership with Wisconsin Voices to promote voter registration, and the other is centered on engaging residents.
UNCOM, a nonprofit that coordinates ways for its eight member agencies to collaborate with each other, created a Resident Affinity Group, a quarterly gathering of agency representatives with up to 50 Milwaukee residents from 25 city neighborhoods.
The group held its first meeting in August, according to Jeanette Mitchell, a retired program director from Cardinal Stritch University. She said the idea is to encourage residents to speak with agency representatives about what kinds of initiatives, programs and projects they would like to see in their neighborhoods. She said attendees at the first meeting demonstrated a real interest in continuing the dialogue.
That kind of contact with residents is important for keeping them engaged, according to Thomas Schneider, the executive director of COA Youth & Family Centers.
“People come out to neighborhood association meetings if they see and feel they’re being heard and see tangible results of them participating,” Schneider said during a panel discussion. “Nothing’s more discouraging than going to 20 meetings and nothing ever happens.”
UNCOM’s eight member agencies are City on a Hill, COA Youth & Family Centers, Journey House, Milwaukee Christian Center, Neu-Life Community Development, Neighborhood House of Milwaukee, Northcott Neighborhood House and the Silver Spring Neighborhood Center.
Tuesday afternoon was filled with plenty of other small suggestions and tips for organizations to better partner with their residents, including things such as creating safe spaces and being able to accommodate families when inviting residents into their offices. Next year, Shields said, the event may focus more on how to better engage with youth.
“The conversations were of value,” he said. “I think we were able to fulfill our goals today.”
Shields, who is leaving UNCOM at the end of October to become the president and CEO of the Wisconsin Philanthropy Network, was particularly interested in an idea involving agencies rounding up community residents for a retreat of some kind.
“I love this idea of a resident retreat,” he said. “On the surface that really sounded like a good and fun idea.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to list UNCOM’s eight member agencies. We apologize for the error.


text:
Teen internships available at Milwaukee Public Library | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Public Library
October 27, 2017
The Milwaukee Public Library (MPL) is seeking 10 Teen Interns. Interns will assist in implementing the library’s Connected Learning for Teens initiative, fulfilling the mission and vision of the Milwaukee Public Library and employing the strategies outlined in the Library’s MPL 2020: Our Plan for the Future.  Interns will serve as faces and voices for the Library, spearheading teen outreach projects and developing new programs for teens in the Milwaukee community.  They will also consult on space design and redesign, mentor their peers, and host engaging events, all while developing critical career skills in the process. Whip smart, innovative, and dedicated to helping others read, learn, and connect?  This is the internship for you!
Develop and implement projects designed to engage teens in all that the Milwaukee Public Library has to offer. This may include hosting events, designing and launching an App for teens, spearheading major teen outreach initiatives, and updating teen targeted social media on a regular basis.
Work in collaboration with community teens to design teen spaces and present your recommendations to MPL staff.  Help with subsequent grant writing to curate technology and art for the teen spaces.  Assist with purchasing, installation, training, and launch parties.  This may involve hosting Open Studio times, helping to engage educators in using teen space at the library, and helping to hire College Mentors.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Help get the word out about library events and programs and programs for teens. Interns will serve as liaisons to their peers, using social media and other effective strategies to engage teens in MPL programs and resources.
Learn how to connect the dots between your internship at the library and your plans for the future.  Help your peers do the same by hosting college and career readiness programs.
Interns will work closely with their colleagues in the internship program, MPL staff, and community members to achieve their mission and serve their community.  Interns will be expected to advise on multiple library projects that relate to teens and the target markets outlined in MPL 2020: Our plan for the Future.
Coached by MPL staff, you will be expected to document your activity, measure your progress, and report on your work.
$7.95/hr.
The selection process will be job related and will consist of one or more of the following: education and experience evaluation, oral interview performance, or other assessment methods. The Milwaukee Public Library reserves the right to call only the most qualified candidates to oral interviews.  Oral interviews may include written exercises.  Please note that successful applicants will be required to submit to a drug test.  Successful applicants under 16 years of age will be required to obtain a work permit.
Please note that successful applicants will be assigned a time for an interview.  Interviews will take place from Thursday, November 16 through Saturday, November 25, 2017 at Milwaukee Public Library’s Central Library, 814 W. Wisconsin Ave.  Successful applicants will also be required to go to a Concentra clinic to complete their drug test between Tuesday, November 28 and Thursday, November 30, 2017.
Applicants may apply online at mpl.org/TeenInterns. Further information may be obtained in person from any Milwaukee Public Library branch, or by calling (414) 286–8711. Applications will be accepted through Sunday, November 12, 2017.
The Library will host a recruitment event on Monday, November 6, 2017 from 5-7 p.m. at the Mitchell Street Branch, 906 W. Historic Mitchell St. Attending the recruitment event is a great way to meet the hiring managers, see the work space, and get your questions answered.  All applicants are encouraged to attend and bring friends!

