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Post from Communtiy: Senator Baldwin rejoins effort to improve maternal health outcomes | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Office of U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin
May 20, 2021
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U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) joined Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07) in reintroducing a comprehensive bill to improve maternal health outcomes, reverse the trend of rising maternal mortality rates, and close disparities that put Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities and their kids at greater risk of adverse health outcomes. The Maximizing Outcomes for Moms through Medicaid Improvement and Enhancement of Services (MOMMIES) Act would build upon recent advancements in Medicaid coverage for pregnant and postpartum people that Senator Baldwin helped secure in the recently-passed American Rescue Plan Act.
Specifically, the MOMMIES Act would expand coverage for pregnant people covered by Medicaid – which covers nearly half of all births in the U.S. – by requiring states to dramatically extend postpartum coverage from two months to a full year after childbirth; ensuring that all pregnant and postpartum people have full Medicaid coverage, rather than coverage that can be limited to pregnancy-related services; and increasing access to primary care providers and reproductive health providers.
“Maternal and infant mortality rates are tragically high in Wisconsin, and they are even higher in the Black community. We need to do more to make sure families have access to quality, affordable health care,” said Senator Baldwin. “We know that healthier pregnancies lead to healthier babies. That’s why I’m proud to work on this important legislation to enhance Medicaid coverage so mothers and pregnant women can get the care they need.”
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“We live in a nation that spends more than any other country on health care, yet we still have the highest rate of pregnancy-related deaths of any of our peer countries,” said Senator Booker. “And Black women are more than three times as likely to die from complications related to pregnancy than white women — in New Jersey they are five times as likely. New Jersey also has the unfortunate distinction of having the fifth-highest rate of maternal mortality in the U.S. We simply cannot continue to accept this alarming status quo — we must do something about it and this bill is an important first step. By expanding Medicaid coverage for pregnant people, we can begin to stem the rising tide of maternal mortality and close the egregious racial gaps that exist in maternal and infant health outcomes.”
“A safe and healthy pregnancy should be a fundamental human right but far too many people in America —particularly Black women—still find themselves without the high-quality, comprehensive care they need for themselves and their babies,” said Congresswoman Pressley. “Our bill would help change that by promoting community-based, holistic approaches to maternity and post-partum care so that every pregnant person is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve during and after childbirth. Our fight for maternal justice continues.”
In Wisconsin, the MOMMIES Act is endorsed by United Way of Dane County, Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, UW Health, Kids Forward, and Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC).
“In Wisconsin, the unacceptable reality is that our Black moms are five times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications and are significantly more likely to experience severe maternal morbidities. For too long, women of color in our state have been denied access to adequate and sustained healthcare coverage. That’s why we need the MOMMIES Act more than ever. The strengthened Medicaid protections in the MOMMIES Act will enable Wisconsin to address our maternal health crisis head-on and reduce our persistent maternal health disparities. We applaud Senator Baldwin for her continued leadership on this issue,” said Sara Finger, Founder & Executive Director, Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health.
“We are facing a Black maternal health crisis in Wisconsin and across the country. The Covid-19 pandemic’s disproportionate impact on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color has greatly magnified the urgency we must act with to tackle the root causes of racial health inequities. We know that increasing access to affordable, high-quality, and culturally responsive health care services is important when closing severe racial gaps in maternal and infant health. With the pandemic-driven economic crisis resulting in many families losing employment and health insurance coverage and experiencing increased financial hardship in making ends meets, now is the time to strengthen and expand maternal health support for pregnant people and their families and turn the tide on the maternal health crisis. The MOMMIES Act will help move us on a path towards maternal health equity by expanding postpartum health coverage, increasing maternal health services, and promoting community-based and antiracist approaches to equitable maternity care. United Way of Dane County is grateful to Wisconsin’s own Senator Baldwin for cosponsoring this bill. We applaud her continued leadership in advancing solutions to eliminate racial disparities in maternal health outcomes,” said Renee Moe, President & CEO, United Way of Dane County.
“We applaud Senator Booker, Senator Baldwin, and Congresswoman Pressley’s efforts to prioritize maternal health and reduce racial inequities by increasing access to prenatal and postnatal care, including coverage for doula services,” said Michele Mackey, CEO of Kids Forward. “Wisconsin has some of the worst racial disparities in the country for maternal and infant health outcomes. Women of color and their infants are facing a state of emergency. Due to inequitable health care rooted in systemic racism and structural barriers that exacerbate disparities, Black, Brown and Indigenous women in Wisconsin are three to five times more likely to suffer pregnancy-related deaths than white women. In the face of these shameful disparities, Wisconsin only provides Medicaid coverage to people for sixty days after pregnancy, not even enough time to complete recommended follow-up exams. Extending access to postpartum care, better coordination of maternity care, and increasing access to doula services are necessary first steps to improving health outcomes for moms and babies.”
The MOMMIES Act is also endorsed by the following organizations: Ancient Song Doula Services, Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Center for American Progress, Center for Reproductive Rights, Dr. Jamila Taylor, Director of Health Care Reform and Senior Fellow at The Century Foundation, Every Mother Counts, In Our Own Voice: National, Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, March of Dimes, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), National Birth Equity Collaborative, National Health Law Program, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs.
“The National Birth Equity Collaborative enthusiastically supports the reintroduction of the MOMMIES Act! We applaud its legislative aims to enhance Medicaid benefits for low-income pregnant people by requiring uninterrupted coverage for the full length of the postpartum period, which spans one-year. We are thrilled that birth equity is a goal of the Demonstration Project and, even more, that trainings through an anti-racist lens will also be one of the required functions. Unequivocally, the inclusion of the reproductive justice framework into provider training is what sets these bills apart, marking them both transformational and timeless,” said Dr. Joia Crear Perry, Founder and President of the National Birth Equity Collaborative.
“We need the MOMMIES Act now more than ever,” said Jennifer Jacoby, Senior Federal Policy Counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “This past year in particular has highlighted the devastating inequities present in our health care system, with Black and Brown families and those struggling to make ends meet disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those same communities are experiencing a crisis in maternal health, with Black and Indigenous birthing people suffering alarming rates of pregnancy-related complications and death. The MOMMIES Act is an essential step in reducing those health disparities.”
“The National Health Law Program urges Congress to pass the MOMMIES Act, which would enhance Medicaid’s maternal health coverage and tackle urgent racial injustices in maternal health. By setting a national floor of comprehensive pregnancy-related coverage at a year postpartum, advancing access to doula services, and emphasizing health equity-, antiracist-, and community-based reforms, the MOMMIES Act takes vital steps toward ending our country’s Black and Indigenous maternal mortality epidemic,” said Elizabeth Taylor, Executive Director, National Health Law Program.
“The MOMMIES Act would make important enhancements to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)–two vital publicly-funded health programs that disproportionately serve birthing people and families of color. Health care innovations such as extending postpartum coverage to one year, Medicaid coverage of community-based doula care, and increased access to telehealth will help get the U.S. on a path to truly realizing maternal health equity. Strengthening both health care access and coverage are essential, and must go hand in hand with efforts to transform how women of color are treated within the health care system,” said Dr. Jamila Taylor, Director of Health Care Reform and Senior Fellow at The Century Foundation.
“Access to comprehensive, high-quality health care services has proven to improve maternal health outcomes. Without health care coverage, many pregnant and birthing people – especially people with low incomes – may be forced to forgo necessary and preventive care including recommended post-partum visits, mental health treatment, family planning services and more. The MOMMIES Act would help address this inequity by expanding postpartum Medicaid coverage to at least one year, among other important health care advancements. At a time when the nation is addressing a public health pandemic and economic crisis, which has resulted in unprecedented job loss, and subsequently, the loss of job-based health insurance coverage for many, improving pregnant people’s access to Medicaid is critical. We applaud Representative Ayanna Pressley and Senator Cory Booker for leading on this effort, which would move our country closer towards achieving maternal health equity, particularly for Black and Indigenous people, who have been disproportionately harmed by COVID-19, and the maternal health and economic crises,” said Jamille Fields Allsbrook, JD/MPH, Director of Women’s Health and Rights at the Center for American Progress.
, while it decreased in nearly every other country. And stark disparities in maternal deaths exist, as Black women are more than three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes as white women. Additionally, for every person who dies due to a pregnancy-related complication, dozens more suffer from unexpected outcomes from pregnancy that result in both short- and long-term consequences to a person’s health.
In the Senate, the bill is also cosponsored by Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). Specifically, the MOMMIES Act would:

author: Office of U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin


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5 things to do and know the weekend of May 21 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ana Martinez-Ortiz
May 21, 2021
The Sherman Park Community Association and Metcalfe Park Community Bridges are hosting Bloom & Groom events this Saturday, May 22. (Photo by Sue Vliet)
It’s Friday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about as the nation grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please email info@milwaukeenns.org and put “5 things” in the subject line by noon Thursday.
1. Sherman Park Community Association: Earth Day in May: Saturday, May 22
The Sherman Park Community Association is celebrating Earth Day in May with a Bloom & Groom event. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet with the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, learn about home repair programs, hear from Friends of Sherman Park and more. The event takes place at Sherman Park, 3000 N. Sherman Blvd., from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 22.
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2. Youth Green Team rummage sale: Saturday, May 22
The Washington Park Neighborhood/Walnut Hill Steering Committee is hosting its semi-annual pop-up rummage sale. The group’s Youth Green Team will be leading the event. The sale will take place at 1619 N. 35th St., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 22. This is an opportunity to support youth entrepreneurship, engage with the community and learn more about the steering committee.
3. Friends of Lincoln Park spring weedout: Saturday, May 22
Friends of Lincoln Park is trying to remove invasive species and support wildflower growth in Lincoln Park. This spring, the group is focusing on garlic mustard, thistle and burdock. It is looking for volunteers to help pull weeds. The group will be meeting at the Lincoln Park Pavilion, 1301 W. Hampton Ave., from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 22.
4. Metcalfe Park: Bloom & Groom and mutual aid: Saturday, May 22
Metcalfe Park Community Bridges and several groups are partnering together for a Bloom & Groom and mutual aid event. During the event, individuals can purchase flowers at a discounted price and receive diapers, fresh food, produce boxes, feminine hygiene items and more. The event will take place at 3401 W. Center St., from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 22.
5. Kohl’s Family Sundays at Home: Sculpture: Sunday, May 23
The Milwaukee Art Museum’s series, Kohl’s Family Sundays, is back. The theme for this session is sculpture. Participants will learn about three-dimensional art, have access to free activities, enjoy a performance by Wild Space Dance Company and more. The program will be available on the Milwaukee Art Museum website and Facebook page starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 23. The content will be available to access until Sunday, June 6.
Bonus: SaintA Foster Parent Appreciation Month drive-through: Friday, May 21
SaintA, a local nonprofit, is celebrating Foster Parent Appreciation Month with a drive-through celebration for its foster community. The event is taking place in the SaintA Franciscan parking lot, 8901 W. Capitol Drive, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, May 21. There will be gifts, goodies and a free meal courtesy of Troop Café.

author: Ana Martinez-Ortiz


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 20, 2021

author: Dwayne Burtin


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EXCLUSIVE: Reggie Moore’s journey of a lifetime: Working to build a safer city | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Matt Martinez
May 21, 2021
Reggie Moore speaks to young people from Urban Underground in 2007. He co-founded the youth organization with his wife, Sharlen. (Photo provided by Reggie Moore)
The first time Reggie Moore was held up at gunpoint, he was just one block away from a place where every child should feel safe: His grandmother’s house in Chicago.
He had nothing to give the two robbers.
“His friend literally had to talk his other friend out of shooting me,” Moore said. “Seeing that desperation in someone’s eyes, willing to kill a 12-year-old. I’ve seen that level of pain early.”
For some, it would have been an experience to try to forget. But for Moore, it’s a memory that informs the work he does on a daily basis.
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“It’s not the people that are broken, it’s the conditions that are broken,” Moore said.
Moore headed Milwaukee’s Office of Violence Prevention for five years before moving earlier this month to his new role at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he is the director of violence prevention policy and engagement for the Comprehensive Injury Center.
During Moore’s tenure in the Milwaukee Health Department, the Office of Violence Prevention expanded from two staff members to nine and its budget grew from $500,000 to $2.1 million. He also facilitated the development of Milwaukee’s first community-driven comprehensive violence prevention plan, known as the Blueprint for Peace, while expanding trauma services for youth and families exposed to violence, in partnership with Milwaukee County. He also launched 414 LIFE, a community-based violence interruption approach to reduce gun violence in partnership with local hospitals and nonprofit agencies.
For Moore, 44, his new role is just another step in what has become a lifelong journey.
Moore addresses a crowd during a Mothers Against Gun Violence rally in 2019. During his tenure at the Office of Violence Prevention, the office went from having two staff members to nine and its budget grew from $500,000 to $2.1 million. (Photo provided by Reggie Moore)
Moore’s parents moved to Milwaukee from the Woodlawn neighborhood in Chicago shortly before he was born.
Growing up, his mother instilled a sense of community in him. Along with his father and brother, Moore said their apartment became a popular stop. His mother, who worked in child care and human services, opened their home to those who needed food, shelter or safety.
He remembers being so close with his neighbors that he could walk into someone’s apartment and grab a soda from the fridge.
He also recalls when things changed: In the mid-1980s. The crack epidemic.
“When you create a market of immediate resources based on addiction among a population that was already struggling, deprived and locked out of opportunity … it should not be a surprise to any policymaker on the planet that that would drive people to survive even at the expense of each other. And that’s what the crack cocaine epidemic did,” Moore said.
But even in those desperate times, there was good to be found. Moore didn’t even have to leave home to find it. His family’s home in the Waico Apartments near Lapham Park and Hillside became a safe haven for friends and neighbors, a result of his mother’s faith in action.
“Although my mother prayed on her knees, she prayed a lot louder with her feet,” Moore said.
As he matured, Moore began asking questions about the world around him. He wondered why his community looked and felt the way it did, why some schools had more resources than others, why he was treated differently because he was Black.
“The main question was: ‘Who allowed this to happen?’ Moore said. “Who’s benefitting from it staying this way? And then, what can we do to fight back?”
These thoughts eventually led him to ask a simple question: What can I do to help?
Moore’s commitment to young people originally began when he was 16. He was hired by the North Central YMCA to teach art classes for kids.
This led him to pursue a career in teaching in 1995 at Cardinal Stritch University. But an opportunity to organize youth outside the classroom ultimately set him on his path.
He credits Paul Schmitz, then the national chief executive officer of Public Allies and the founder of Public Allies Milwaukee, with introducing him to national movements for youth advocacy, organizing and engagement in 1996. As Moore put it, Schmitz saw something in him at 19-years-old that he couldn’t quite see in himself.
Schmitz met both Moore and his future wife, Sharlen, just after they had won an award for community service. He describes both of them as champions for violence prevention.
“They have devoted themselves to a calling and are willing to do anything to meet it,” Schmitz said.
A few years later, Moore founded Urban Underground with Sharlen, who still serves as executive director of the youth organization that helps to develop young leaders in the city.
Moore poses with then-commissioner Dr. Jeanette Kowalik, one of five health commissioners he served under. “Reggie hustled to get funding where it needed to be,” Kowalik says. (Photo provided by Reggie Moore)
Schmitz said when Urban Underground was formed, the demand for an engagement group among young people was huge. At the time, Reggie and Sharlen engaged participants regardless of budget. They made sacrifices to launch and sustain the work, he said.
Schmitz also described Moore as a mentor, saying the results speak for themselves: State Rep.  David Bowen and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley are both Urban Underground alums, among many other community leaders.
Dr. Howard Fuller, a lifelong public servant and civil rights activist who served as the superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, said Moore helped teach him what youth development really meant.
Moore went the extra mile to make sure “voices were heard, and ideas were acted upon,” Fuller said.
“People like to talk about young people, but they don’t like to talk to young people,” Fuller said. “They like to talk about what young people need, but they don’t like young people to tell them what they need.”
Moore’s time working in youth development would go on to inform his violence prevention efforts. He stressed the importance of forging meaningful relationships with the next generation as a way of improving their lives.
“I feel like young people are dying from a lack of connection far sooner than they’re dying from any other form of violence,” Moore said.
Moore said that a community’s fear of young people and insistence that they are “to be seen, not heard” contribute to youth feeling disaffected and often making bad choices.
“Every kid deserves to grow up in a world where they’re valued because they’re here,” Moore said. “If we live in a world where we value kids, we’ll live in a world where we value life.”
After serving as executive director at Urban Underground until 2007, Moore spent four years working at the American Legacy Initiative, an anti-tobacco nonprofit that would go on to become the Truth Initiative.
Moore would spend time in Washington, D.C.., but he mainly worked remotely for the American Legacy Initiative until 2012.
Then he started the Center for Youth Engagement, returning him to his youth advocacy roots. Moore would go on to help establish the National Youth Alliance for Boys and Men of Color and serve as national facilitator for the My Brother’s Keeper Youth Roundtable.
He also helped develop Beyond the Bell, an effort to improve quality and access to after-school programs in Milwaukee.
Moore talks about violence prevention with Mike Gousha during an “On the Issues” forum at the Marquette Law School. (Photo provided by Reggie Moore)
An opening to head the city’s Office of Violence Prevention presented itself in 2016, and Moore was hesitant to take it. The mayor’s office approached Moore about the job, following the retirement of the previous director and a year where homicides had risen by 70%.
Working in city government was “never on my bucket list,” Moore said. It took an outpour of encouragement from members of the community to convince him to take the job.
Using his organizing roots, Moore built a team sourced from the community. He expanded the office’s staff from two people in 2016 to nine in 2021. He effectively tripled the budget for the department in those five years. He developed the Blueprint for Peace, a community-led document that has become highly regarded across the country.
Former Health Commissioner Dr. Jeanette Kowalik, who oversaw some of Moore’s work at the department, said he inherited limited resources and worked to create an infrastructure for the office to grow and thrive.
“Reggie hustled to get funding where it needed to be,” Kowalik said.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said Moore helped motivate people to join the city’s anti-violence efforts.
“Anybody who’s watched him in action knows that he’s truly committed, that he cares and that he poured his heart and soul into the work that he’s in,” Barrett said.
On Thursday, Barrett announced that Arnitta Holliman would serve as the new director of the Office of Violence Prevention, or OVP. Holliman has worked in OVP as a program manager for the Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma effort, a federally funded program that seeks to address the needs of high-risk young people and their families.
During his tenure with the city, Moore made it a point to hire people from the community with lived experience to be advocates in neighborhoods that were hurting.
“As an organizer, I understood the vast moat that often existed between community and government, and it shouldn’t be that way,” Moore said.
Among Moore’s biggest contributions, however, was his presence.
“My commitment was: I will be responsive, good news or bad,” Moore said. “Not only because that’s what leadership requires, but because that’s what our community needs. I think the lack of that contributes to a level of hopelessness that’s more deadly than a bullet.”
Among his most memorable experiences with the health department occurred during the unrest in Sherman Park. Moore said many viewed the fatal police shooting of Sylville Smith in 2016 as an isolated incident that sparked the ensuing events. Those on the ground knew better.
“This was cumulative rage and pain,” Moore said.
And the shooting was the final straw.
Police suspected Smith, 23, was involved in a drug transaction near Auer Avenue and officers chased him. Smith fled with a firearm and fell at a fence and dropped the gun. When he turned to toss the gun over a fence, officers opened fire.
Four months into the job, Moore found himself standing between protestors and riot gear-clad police officers trying to keep a tough situation under control. As tensions escalated and the police regrouped, Moore found that, for a moment, the only city officials at the scene were from the Office of Violence Prevention.
The experience clung to him, partly because of the lack of empathy he saw for Smith and his family.
“These people would trade millions of dollars for their loved ones to still be alive,” Moore said. “There are people with so little humanity that even in our death, there is no honor. There is no compassion.”
In seeing the community band together to memorialize Smith, Moore said he wanted to witness more “love in action” in the community. Something that could be seen every day, not just a result of a tragedy.
“Oftentimes in our community, we come together for funerals and we show love in crisis, and it pales in comparison to the love that’s missing every day and the compassion that’s lacking every day,” Moore said.
Moore began his new role with the Medical College of Wisconsin earlier this month. (Photo by Matt Martinez)
When it comes to funerals, Moore has seen more than he cares to recall. So have those who served with him. It can be a hard load to carry.
Moore recalled a case where one of the 414 LIFE staff, a “fearless individual” who had spent time in prison and committed his own acts of violence, returned to the office in shock.
A young man had been murdered at his grandmother’s house. She found the body. And the 414 LIFE staffer who never seemed to be afraid of anything began to cry.
Moore’s eyes began to glisten as he recalled the story.
“I don’t think men cry enough,” Moore said.
Moore has had to console countless families of children taken too soon by gun violence. Without fail, tears well up in his eyes every time he speaks about them.
“I think it’s difficult to appreciate the level of pressure, stress, pain, particularly if you are truly a public servant … truly for the service of the people,” Moore said.
On a recent Friday, Moore sits in an office that hasn’t been fully unpacked.
The Comprehensive Injury Center, Moore said, is going to be working on collecting data on gun violence and assaults from hospital systems around the area to get an accurate measure for where and why these things happen in the city.
Leaders at the center, which has been around since 1998, want to stop hospital visits from gun violence before they happen by addressing root causes.
In many ways, Moore will be continuing the work he started with the city.
The new position also gives Moore freedom to advocate for changes outside of the confines of city politics. Moore said he expects the work will allow him to focus on advocating for a public health approach to violence prevention at the state level.
“I have tried to dedicate my life to helping other people find and pursue their purpose and to leave this world better than I found it,” Moore said. “My motivation is not about position or title. It has always been about service.”