author: Milwaukee Public Library


text:
St. Joan Antida High School students tour Milwaukee Bucks new arena, learn about careers in the construction industry | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
St. Joan Antida High School
October 28, 2017
St. Joan Antida High School Girls and Mortenson Construction workers in front of the Arena countdown clock. (Photo courtesy of St. Joan Antida)
The Milwaukee Bucks hosted its last home opener at the BMO Harris Bradley Center last week. The future of the Bucks is bright, with a top-ranked NBA team, forward-thinking ownership, and a new state-of-the-art arena to move into less than a year from now.
The same week as its home opener, the Bucks also hosted a once-in-a-lifetime tour of its new facility for a dozen students from St. Joan Antida High School’s robotics team.
These students’ futures are equally as bright as many of them are considering jobs in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields, including engineering and construction. Construction jobs are numerous in the region, thanks to projects like the Wisconsin Center District’s new arena, which the Bucks will lease.
(Photo courtesy of St. Joan Antida)
St. Joan Antida High School is an all-girl school. So it was fitting that female construction workers from Mortenson Construction, which is managing the arena project, took the St. Joan’s girls on the behind-the-scenes tour of the 730,000-square-foot facility.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
One of the tour guides, Tess Massaroni, an assistant superintendent with Mortenson, said, “As high schoolers, many of the girls enjoy STEM learning and were interested in engineering, but were overwhelmed by the choices.  Touring the Arena was a unique opportunity to experience an active construction site and gain insight into different engineering pathways and potential construction careers.”
“Exposing our youth, especially young women, to different career paths is vital to helping them recognize what they might be passionate about,” said Massaroni.
The girls learned about more than 15 types of construction jobs involved in the arena project, the types of hours and skills involved in these jobs and starting salaries. They learned that skilled trades jobs are an excellent foundation for those considering careers in engineering. They also learned that around 700 dedicated and highly skilled workers showed up every day to work on the arena project, many of them women in managerial roles.
Alicia Dupies has a keen insight into the opportunities that exist for young women in the construction industry. Before becoming vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility for the Milwaukee Bucks, Dupies served as director of Project Development for Mortenson Construction. Dupies, who helped arrange the tour for the girls, explained that the school tour was a rarity due to the complexity of the work site and complicated logistics of conducting tours. “St. Joan Antida’s focus on introducing girls to careers in STEM is to be applauded. Considering the school’s focus on STEM and the fact that St. Joan’s is our neighbor, located just a few blocks away, we decided to host this special tour. We are hopeful that it sparks interest in construction careers in some of the girls.”

created: October 28, 2017

author: St. Joan Antida High School


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 28, 2017


text:
Screen Shot 2017-10-28 at 10.50.44 AM | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 28, 2017


text:
For the first time ever, your gift to the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service will be matched | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
October 30, 2017
Whether you can donate $10, $100 or $1,000, your donation will be matched by News Match 2017. Your contribution to NNS must be made between now and Dec. 31, 2017, to be eligible for the match. This is a unique opportunity to DOUBLE the value of your contribution. Please donate today!