author: Matt Martinez


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OPINION: Milwaukee post-pandemic: ‘There is no going back to the old “normal,” and nobody should want to’ | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Frank Schneiger
May 21, 2021
(Photo by Wes Tank of TankThink)
Editor’s note: Have something on your mind? “Community Voices” is the place to let Milwaukee hear what you have to say. To be considered, we need your name, email address and phone number for verification. Please email your submissions to info@milwaukeenns.org.
(Photo provided by Frank Schneiger)
As the pandemic shows signs of winding down, it’s worth thinking about the near future, which, naturally, will be here very soon. And, soon after that, it will be the new past. Here’s hoping that, in our neighborhoods, we’ll be able to look back and say, “We took advantage of new opportunities,” instead of, “Dammit, we missed the boat on this one.”
It’s worth repeating the quote of historian F.W. Maitland, “We should always be aware that what now lies in the  once lay in the .”
In situations like this, there are three good ways to learn and understand where we want to go. They are: What is the story (history)? What is it like (comparisons and others’ experiences)? And what are our (often-unexamined) assumptions?
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Here is the first, and most basic, assumption for Milwaukee and many of its neighborhoods: There is no going back to the old “normal,” and nobody should want to. The future for communities has to be better, healthier and more peaceful.
To begin a discussion, here are some basic assumptions about the immediate future that should be tested. These are not predictions, but discussion points. As Mark Twain said, “Prediction is difficult, particularly when it involves the future.”
: When you ask, what do people on Milwaukee’s North and South sides need, close to the top of the list is a single word: Money. It’s pretty simple: Poverty = lack of money. Small businesses need local customers, and people need money to be customers.
It now appears that there will be infusions of real money, from the federal stimulus, into low-income communities. There is a widespread belief on the political right that you can’t solve problems by throwing money at them — unless, of course, it’s thrown in their direction. This is false. Throwing large amounts of money at a problem can solve it. It just has to be thrown accurately.
And there is the rub, especially in communities that have fought for crumbs and acquired a zero-sum, “you got it, but I should have” mentality. Experience teaches us that there are lots of ways to screw things up and squander one-time opportunities. Solid planning, high levels of trust, safeguards, accountability and a focus on execution are the keys to getting it right and bringing about real change.
Anger and rage can be useful tools.  They are not a strategy, and they don’t provide a pathway to action and sustained improvement in community life. Anger is justified, but it is also light work. I’m angry!! Now what? The central question: How do we get from A to B? Anger never gets you there.
Even at the neighborhood level, it is critical in this environment to think big. Repeat: thing big! If nothing else, the pandemic has made the scale of the challenges and the underlying inequities that low-income communities face crystal clear.
If you read Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, three things become clear pretty fast. The first is that there is a wealth of creative and committed young talent in Milwaukee. The second is the range of “green shoots” that this talent pool has produced. And the third, the generational divide that separates this group from older leaders who have lived in, and adapted to, an environment of “think small” and just try to keep the ship afloat.
Thinking small about big problems is the path to pessimism, cynicism and the erosion of trust. And for these negative norms to become “just the way things are here.” As Leo Tolstoy said in Anna Karenina, “There are no conditions to which a person cannot become accustomed, especially if they see everyone around them living in the same way.” A basic challenge is to become unaccustomed to unhealthy things that now seem normal because we are used to them.
: The starting point should be a clear, concrete vision of the community’s desired future, rather than beginning with a list of issues, grievances or problems. That shared vision, what we want our neighborhoods to be, is the mobilizing force for getting everyone pulling together to achieve a better future. And also to hold those with real resources accountable. That is, here is where we are going, here is what it will take to get there, so don’t nickel and dime it.
Even at the community level, understanding and using history are essential to moving forward. The “structures” in “structural racism” did not pop up overnight. For example, to understand the culture and behaviors of the Milwaukee Police Department, you have to go back more than 50 years to the racist and anti-Semitic tenure of Harold Breier. Cultures are persistent, and hard to change. What we know how to change are behaviors.
But – big but – history can also be a trap, especially if it is used to relentlessly focus on victimization, even when there is a strong case for it. The flip side of white people’s “just get over it routine” is to constantly look backward and to obsess with fixing blame rather than solving problems and finding pathways and relationships that can lead to a better future.
: Racism and bigotry are related, but not the same thing. Here is a question. Are people who have faced racism entitled to their own bigotry? I believe that the correct answer to this question is a resounding “no.” And, that “no” has a lot of relevance at the community level.
A basic assumption: a healthy community is one in which misogyny, homophobia, anti-Semitism and negative stereotyping of any group don’t go unchallenged. There is enough misery imposed from outside communities of color without it being compounded within these communities.
Across racial and other groups, Americans have acquired the bad habits of judging other groups by their worst members, and individuals by the worst thing they have ever done. A healthy community is one in which peace, love, justice and inclusion are the norms.
Anti-violence and community peace are not the same thing either. The current (correct) focus on police violence should not lead us to minimize or not address the enormous human, social and monetary damage inflicted by high levels of violence.
For example, what would the response be if this week’s local headline read “Police shoot and kill three people on North Side?” Without any fear of contradiction, I can say that it would be hitting the fan as this is being written. But there were multiple gun killings in recent days, just a typical week in the “inner city,” something that many have come to see as normal. Even worse, in the eyes of many, these deaths and maimings are OK because “they’re killing each other.”
Assumption: There are proven methods to produce big reductions in urban violence. They are the ones that combine addressing structural issues, providing real opportunities and effective policing. These three are an integrated package, not a menu where you pick and choose.
Assumption Eight:  A premise from a famous quote: “A thought which does not result in an action is nothing much, and an action which does not proceed from a thought is nothing at all.” An additional premise: The real challenge at the community level is to find the absolute outer edge of positive change and then act to get there.
It is about building coalitions for change, including the right champions, solid planning and then, concerted action that produces visible short-term gains and long-term change that results in peaceful, thriving communities. Assumption: this is not pie-in-the-sky. It is doable.
Frank Schneiger is the founder and president of Frank Schneiger and Associates., a planning and change management company serving the nonprofit and public service sectors.

author: Frank Schneiger


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5 things to do and know this week in Milwaukee: May 24 to May 29 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ana Martinez-Ortiz
May 24, 2021
The Milwaukee County Transit System is hosting a virtual job fair for bus drivers and mechanics this week. (File photo by Analise Pruni)
It’s Monday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about as the nation grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic. If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please email info@milwaukeenns.org and put “5 things” in the subject line by noon Thursday.
1. Milwaukee County Transit System virtual job fair: Tuesday, May 25
The Milwaukee County Transit System is hosting a virtual job fair for bus drivers and mechanics. The job fair will take place on Zoom from noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, May 25. Advanced registration is required. During the job fair, attendees will hear from current MCTS employees, learn about company benefits and more.
2. America’s Black Holocaust Museum book club: Ongoing
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America’s Black Holocaust Museum’s book club is reading Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, “A Long Walk to Freedom.” (The book club is running in conjunction with the Nelson Mandela exhibition currently on display at the Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 W. Wells St.) Due to the length of the book, the club will meet twice. Parts one through six will be discussed on Zoom at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 3. Parts seven through 11 will be discussed on Zoom at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 1. All are welcome to join the discussion.
3. Pete’s Pops fundraiser for Washington Park Wednesdays: Wednesday, May 26
Pete’s Pops is hosting a fundraiser to help support Washington Park Wednesdays. People are encouraged to stop by Pete’s Pops, 3809 W. Vliet St., and purchase a popsicle from noon to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 26. The pop shop plans to give 25% of all sales to Washington Park Wednesdays.
4. Public hearing on American Rescue Plan Act funding: Wednesday, May 26
The Common Council’s Finance and Personnel Committee is hosting a virtual public meeting regarding funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. The City of Milwaukee is receiving $394 million in funding. The public is invited to provide input on how the city should spend the money. To provide testimony, you must register by 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 26. Testimonies can be delivered by phone or internet. Written comments can be made through the eComment feature on the city’s website. The meeting will take place virtually at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 26.
5. “Systems of Racial Violence”: A discussion series: Thursday, May 27
America’s Black Holocaust Museum and the Milwaukee Public Museum are hosting a free panel discussion on the policy and racial justice movements in South Africa and the United States. Dr. Robert Smith, the resident historian of America’s Black Holocaust Museum, will moderate. The discussion, “Evil Twins: Histories of Apartheid and Jim Crow,” will take place on Zoom from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 27. After the panel, there will be an optional conversation facilitated by Ambrose Wilson-Brown, a wellness coach. To register for both, click here.
There will be a second panel discussion titled, “The Long Struggle: Resistance Movements Against Apartheid and Jim Crow,” from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 17.
Bonus: WestCare Wisconsin free gun locks: Ongoing
WestCare Wisconsin’s campaign, “Love Up, Lock Down Gun Lock,” offers free gun locks to the community. Gun owners can schedule an appointment to receive a gun lock by contacting Kevin Brown at 414-374-2300. The gun locks can be picked up in-person at 335 W. Wright St.


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 23, 2021


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PHOTOS: Check out the redevelopment of the former Phillis Wheatley Elementary School (and a Grumpy Cat sighting) | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
May 24, 2021
Former elementary school to be used for housing
Earlier this month, community leaders celebrated the groundbreaking and redevelopment at the former Phillis Wheatley Elementary School, which will be used for housing.
The $22 million development will include construction of a new four-story building alongside the school building that features more than 140,000 square feet.
Ald. Russell W. Stamper II said the facility will have 82 single, double and triple bedroom units.
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“This groundbreaking is monumental for the rejuvenation of the 53206 ZIP code, and I am proud that we are able to start the construction process at such a historically significant site,” Stamper said in a news release.
In case you missed it:
Royal Capital Celebrates Start of 53206 Housing Development
Plans proceeding to convert historic former school on Milwaukee’s north side into affordable apartments
Here’s your Monday smile
Deputy Editor Adam Carr snapped this shot of Grumpy Cat making a mural cameo in the 2100 block of North 30th Street.
See interesting things in the community? Of course you have. Send us your pictures, along with captions and contact information, to “NNS Snapshots” at info@milwaukeenns.org

author: Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service


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Post from Community: Spectrum Reach’s “Pay It Forward” offers minority-owned businesses free advertising and marketing resources | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ald. Cavalier Johnson
May 24, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
Spectrum Reach is offering local minority-owned businesses the chance to receive three months of free television advertising, a free commercial, and other marketing resources as part of the company’s “Pay It forward” initiative. Common Council President Cavalier Johnson is urging local businesses who meet the qualifications to apply today.
“As a way to support the community, Spectrum Reach is offering minority-owned businesses the opportunity to enhance their brand free of charge, and I’m grateful for their willingness to support local entrepreneurs in this way,” said President Johnson. “The deadline to apply is fast approaching, and I encourage all minority-owned businesses citywide to submit their application today.”
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The deadline to apply is Monday, May 31. Businesses selected to participate will receive a three month television advertising schedule from July – September, a free 30 second commercial through Waymark, support from local marketing experts, access to on-demand educational content and invitations to exclusive speakers’ series and events with industry leaders.
Additional information and application instructions can be found by visiting:
https://go2.spectrumreach.com/pay-it-forward.

author: Ald. Cavalier Johnson


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Here’s the mobile vaccine clinic schedule in Milwaukee for the week | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
May 25, 2021
There are many places in the community where you can get vaccinated. (Photo by Sue Vliet)
Looking to get vaccinated? Here are mobile clinics happening in the community this week.
Tuesday, May 25
North Division High School, 1011 W. Center Street, 9 – 11 a.m.
South Division High School, 1515 W. Lapham Blvd., 9 – 11 a.m.
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Mitchell Street Library, 906 W. Historic Mitchell Street, 12 – 4 p.m.
Prince of Peace Lower Campus, 1114 S. 25th Street, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Mason Temple Church of God in Christ, 6098 N. 35th Street, 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Morse Middle School, 6700 N. 80th Street, 9 – 11 a.m.
Roosevelt Middle School of the Arts,  800 W. Walnut Street, 9 – 11 a.m.
Washington Park Library, 2121 N. Sherman Boulevard, 12 – 4 p.m.
Zablocki Library, 3501 W. Oklahoma Avenue, 12 – 4 p.m.
United Methodist Children’s Services of Wisconsin, 3940 W. Lisbon Avenue, 12 – 4 p.m.
Ascension All Saints Family Health Center, 2400 W. Villard Avenue, 1 – 5 p.m.
Milwaukee Brewers – Helfaer Field, 1 Brewers Way, 4:10 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. **Brewers will provide two tickets for same day game to vaccine recipients
Thursday, May 27
North Division High School, 1011 W. Center Street, 9 – 11 a.m.
South Division High School, 1515 W. Lapham Blvd., 9 – 11 a.m.
Milwaukee Brewers – Helfaer Field, 1 Brewers Way, 9:10 a.m. – 12 p.m. **Brewers will provide two tickets for same day game to vaccine recipients
Mitchell Street Library, 906 W. Historic Mitchell Street, 12 – 4 p.m.
Our Lady Queen of Peace, 2733 W. Euclid Avenue, 2 – 4 p.m.
Friday, May 28
Rogers Street Academy, 2430 W. Rogers Street, 9 – 11 a.m.
Roosevelt Middle School of the Arts, 800 W. Walnut Street, 9 – 11 a.m.
Washington Park Library, 2121 N. Sherman Boulevard, 12 – 4 p.m.
Zablocki Library, 3501 W. Oklahoma Avenue, 12 – 4 p.m.
Consulado de Mexico en Milwaukee ,1443 N. Prospect Avenue, 3 – 5 p.m.
Source: News release from the office of Common Council President Cavalier Johnson