created: October 30, 2017

author: Dwayne Burtin


text:
Garfield Art House Party celebrates grand opening of Historic Garfield Apartments | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Elizabeth Baker
October 30, 2017
The newly renovated Historic Garfield Apartments were filled with music, laughter, dancing and artwork during the recent grand opening celebration. Hosted by local artists and America’s Black Holocaust Museum, the Garfield Art House Party gave community members the chance to explore the former school building that will soon house dozens of new residents.
The Historic Garfield Apartments at 2215 N. 4th St. will open its doors to the first residents Nov. 1. The building is part of a larger development effort in the Bronzeville Cultural and Entertainment District. A collaboration between Maures Development Group and J. Jeffers & Co., the $17 million investment project also includes The Griot apartment building on the corner of 4th Street and North Avenue, which will open in spring 2018. The first floor of The Griot will house America’s Black Holocaust Museum, which has operated as a virtual museum since the building closed under financial pressure in 2008.
Activities took place on all four floors of the building during the event. On the first three floors, visitors were treated to live music, paint classes and spoken word. On the fourth floor, food was served and people danced to live music. Representatives from America’s Black Holocaust Museum set up tables to raise awareness about its reopening.
“The idea behind Bronzeville as a commercial district is about arts and culture and entertainment,” said Melissa Goins, president and founder of Maures Development Group. “The idea of bringing arts into the building was a no-brainer.”
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
She assembled an advisory group to help infuse art, culture and history into the development project. Members include Christopher McIntyre Perceptions, Della Wells and Dasha Kelly, who helped choose the artists to paint murals on the inside walls of the apartment. Each advisory group member also hosted a live art presentation on one of the building’s four floors.
Perceptions said bringing art into the space for the grand opening is a real-life manifestation of the art that decorates the building’s walls. His room on the first floor featured spoken word, music and live painting. “Milwaukee is like a city of illusions and a city of silos, so we decided to join the diversity of the city together in one building,” he said.
On the fourth floor, Karma Colby sold jewelry from her family’s business, Timbuktu Art Colony. She’s been living out of the state for 19 years, but this event brought her back home. “It feels good to be a part of something that’s really a blessing to the community,” Colby said, referring to the new apartments and America’s Black Holocaust Museum.
“Just to have that acknowledgement for African-American people, that’s really powerful,” she said. “We don’t think of what we have gone through as a holocaust, and it’s something to appreciate what our people have gone through, and the fact that they made it through is why were still here.”
The museum will officially reopen next year on June 19, also known as Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the emancipation of African-American slaves throughout the 1860s.
Since the inception of the Bronzeville development project, the museum has been its focal point, or anchor, according to Reggie Jackson, the museum’s head griot. “Griot’ is a French word used in West Africa meaning oral historian, or keeper of the history, and it’s also the name of the apartment building that will house the museum.
Jackson said he’s looking forward to welcoming both people who visited the museum many years ago and young people who never had the opportunity to come and learn the stories of their ancestors.

author: Elizabeth Baker


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 29, 2017

created: October 29, 2017


text:
26216675989_6c893b2351_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 29, 2017


text:
37283676334_ef3b36ad39_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 29, 2017


text:
37939427196_fa019e7991_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 29, 2017


text:
37939427706_a9b12a22fc_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 29, 2017


text:
37962421412_427a0034bd_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 29, 2017


text:
37962422492_9a09747add_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 29, 2017


text:
Silence and inaction regarding MSDF must stop | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Mark Rice
October 30, 2017
The #CLOSEmsdf Campaign launched on June 29, 2017. (Photo courtesy of Janos Marton)
Mark Rice, a Wisconsin statewide EXPO organizer and #CLOSEmsdf Campaign lead organizer, writes that it’s time for public officials to speak out about the need to close the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (MSDF).
Jabril Faraj’s recent article about Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (MSDF) revealed important information about a little known human rights crisis in Milwaukee.
Tragically, at a time when Milwaukee and Wisconsin need bold leadership on human rights issues, nearly all public officials in Milwaukee and throughout the state have remained silent about Milwaukee’s high-rise torture chamber. This is not acceptable.
The very existence of MSDF violates Milwaukeeans’ belief in humanity and fairness. Problems facing people incarcerated at this facility include extreme heat, poor ventilation, no access to outdoor recreation or sunlight, being locked down over 20 hours a day, no in-person visits and other abuses. All of this is for people who have typically not even been charged with new crimes. These inhumane conditions and the neglect of staff members played a role in the deaths of several individuals at this institution.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
The state of Wisconsin built MSDF in 2001 to house people who have allegedly violated rules of probation, parole and extended supervision. The state continues to use this facility to needlessly incarcerate thousands of people each year who have not been convicted of new crimes.
MSDF is beyond reform and must be shuttered in order to build the kind of strong neighborhoods that Milwaukee deserves. The more than $50 million that the state wastes on incarcerating people at this facility each year should be re-directed to ensure that more people have opportunities to be connected with community-based treatment programs that work, living-wage employment, stable housing and high-quality educational programs. A substantial body of research demonstrates that connecting people with these kinds of opportunities will reduce recidivism and make communities safer, stronger and healthier.
What makes the silence and inaction of public officials in Wisconsin even more disturbing is that seven states enacted policies more than five years ago that enabled them to close prisons and greatly reduce both levels of re-incarceration for revocations and rates of violent crime. You can read about this in a Council of State Governments report entitled “Reducing Recidivism: States Deliver Results.”
I learned about the atrocities that frequently occur at MSDF when the Department of Corrections forced me to spend six months there in 2007 for allegedly violating a rule of supervision that did not involve a new crime. I saw the devastating impact this institution has on people who are struggling with addiction and mental health issues. While I was there, one man attempted to commit suicide, a few men severely mutilated themselves, and several other men had to be put under suicide watch.
The very notion of locking up people struggling with parole and mental health issues is at odds with common sense approaches to justice.
Governor Scott Walker has said, “Incarcerating people for relatively low offenses is not a significant issue in the state of Wisconsin.” Actually, it is a huge problem.
It is time for Walker to face the fact that crimeless revocation — the practice of re-incarcerating people on supervision for minor rule infractions — is more than significant. It is a failed policy, a waste of money and an embarrassment to Wisconsin.
Crimeless revocations exacerbate racial inequities in Milwaukee and the cruel and unusual conditions at MSDF violate basic human rights and defy our notions of freedom and justice. A Health Impact Assessment conducted by Human Impact Partners, EXPO and WISDOM found that although only 6 percent of people in Wisconsin identify as black, 40 percent of people sent to prison for crimeless revocations in the state identify as black.
Wisconsin’s current approach to dealing with people who have allegedly violated rules of supervision is not working. No one should be forced to stay in an inhumane environment. MSDF often has a devastating impact on the health of people who are already struggling with addiction and mental health issues. Research demonstrates that relying more on community-based alternatives to incarceration like the state’s TAD (Treatment Alternatives and Diversion) Program will reduce recidivism and build communities.
Red and blue states across the nation have enacted policies that enabled them to greatly reduce levels of incarceration for minor infractions and close prisons. These states have often reinvested resources saved into programs that help to build safer, stronger and healthier communities. Wisconsin cannot afford to wait any longer to enact similar policies. It is time for Walker and Wisconsin legislators to transform the state’s unreasonable revocation process, shut down MSDF and reinvest resources in the communities that have been the most disproportionately harmed by mass incarceration.
The silence and inaction of elected officials regarding Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility is not acceptable. We must hold those who continue to ignore this human rights crisis accountable.
Visit https://closemsdf.org/ to learn about how you can get involved with the movement for change.