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 24, 2021


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News414: You asked, we answer: How to get food aid if you don’t have transportation | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
May 25, 2021
Volunteers prepare food at one of Capuchin Community Services’ locations. If you’re looking for food from a Capuchin pantry to be delivered, call Capuchin and they’ll let someone pick up food for you on your behalf. (Photo by Ana Martinez-Ortiz)
One year ago, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service collaborated with fellow nonprofit newsrooms Wisconsin Watch and Outlier Media to launch News414, the free texting news service that offers essential information such as where to find food near you and what rights you have as a tenant during the pandemic.
Since then, we’ve communicated with over 1,000 texters regularly about issues that matter most to them. Today we’ll share our answers to two common questions we’ve received recently about food access and rent assistance.
To ask a question through News414, text “MKE” to 73224.
“How can I get food from a food pantry if I have transportation barriers?”
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Friedens Food Pantries is delivering to people over 60 years old or with disabilities in the 53204, 53215 and 53224 ZIP codes. Deliveries go out monthly and contain two weeks’ worth of meals. Call 414-289-6030 to register for food delivery.
House of Peace, a food pantry operated by Capuchin Community Services located at 1702 W. Walnut St., allows people with transportation challenges to have someone pick up on their behalf. Packages contain enough food for three to five days, according to assistant director Linda Barnes.
“I don’t have reliable access to the internet. How can I apply for rent assistance?”
Both Community Advocates and the Social Development Commission administer rental assistance programs that provide tenants with emergency funds to pay rent and avoid being evicted.
Community Advocates has an online application for rent assistance, but if you or someone you know wants to apply but lacks reliable internet access, you can pick up a paper copy of the application at 728 N. James Lovell St., Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
If you need help filling out the application, call Community Advocates at 414-270-4646.
The Social Development Commission has started disbursing new rental assistance funds. Here’s what you need to know.
Check our some of our Instagram offerings:
Here are some affordable mental health resources for adults and youths
Here are some things renters should know about the federal eviction moratorium
COVID-19 vaccine sites near you

author: Sam Woods


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NNS Spotlight: How the Hmong American Women’s Association creates a safe space for sisterhood and service | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ana Martinez-Ortiz
May 25, 2021
The Hmong American Women’s Association began in the mid-’90s with 13 women. Since then, it has continued to evolve as it creates a safe space for its members. (Photo provided by HAWA)
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Yang’s name and current staff size.
For many years, Leana Yang felt removed from her Hmong culture.
As a queer fem woman, Yang didn’t feel accepted in her community. But when she started volunteering with the Hmong American Women’s Association, things started to change.
Yang found a space that not only accepted her but was also open to anyone struggling to find a place in Milwaukee’s Hmong community.
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Humble beginnings
The organization, better known as HAWA, began in the mid-90s with a group of 13 Hmong women. Now, its staff alone consists of 13 members.
The women wanted to create a safe space for women and girls, and its first program was the Paj Ntaub Circle.
Paj ntaub are embroidery cloths and an intrinsic part of Hmong culture. Through the program, women would come together to sew, have conversations and share stories. From there, the group evolved into a sisterhood, said Tammie Xiong, who serves as the HAWA’s executive director.
Xiong’s mother was one of the original founders, and HAWA has always been a part of her life as she’s watched it evolve.
“HAWA has always responded to the needs of the community,” she said.
These days, the organization, located at 3727 W. National Ave., offers youth programming, advocates for the LGBTQ+ community and creates space for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.
Yang, who eventually joined the group as the outreach and education director, noted that as the world has changed, so has HAWA.
Confronting domestic violence
The group’s domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy work, for example, began in the early 2000s.
“Through a lot of our story sharings and a lot of conversation with our mothers and our sisters, the stories of abuse kept coming up,” Xiong said. “We knew as an organization we needed to be able to respond to that.”
Sexual violence can be a taboo subject in the Hmong community, Xiong said. If an incident happens, it often stays within the family and is dealt with from within. The idea of reaching out for help is nonexistent, she said.
If a person does step forward, not only is she automatically blamed for what is happening, but she’s also pushed out of the community, effectively losing her support system, Xiong said.
Since HAWA is familiar with such cultural nuances, it created a culturally specific sexual assault program.
“We know that when a woman walks through our doors, she has already had to jump through all the cultural hoops,” Xiong said. “Because we live in that same cultural community, we already have that understanding.”
As part of its advocacy work, the group is working on creating sexual assault terminology in the Hmong language. The advocates work with survivors to make trauma-informed terminology that avoids derogatory language.
“Part of breaking the silence is being able to name what you’re experiencing,” Xiong said. “If you don’t have the words to really communicate what you’re experiencing, then you’re never able to name it.”
The terminology and language are constantly moving pieces, Yang added. There are many nuances, and the group is continually learning from its clients.
In recent years, the group has become one of the leaders in the LGBTQ+ advocacy movement. Yang credits Xiong with creating that space and ensuring that HAWA focuses on queer and trans folks in its work.
“I’m 29-years-old and obviously I’ve been Hmong my whole life and never did I imagine that I could be in my Hmong community with Hmong women leaders and really be fully myself,” Yang said. “I feel that that is the definition of being safe.”
HAWA offers LGBTQ+ programming and has a gender-neutral community closet where anyone can shop.
Throughout its continual evolution, HAWA’s approach remains the same: It focuses on sisterhood and story sharing.
“One of the things we continue to center and uplift, even from the ’90s to now, that has not changed, is the story sharing piece,” Yang said.
The story sharing program offers a place of healing for women, girls and queer and trans folks, she said. The healing piece further brings the women together, Yang said, and it helps build that sisterhood.
While the youth programs meet once a week, the healing programs may only meet twice a month. Currently, the groups meet virtually, but organizers are looking for alternative ways to safely gather in light of the pandemic.
Working in the margins
Although the group has established itself in the Hmong community, it sometimes struggles to be visible throughout Milwaukee.
Xiong said she wishes more people in Milwaukee would try to learn about HAWA’s work and how residents can better support and uplift its efforts.
“In Milwaukee, there’s not one space that is specifically for Southeast Asian women, girls, queer and trans people in this city, and that is the space that HAWA is trying to fill,” Xiong said.
“I think that if Milwaukee saw the value of a place like HAWA, they would see how incredible the people are within that organization and what they actually bring and contribute to the larger Milwaukee community,” Xiong said.
For more information
Although the National Avenue offices are currently closed because of the pandemic, more information can be found on HAWA’s website www.hawamke.org.


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Post from Community: Music, dance fill band shell in June | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care
May 25, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
Multicultural mix of entertainment lights up Indaba Nights.
Indaba Nights, a free 13-week outdoor summer concert series, kicks off on June 2. Family-friendly performances will take place at the Indaba Band Shell, 2450 W. North Ave., every Wednesday, 6:30-8:30 p.m. through Aug. 25.
The band shell, located at St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care-Bucyrus Campus, offers a covered, wheelchair-accessible audience space, plus lawn seating. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets. Food trucks will also be at the venue.
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In observance of COVID-19 safety guidelines, guests are asked to wear a mask and to practice social distancing on the grounds.
The June entertainment lineup includes:
June 2:
6:30 Tejumola (Teju) Ologboni, a master storyteller and oral historian, accompanies his stories with the intricate rhythms of African drums. Expect an energized and informative audience-participation program from Teju, with drummer/percussionist Dumah Saafir.
7:30 The Nefertari African Dance Company, founded in 1968, has performed worldwide, receiving acclaim for their mastery of various forms of African dance. Made up of students from elementary through high school, Nefertari has danced and drummed locally at Holiday Folk Fair and Summerfest and traveled to Washington D.C. and as far as Ghana, West Africa.
June 9:
6:30 Mahogany Soul has been bringing the smooth sounds of old school R&B and Neo Soul since 2013. The trio features lead singer Shirley Leatherwood-Garrett, her husband, Benito, on keys and brother Quincy Holloway on bass.
7:30 Joe Jordan Live and the Soul Trio Band keeps audiences on their feet with a mix of soul, jazz and R&B. Their sound flows from the music of Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway to John Legend and the top artists of today.
June 16:
6:30 The Non Prophets play a variety of the “Americana” style of music, from bluegrass and country to rock and roll. Members include John Jansen, John Spasaro, Ann and Bill Utke, Dale Parkinson and Penny Clark Laferriere.
7:30 Acoustic Blu, a local duo/trio, has performed in Greater Milwaukee for over 8 years, playing original music and covering favorite blues, country, and classic rock tunes. They wow listeners of all ages with their vocal and guitar arrangements and a healthy dose of fun and humor.
7:30 Lady Dee Jai Michelle Aldridge began sharing her beloved collection of old-school music with friends and was soon in demand as a DJ for parties throughout Milwaukee. She delights her audience with tunes they grew up listening to—from classic R&B and pop rock to Motown.To get regular updates on the summer performance season, visit StAnnCenter.org/Indaba; or Facebook.com/IndabaBandShell. For more information, contact Gloria Miller at 414-210-2428.