author: Mark Rice


text:
City of Milwaukee Health Department announces food sanitation grading system to launch in 2018 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
City of Milwaukee Health Department
October 31, 2017
Beginning January 2018, the City of Milwaukee will join cities nationwide in launching a grading system for food establishments. Milwaukee’s Sanitation Grading System will result in letter grade placards posted at food service establishments citywide, improving how the City of Milwaukee Health Department rates the sanitation of food service establishments and how that information is made available to the public.
“Milwaukee is taking a significant step toward improving food safety for consumers while also working to assure that its system is fair to food service businesses,” said Alderman Michael J. Murphy, who has worked with the MHD to research, evaluate, and develop Milwaukee’s upcoming system. “The City has taken care to evaluate best practices from cities nationally and internationally. The system that has been developed will not only advance food safety and provide more transparency to the public on the result of inspections, but be equitable to food establishment operators.”
Milwaukee’s Sanitation Grading System has been in development for several years, and is the result of a partnership between the City of Milwaukee Health Department and the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Executive MBA Program. Students within the program researched existing systems to develop Milwaukee’s scoring criteria as well as the computer database to manage the system.
Milwaukee’s Sanitation Grading System will grade food service establishments on the existing Wisconsin Food Code under which inspections are currently conducted, assigning point values to each violation. Violations that most directly contribute to foodborne illness will result in higher deductions. Establishments will be awarded an “A” grade for a score of 80 points or more on a 100 point scale. Scores below 60 points will result in a “C” grade, and may prompt temporary closure of an establishment if an imminent health hazard exists.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
“In 2016, 32 percent of food service establishments in Milwaukee received priority violations, a rate that has increased over the past several years, while rates of foodborne illness have not seen a significant decrease,” said Commissioner of Health Bevan K. Baker. “In looking for innovative and effective methods to protect consumer safety and increase the compliance of food service operators, a grading system rose to the top as an effective system that has shown success in cities nationwide.”
The Sanitation Grading System will begin with the first inspections in January 2018, with posting of the Sanitation Grade placards voluntary for the first year. In 2019, posting of letter grade placards will be mandatory.
To help food establishments understand the system, information is being mailed directly and via email to those with City of Milwaukee Food Dealer Licenses. In-person information sessions will be held in English and Spanish in November, and one-on-one consults will be available for establishments at their request.
For more information, visit Milwaukee.gov/Health.