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indababa | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 25, 2021


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Post from Community: Sunday’s caravan calling for normalization of relations with Cuba | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Art Heitzer
May 25, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
This coming Sunday, May 30, a car and bike caravan calling for an end to the US economic blockade of Cuba will leave from the Mitchell Park Domes, 524 S. Layton Blvd., after a short send-off at 1 PM. These caravans, generally held on the last Sunday of the month, are part of a larger movement started by Cuban-Americans in Miami to end restrictions on their ability to see or assist their relatives, and has expanded throughout the US and worldwide. In Milwaukee, the demands will include justice for all Latinx immigrants and their families.
At the last rally on April 25th, Olive Lewinski Albanese, a Milwaukee native currently studying at Cuba’s Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) said “During the past seven years, we’ve seen firsthand so many ways that this blockade is hurting and killing the Cuban people. The shortage of essential medicines to control high blood pressure causes complications such as stroke and heart attacks. This is just one example. We could tell you thousands more . . . On this other side, Americans suffer from the blockade too…because the blockade prevents not only the exchange of goods and services but also the exchange of truth and ideas.”
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Ms. Albanese is one of two students from Milwaukee who are scheduled to graduate this year from ELAM as debt-free doctors. This is part of Cuba’s affirmative action program, which has educated 200 U.S. students, mostly women and overwhelmingly people of color, free of charge in return for their promise to return home and work in an under-served setting. “We are beneficiaries of an incredible and wonderful gift given to us by the Cuban people — a scholarship to study medicine and become doctors of science with conscience.”
Prominent Cuban-born Milwaukeean Dr. Raul Galvan also spoke of the harm caused by our continued restrictions which were sharply escalated by the last administration and are still fully in place today: “It’s time President Biden’s Administration resumed dialogue with the Cuban government to normalize relations with the island country.  The 60-year Embargo continues to inflict harm on the Cuban people and has failed to overthrow the Cuban government.”  He also encouraged people to support this movement in Milwaukee.
At 1pm on Sunday a send off rally will feature speakers including medical students directly from Havana who are from Wisconsin and Palestine, and from sponsoring groups including Voces de la Frontera, Los Brown Berets and the Wisconsin Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba.
For more information, contact the Wisconsin Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba, www.wicuba.org, email: wicubacoalition@gmail.com, and Facebook (facebook.com/WisconsinCubaCoalition, FB event: https://www.facebook.com/events/329053485230326).

author: Art Heitzer


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Post from Community: Supervisor Coggs-Jones statement on one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
County Supervisor Priscilla E. Coggs-Jones
May 25, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
One year ago today George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin. Supervisor Priscilla E. Coggs-Jones released the following statement on his murder and steps needed to combat police violence across the nation.
“Excessive force and police brutality are all too common in our lives. For decades—especially for Black men and boys—racism, discrimination, double standards of justice, inequities of the justice system, and police brutality have continued to be the norm.
“I am calling upon the members of the Wisconsin U.S Senate delegation to support the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would bring about changes to policing on the federal level by banning the use of chokeholds and establishing a national database of police misconduct. I will also be introducing a County Board resolution supporting the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
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“This has been a painful year, but as we look back we must be reminded of the stories of people such as Daniel Bell, which show that police violence has been our reality for decades. Now, with phones and technology the world of brutality our community lives in is being exposed.
“As the mother of a Black son, no mother wants their son to be stopped while driving because the color of their skin or because he is running down the block, and no mother wants their son to be murdered because of the color of his skin.
“As we mark one year since George Floyd’s murder, something must happen in Washington D.C., something must happen in Madison, and something must happen all over our state, especially in Milwaukee County. No more Sean Bell, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ernest Lacy, Dontre Hamilton, Sylville Smith, and Jacob Blake. Speak their name, so that their names do not die in vain as we work for justice, not just us. As my grandfather Isaac N. Coggs would say, ‘United we stand divided we are stuck.’”


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Post from Community: Open house for Stark Playfield’s renovation | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Recreation
May 26, 2021
(Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Recreation)
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
Drop in anytime at Stark Playfield from 1-6pm on Wednesday June 2nd (Rain Date June 9th)
Milwaukee Recreation is making improvements to Stark Playfield (4951 N. 40 St.) and would like to hear your ideas. The playfield is located just a few blocks away from Obama High School and Custer Stadium. Drop in anytime and help us reimagine the playfield. The more input, the better it will be.
What improvements would you like to see?
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FREE giveaway to first 50 youth! Bring your kids or a neighbor and let’s get planning! Social distancing measures will be in place. Masks will be provided. Light refreshments.
Can’t join in-person? Take the online survey at mkerec.net/stark
Milwaukee Recreation is on a mission to revitalize all 52 of its playfields throughout the City of Milwaukee through its Dream Build Play initiative. This is a full-scale renovation project. For more information on past and current projects, please visit their website.

author: Milwaukee Recreation


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 26, 2021


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‘We’re moving into the community’: Milwaukee County, Outreach Community Health Centers open clinic on North Side | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Matt Martinez
May 26, 2021
Tanya Cummings, crisis services manager at Access Clinic East, says the new clinic provides services for the uninsured, underinsured and those between providers. (Photo by Matt Martinez)
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for mental health services on Milwaukee’s North Side has risen.
Annie Carrell, director of behavioral health services at Outreach Community Health Centers, said patients have been dealing with wait times to be connected to services. The wait for a referral can be as long as a month, she said.
In an attempt to expand services, the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division last month  established Access Clinic East at 210 W. Capitol Drive in a shared space with Outreach’s Behavioral Health Clinic.
The clinic provides walk-in and short-term psychiatric care, offers telehealth options and performs mental health assessments over the phone.
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Carrell said the walk-in option is especially important because some residents face transportation and other challenges.
“Even the statement of having to ask for help is a big barrier,” Carrell said.
In April, the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division established Access Clinic East at 210 W. Capitol Drive in a shared space with Outreach Community Health Centers’ Behavioral Health Clinic. (Photo by Matt Martinez)
Kenneth Ginlack, director of outpatient treatment programs at the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division, said the clinic’s location is important because it moves services away from the Behavioral Health Division on West Watertown Plank Road.
“The big deal here is that we’re moving into the community,” Ginlack said.
Tanya Cummings, crisis services manager at Access Clinic East, said the clinic provides  services for the uninsured, underinsured and those between providers.
Cummings said this includes short-term psychotherapy and prescriptions that can be accessed on the same day. The clinic averages about four assessments per day, she said.
The goal is to provide temporary support until a long-term provider can be established or a person’s needs have been adequately met. Each case is different, she said.
“They may need to be connected with a clinician long term,” Cummings said. “Some people may just be looking for therapy.”
About Access Clinic East


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 25, 2021


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A Milwaukee man explains how his college debt spiraled out of control — and how to avoid a similar fate | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dee J. Hall (Wisconsin Watch)
May 27, 2021
After we published the story about how many Black Wisconsin residents struggle with high student loan debt, several readers had questions about how the debt for Clint Myrick, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee alum, was able to reach $152,039.
Some questioned whether Myrick took steps to save and earn money. Did he live at home? Did he work during the summer? Why didn’t he use his diploma in music education to get a teaching job?
Clint Myrick is seen at his home in Milwaukee on May 10, 2021. Myrick graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2010 with a student loan debt that has since ballooned to over $150,000. Myrick said he understands why so many students take out loans without necessarily knowing how to pay them back. “They sell you on the dream. ‘Just take out the loans, and you’ll get a job where you’ll be able to pay that stuff back!’ You really believe it,” Myrick says. “They sell you on the dream. ‘Just take out the loans, and you’ll get a job where you’ll be able to pay that stuff back!’ You really believe it,” Myrick said. (Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin Watch)
According to Myrick, the full backstory is complicated. A talented trumpet player, Myrick says he was naive about both the cost of college and his ability to put his degree to work after graduation. By the time he started college, Myrick already had child support to pay for his son. He spent weekends caring for him, cutting into the time he could work to earn money. Myrick switched majors several times, taking five years to graduate. Myrick’s family was in no position to help financially, he says.
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“I was a poor college student like many others,” says Myrick, who graduated in 2010. “I was very active in campus life, which helped balance out the pressures of the real life issues, but it wears you down and eventually grades slip towards the end.”
As his grade point average plunged, Myrick lost his financial aid. When he graduated, he felt he couldn’t afford to spend a year as a student teacher without pay, so he never earned his teaching certificate.
Like many college graduates struggling to find a good job, Myrick took an internship, which inspired him to go to graduate school at UW-Milwaukee. Throughout that time, he worked for a catering company, but more debt piled up — for tuition, rent, meals and other living expenses.
“I dropped out of grad school due to stress, was late turning in final papers, but I realized somewhere that I didn’t want to be an educator anymore and wanted a change. So I had undergraduate debt, grad debt, and no major job,” Myrick says.
He says he was unable to afford payments for several years, and the debt grew “out of control.” Myrick recalls feeling “really depressed” on his 25th birthday “because I felt I haven’t accomplished anything and I’ve done so many wrong things while trying to do right.”
“My college experience was fun, exciting and I took everything I could from it,” Myrick says. “I acquired lifelong friends, joined a fraternity, relationships with administrators, played rec basketball and took some of my first trips during college. The experience was worth it — but the penalty for debt afterwards, I haven’t figured out yet how to pay it back.”
Myrick hopes his story serves as a warning to students tempted to take on unsustainable levels of debt — and against neglecting their grades, especially if they plan to go to grad school. A father of three, Myrick now works three jobs to support his family and pay back his loans. He has gotten offers of financial help from readers moved by his story. Despite some qualms, he set up a GoFundMe page.
“I desperately need the help for anyone willing to give it. However, I would feel survivor’s remorse for getting the help and many others with the same situation hadn’t gotten any help like me,” he says.
“I don’t want anyone else to go through these struggles,” Myrick adds. “Life could be and could’ve been much easier.”
This article first appeared on WisconsinWatch.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

author: Dee J. Hall (Wisconsin Watch)


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Post from Community: Advertising agency offering pro bono assistance for nominated local minority business | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Laughlin Constable
May 27, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
Laughlin Constable, an independent, creative agency, announced it is expanding its pro bono program to specifically seek nominations and applications from minority-owned businesses in its own office cities of Chicago and Milwaukee that can benefit and grow from marketing services.
The agency is aiming to “Increase the Piece” of success for minority businesses, which account for 7.5% of small business in America and were hit disproportionately hard during the pandemic. Qualified businesses in the Greater Milwaukee area and the Greater Chicago area can apply or be nominated for a range of services, including creative, digital, public relations, media, production, content and SEO and email marketing. Following the nomination period, which runs through June 27, one deserving minority-owned business will be selected as the pro bono partner. The agency hopes to continue and expand the effort as possible.
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“It’s no question that all businesses were hit hard during the pandemic, but minority-owned small businesses were effected disproportionately and we thought, as an agency team, this was one way we could play a role in making a difference,” says Mat Lignel, president and CEO of Laughlin Constable. “We’re one agency, started through entrepreneurship 45 years ago, looking to help another in our home cities grow and prosper. We hope to continue this initiative to serve more and encourage other local agencies to help as they can to elevate minority-owned entrepreneurs.”
To apply or nominate a minority-owned small business, visit Laughlin.com/Increase-the-Piece. Qualified participants need to be MBE Certified through the National Minority Supplier Development Council and have an office or service area in Wisconsin or Illinois.
Laughlin Constable is a leader in a number of creative industry diversity initiatives, including board leadership with The BrandLab; being a founding business member of Greater Together, a multi-year participant in the 4As Multicultural Internship Advertising Program (MAIP), and a pipeline partnership with Milwaukee Public Schools; and it has long provided pro bono partner support to both the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago and Greater Milwaukee.
“This effort allows us to take additional action in the best way we could – putting our expertise to use to help others succeed. We’re thrilled to be extending our ongoing pro bono commitment to minority-owned businesses in our backyards and we look forward to the partnership,” said Lignel.
About Laughlin Constable
Laughlin Constable is a full-service, independent, creative agency with deep digital roots. Laughlin Constable leverages technology to elevate creative to take brands From Now to Next™. Its annual billings are in excess of $280 million with offices in Chicago and Milwaukee. The agency’s clients include: Yuengling, ASPCA, Northwestern Medicine, Hoosier Lottery and Master Lock. For more information, please visit Laughlin.com.

author: Laughlin Constable


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Post from Community: Charter commits $1 million to 2021 Spectrum digital education program | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 27, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
Charter Communications, Inc. announced its commitment of $1 million towards the 2021 Spectrum Digital Education (SDE) grant program, which supports nonprofit organizations that educate community members on the benefits of broadband and how to use it in their lives. Nonprofit organizations may begin to apply for support June 1 until Friday, June 25, at 5 p.m. EDT. Grants will be announced in August and awarded this fall.
“The past year has further highlighted the need for high-speed broadband connectivity throughout our country, and Charter is even more committed to doing its part to connect the unserved and underserved,” said Rahman Khan, Vice President of Community Impact for Charter. “Since we launched Spectrum Digital Education in 2017, we’ve provided resources as well as promote adoption and education in digital literacy for those in need throughout the communities we serve, and we look forward to continuing to meet those needs this year.”
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Through February of this year, Spectrum Digital Education has awarded grants to nonprofit organizations that help communities expand their broadband and technical training in various ways, including teaching seniors digital skills, setting up technology labs, providing online classes for families that need homework and job support, and purchasing laptops for underserved groups, helping nearly 70,000 individuals across 19 states and Washington, D.C. To be eligible for a Spectrum Digital Education grant, organizations must serve communities located within Charter’s 41-state service area and have 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. More information on how to apply is available here.
This year’s $1 million commitment comes after Charter boosted its 2020 program to $1 million, in response to higher demand for digital education support due to the pandemic. In all, the company has committed $7 million to support broadband education, technology and training through this program since its launch in 2017.


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Post from Community: Community invited to enjoy 50th annual Juneteenth festivities | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ald. Milele A. Coggs
May 27, 2021
(File photo from 2017 Juneteenth Day parade)
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The entire community is invited to take part in the 50th annual Juneteenth Day festivities scheduled for Saturday, June 19, 2021, from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. between W. Burleigh St. and W. Center St.
The annual Juneteenth Day Celebration in Milwaukee is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth marks African American freedom proclaimed to all enslaved people of African descent in the South by Union General Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865 in Galveston, Texas, nearly two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln.
The event is free and open to the public. The kickoff parade starts at 8 a.m. from 14th and Atkinson and will travel to W. Burleigh and N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. The official program starts at 9:30 a.m. near MLK Dr. and Burleigh St.
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Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs, whose 6th Aldermanic District hosts the annual Juneteenth festivities, said attendees will be required to wear masks, which will be provided for free by volunteers. “Although Juneteenth was canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year the Northcott Neighborhood House is working with its health partners, namely the Milwaukee Health Department and the Milwaukee Heritage Health Center, to set safety standards as well as follow the guidelines set by Centers for Disease Control,” she said.
“We are looking forward to having a safe and enjoyable Juneteenth Day celebration this year, and I strongly encourage the community to attend and show their support,” the alderwoman said.
Because of Covid-19, this year’s Miss Juneteenth Day “Formal” Pageant was canceled – however, Northcott Neighborhood House, Inc. and Jammin’ 98.3 are still looking to crown Miss Juneteenth and Little Miss Juneteenth Day 2021(along with Mister Juneteenth and Mister Juneteenth Day Jr. 2021).
Enter your talented child below in the pageant for the chance to win up to $1,500 in prizes Juneteenth Pageant submissions deadline is Monday, May 31st: https://jammin983.com/juneteenthpageant/
This year there are limited vendor spots (and all vendors must be approved and take part in an informational session) and specific rules for parade participation. To find out more about vendor opportunities or about becoming a parade participant, please 414-372-3770 or email ecoggs@northcotthouse.org

author: Ald. Milele A. Coggs


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 27, 2021


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Post from Community: Dominican Center to host virtual event to celebrate 25 years in Amani | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dominican Center
May 27, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
The Dominican Center (DC), a nonprofit dedicated to working with residents in Milwaukee’s Amani neighborhood and to build a better future for the community, will host a virtual fundraising event in celebration of its 25 anniversary on June 3, 2021. The event will pay tribute to DC’s lasting legacy in the community and honor its outgoing executive director Sr. Patricia Rogers, OP.
The celebration will also provide the community a chance to come together following a challenging year and engage neighborhood residents to continue the work that Rogers and the rest of the team have spearheaded over the years. Rogers, who has led the organization since 2011, will retire after 40 years of service to the Dominican congregation, including 10 years with DC. Under her leadership, DC has responded to the changing needs of the community, supporting neighborhood cleanups, mobile food pantries and the resident-led Moody Park revitalization, among many other projects.
“The Dominican Center is located in the heart of the Amani community and therefore took on the challenge to help sustain the heartbeat of the community. The wisdom of the residents gave life and support to a combined ministry, attending the community heart,” Rogers said. “Through honesty and hard work, we learned to trust the other and a lifetime bond was developed. Parting does not always mean goodbye. I am sure we will find ways to stay connected because we share a heart.”
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Founded in 1995 as an urban ministry program to learn more about the women in the community, today the Dominican Center serves as a convening organization, connecting nearly 40 nonprofits to the community to serve all Amani residents. DC offers a broad range of programs such as GED and HSED preparation classes and offers support to Amani residents and the neighborhood organization Amani United. Over the last year, DC has been instrumental in building resilience in the community and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing current information. Working directly with residents, DC made more than 1,500 personal connections with residents by phone and safe in-person porch visits, providing face masks and hand sanitizer as well as resources to residents facing evictions and foreclosures. In recent months, DC partnered with the Health Department and neighborhood partners to bring vaccine clinics to the Amani neighborhood.
As the neighborhood continues to recover from the last year, DC will come under new leadership as Denisha Tate-McAlister, who has been with the Dominican Center for more than two years, will take over as interim executive director. She will lead the next generation of community leaders to continue the work of the organization in the neighborhood.
“It is with great pleasure that I accept the assignment of Interim Executive Director of Dominican Center in the Amani Neighborhood.  I have been engaged with Dominican Center and the community revitalization plan since 2018,” Tate-McAlister said. “To see the leadership of residents, the collaboration of partners, and the heart of Sister Patricia and team has been beyond inspiring. I have witnessed, firsthand, the power of resident-led progress, while working in partnership with Sister Patricia and I plan to continue to support the success.”
The event will also provide an opportunity for residents to learn about Tate-McAlister’s vision for the organization’s next chapter. Additionally, an online silent auction will open on May 28. While the event is free for the wider community, VIP packages are available for $125. To register for both, visit www.DominicanCenter.Givesmart.com.
About the Dominican Center
The Dominican Center in the Amani neighborhood works with Amani residents and partners to build a better future. Founded in 1995, the Dominican Center began as an urban ministry program to learn more about the women in the neighborhood and has since evolved to serve all Amani residents and respond to the changing needs of the community. Today, DC serves as the community anchor for the White House Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, Building Neighborhood Capacity Program and is the lead community partner for the US Department of Justice’s Innovations of Community Based Crime Reduction grant for Amani.

author: Dominican Center


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Post from Community: Milwaukee Recreation provides affordable summer child care options OPTIONS | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Recreation
May 27, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
This summer, Milwaukee Recreation is offering affordable child care at nearly 70 sites across the city. Qualified staff members provide a safe and nurturing place for youth ages K4 – 12 during non-school hours at Child Care Camps, Community Learning Centers (CLCs), and Safe Places.
These programs provide varying types of academic and recreational support, including:
The locations will open on varying dates in June and prices vary by site. An interactive map of Milwaukee Recreation summer sites, including all child care locations, can be found at mkerec.net. For additional details, contact the Site Director at your preferred location.
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Milwaukee Recreation is a department of Milwaukee Public Schools, established in 1911 to enrich and strengthen the community by promoting healthy lifestyles, personal development, and fun through memorable recreational and educational experiences for people of all age and abilities. For more information, visit mkerec.net or contact Claire McHugh (Claire@mkerec.net) at (414) 475-8634 or Brian Hoffer (Brian@mkerec.net) at (414) 475-8938.