created: October 31, 2017

author: City of Milwaukee Health Department


text:
Community groups take lead to address DOJ recommendations | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jabril Faraj
October 31, 2017
Markasa Tucker speaks during a news conference as representatives from the ACLU and Coalition for Justice look on. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
Community groups are taking the lead in addressing recommendations of a draft Department of Justice Report — leaked in August — that focuses on the Milwaukee Police Department.
According to the report, MPD lacks racial and gender diversity, has inconsistent body camera policies, does a poor job of documenting and processing citizen complaints and practices a traffic enforcement strategy that disproportionately affects African-Americans. It also said officers do not understand community policing, which the department claims it has practiced for years.
At a Sept. 14 Steering and Rules Committee meeting, MPD Chief Ed Flynn attacked the credibility of the draft report on the grounds it was created by consultants — a practice Flynn acknowledged is not out of the ordinary — and is oversaturated with “anonymous personal anecdotes.” At the hearing, Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton called on MPD and the Fire and Police Commission (FPC) to work with the Common Council and community to create a community-led public discussion regarding the report’s recommendations and how to move forward.
Hamilton framed this process as an opportunity to build trust in a community-police relationship that has been strained by high-profile police killings of black men and allegations of misconduct. He said, “From the side of the community it’s just feeling like many of their stories, many of their experiences, have not necessarily been a focal point.”
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
A week after the hearing, the FPC decided to continue the reform process, which had been dropped by the DOJ Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). Days after that decision, Flynn struck a different tone, saying it was up to the police and community to work together to address crime.
But more than a month later, prominent community groups have heard little from the FPC, MPD, Mayor Tom Barrett or the Common Council. September letters — one from the Dominican Center for Women and another from the African American Roundtable went unanswered for weeks, according to representatives of the organizations.
In response, a coalition of organizations — including the ACLU, Milwaukee NAACP, UBLAC, Coalition for Justice and more — announced at a recent news conference that it has scheduled two town hall meetings. The goal of the meetings — on Nov. 30 and Dec. 2 — are to make sure the community “gets the information that they need” and that the recommendations aren’t “swept under the rug,” according to Markasa Tucker, director of the African American Roundtable.
Ashanti Hamilton (left) addresses FPC Executive Director MaryNell Regan during a September Hearing & Rules Committee hearing. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
“We’re used to this,” she said. “Everybody knows that we constantly have to push forward and we have to come and speak up when we want to see change. We can’t expect, or wait, for city officials to come and do that for us.”
Executive Director MaryNell Regan said the FPC plans to announce a process to engage the community later this week. She said a lot of planning has happened so far, but, “The process isn’t completed yet.” She added that the FPC has been in touch with some groups, but did not name them specifically. When asked if the FPC will help publicize the town halls and take the feedback from those sessions into account, Regan said, “Of course.”
Hamilton, who met with Tucker late last week after the news conference, said the African American Roundtable has already taken a leadership role in the process, adding that it will have “100 percent cooperation” from the Common Council in publicizing and staffing the town halls. He acknowledged that some of the organizations and people “who have been involved from the beginning” have not been properly engaged.
“It [is] my intention … that they be at the table,” Hamilton said.
Patricia Rogers, executive director of the Dominican Center, called the lack of communication typical.
The Dominican Center, in Amani, has partnered on two recent grants with MPD, the Building Neighborhood Capacity Program (from 2012 through 2015) and the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, still in progress. MPD administers the Byrne Grant, and partners meet every two weeks. But, according to Rogers, in the three meetings since the Common Council hearing, the DOJ report has not been addressed with the group, either by Flynn or the District 5 captain who attends partner meetings.
She expressed disappointment about the lack of initiative, saying, “They have not been true partners to the community.”
For things to change, she said it is important for police to sit down with people and listen to what they think will work. “None of them think that we’re going to police our way out of this craziness that’s going on,” said Rogers.
Nate Gilliam, part of the People’s Progressive Organizing Committee, called the city budget “out of whack,” noting 47 percent of the city’s almost $633 million 2017 general budget goes toward funding MPD. He said it is simplistic to equate public safety with police and that more money should be invested in youth programming, job creation and social services, areas that could “tangibly help improve the situation within the city.” He suggested that kind of investment would lead to less crime and a better quality of life for people.
“In our eyes, that’s public safety — taking care of the actual citizens,” Gilliam said.
The Milwaukee Police Department did not respond to specific questions regarding city funding or Rogers’ criticisms. Sgt. Timothy Gauerke provided an email statement, writing that MPD “looks forward to collaborating with elected and community stakeholders to prioritize and move forward with implementation of recommendations in the report.” He added that Flynn is still committed to the process.
State Rep. David Bowen said it’s essential to have an authentic conversation about how to get everyone on the same page and start working together.
“There are really no sides to having a police department that’s accountable to its community,” Bowen added.
The town hall meetings will be held at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, 3275 N. 3rd St., on Thursday, Nov. 30, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 2, from 2 to 4:30 p.m.


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 30, 2017


text:
Free estate planning for low income Milwaukee residents and veterans/active duty service members | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Marquette Law School
October 31, 2017
The Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic Estate Planning Clinic offers free basic estate planning services to veterans and active duty military personnel and low income individuals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The program is run on an appointment basis and appointments are still available through December 2017.
The program can be used to create a combination of the following documents:
If you are wondering whether you need a will and/or power of attorney documents, consider this…
Separate appointments are required for spouses or partners. For questions or to schedule an appointment, call 414.288.4965.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!

author: Marquette Law School