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Three things to know about the proposed MPS budget | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
May 27, 2021
Milwaukee Public Schools is set to approve a $1.3 billion budget for the next school year. (NNS file photo by jabril yousef faraj)
The Milwaukee Board of School Directors will vote Thursday, May 27 on MPS’ proposed budget for the 2021-’22 school year.
Superintendent Keith Posley has proposed an operating budget totaling about $1.3 billion and a supplemental budget that accounts for $382 million out of the $731 million in federal money available to the district from now to September 2024.
Here are three things  you should know about the budget.
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MPS, as well as school districts across the country, will receive temporary federal funding in  three rounds under a stimulus package named Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, or ESSER I, II and III. The three rounds of funding equal $41 million, $225 million and $506 million, respectively. ESSER I has already been spent in the 2020-’21 budget, whereas the district still has approximately $731 million to spend from ESSER II and III from now through September 2024.
Of the $382 million in spending that the district has already allocated, MPS plans to spend around $199 million to upgrade facilities. An additional $95 million is earmarked for “accelerating learning” spending, which includes purchasing learning materials and expanding summer school teaching to make up for pandemic-related learning losses.
Spending on health and wellness and “other educational services and programs” make up another $60 million and $28 million, respectively.
MPS’ need to invest in upgrading its facilities has been a long-standing issue. In 2018, MPS leaders commissioned a report that said $970 million would be needed to bring properties into the “good” category. This estimate assumes that MPS would not sell underutilized buildings in lieu of repairing them.
Rob Henken, president of the Wisconsin Policy Forum, which produced a report on the MPS budget, called the federal money “a godsend” but said MPS still faces financial challenges.
“These federal dollars have turned a hopeless outlook into a challenging outlook, with some hope,” Henken said.
When the budget was adopted last year, former Wisconsin Policy Forum senior researcher Anne Chapman expressed concern that it would be difficult to keep a balanced budget without cuts to other spending, such as staff salary and benefits.
“It is good that they are making investments in students and staff.  That is absolutely key,” Chapman said last year. “But they’ve also got to grapple with costly long-term structural gaps in things like building maintenance.”
Additionally, the level of state aid that the district receives this year remains somewhat of a mystery, mainly for two reasons: uncertainty over next year’s enrollment numbers and uncertainty over what the state budget will look like.
This school year, MPS saw a decrease in enrollment, primarily from kindergarten, K4 and pre-kindergarten. In his proposed budget, Posley projected enrollment to continue to decline but at a slower rate than last year.
If MPS’ enrollment decreases at a higher rate than other schools in Wisconsin, it will receive less funding from the state. Funding from property taxes and the federal money would not be affected by this.
However, the state’s school aid formula itself could change, which would affect the amount of state aid MPS receives. Henken said that because MPS is receiving federal funding until September 2024, it is possible that it may also get less state funding.
“The state legislature might see this as an opportunity to cut state aid since all this federal money is coming in,” Henken said.
Almost a year after the MPS school board voted to end all but one contract with the Milwaukee Police Department, Posley proposed a reduction of about $140,000 from the school security budget, or about 1% of the total of the Department of School Safety & Security’s $14.4 million budget.
Leaders Igniting Transformation, a youth-organizing nonprofit that has advocated for divestment from police and security services in schools since its founding in 2017, said this decrease was not a good example of the district’s commitment to reducing the presence of police at schools.
“I guess we were under the impression that things were going to change,” a high school fellow said during a May 12 virtual town hall.
The board’s meeting will be streamed live on MPS’ YouTube page, starting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
You can read a full version of Superintendent Keith Posley’s proposed budget here.
You can read the latest version of the supplemental budget for federal funding here.
You can view the school board’s first discussion on budget amendments here, and the second here.


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5 things to do and know the weekend of May 28 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ana Martinez-Ortiz
May 28, 2021
Leaders Igniting Transformation is hosting a youth panel discussion on the topics of economic recovery and the role of the Build Back Better plan. (Photo by Adam Carr)
It’s Friday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about as the nation grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please email info@milwaukeenns.org and put “5 things” in the subject line by noon Thursday.
1. Work day in Alice’s Garden Urban Farm: Saturday, May 28
Alice’s Garden Urban Farm, 2136 N. 21st St., is preparing for its 2021 program and event season, and volunteers are needed to help beautify the garden. The work day will take place in the garden from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 28. Volunteers are asked to bring work gloves, a reusable water bottle and some family and friends.
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2. Heal the Hood pop-up shop: Saturday, May 28
Heal the Hood is having a pop-up shop at the Bronzeville Collective, 339 W. North Ave., from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 28. Ajamou Butler, the founder of Heal the Hood, will be selling his children’s books and Heal the Hood merchandise. Proceeds will go toward the ninth annual Heal the Hood block party, which is scheduled for Saturday, July 17.
3. Latino Arts: Virtual stage and gallery: Ongoing
Latino Arts is making its performances and gallery exhibits more accessible. The organization has a virtual stage and gallery, which features exhibits and performances from this past year. Individuals can now enjoy “Hyphenated Americans,”  Latino Arts’ eighth annual guitar festival concert, “Los Rostros Ocultos” exhibit and more. Click here to access Latino Arts’ virtual events.
4. Milwaukee Artists for Racial Justice pop-up: Sunday, May 30
Milwaukee Artists for Racial Justice is hosting a pop-up event at 3600 W. Pierce St. from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 30. The group is dedicated to using art and storytelling as a form of protest and to raise awareness on issues such as police brutality, gun violence and more. Donations and proceeds from this event will be used in the community.
5. Youth panel on Real Recovery Now: Sunday, May 30
Leaders Igniting Transformation is hosting a youth panel on Zoom from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 30. The panelists will be discussing why real recovery matters to young people and the role of the Build Back Better plan in Wisconsin. Several of the organization’s college fellows will be sharing their experiences. Click the Zoom link to join the discussion.


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‘Come meet me at this fire’: Why this health center is taking a new approach to mental health services | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Matt Martinez
May 28, 2021
Spiritual adviser Daniel Preston (left) and culture program coordinator David Powless during the Indigenous People’s Day celebration in November. Cultural events play a major role in the Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center’s approach to mental health services. (Photo provided by Jeremiah Wayman, Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center)
Prayer fires. Talking circles. Bead-weaving.
These are integral and celebrated parts of Native American culture. Soon, they’ll take on another significance as staff at the Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center use them as part of a new culture-based approach to mental health services for the community.
The center will host the Mental Health Matters drive-through and walk-up event from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, June 3 at its main campus, 930 W. Historic Mitchell St.
The event will be the first of its kind for the center. Maria Farias, program coordinator for Ignace’s Native Connections MKE, said organizers will highlight different healing approaches for members of the community.
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For example, Farias said, leaders will offer tips on how to nurture a child with a mental health disorder, how to transition from different levels of education and how to cope with stress.
The ultimate goal is to address mental health concerns while creating a sense of community, Farias said.
“A lot of times, traditional intervention by a mental health professional is very scary, very formal and very foreign for some,” said Deborah Black, director of behavioral health services at Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center.
It can be easier to approach someone and say, “Come meet me at this fire” and give them the opportunity to speak than to get them to talk in therapy, Black said. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, she said.
“At a craft or prayer fire, people have the opportunity to open up as they want and get comfortable with us knowing they have a certain place that they can go and be open to get help the way they need it,” Farias said.
Thursday’s program will target those from ages 15 to 24. According to Mental Health America, Native American teens aged 15-19 died by suicide at twice the rate of non-Hispanic whites. About 20% of Native Americans reported a mental illness.
At the health center, people seek resources for anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. Many also struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder, Black said. Intergenerational trauma from the historic mistreatment of Native Americans can contribute to this.
It can also be difficult to get people to recognize when they need help, Farias said. Many people struggle, thinking that they won’t be heard or understood.
Thursday’s program will provide a space for being together and healing but also will stress  strength, Farias said. For young men, for example, the focus will be on “restoring the warrior.”
“I want to accentuate there are significant cultural characteristics of strength and resiliency and the beliefs that are sustained within our Native community communities today, highlighting what makes us strong and not losing grasp of that,” Farias said.
What you need to know
The Mental Health Matters drive-through and walk-up event will be from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.  Thursday, June 3 at 930 W. Historic Mitchell St.