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Special Report: MPS, partners pool resources to change outlook at Carver Academy | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jabril Faraj
July 6, 2015
George Washington Carver Academy of Math and Science, 1900 N. 1st St. in Brewer’s Hill. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
On an overcast spring morning, students enter George Washington Carver Academy of Math and Science to the sound of old-school hip-hop playing through the PA system. They walk in the main entrance past a poster of the school’s namesake. The meaning of the quote displayed under Carver’s photo is simple; it reads, “Where there is no vision, there is no hope.”
Four years ago, Carver Academy was at a breaking point. Milwaukee School Board of Directors at-large member Terry Falk said the school was failing “by every measure” — student achievement was dismally low, few neighborhood families attended Carver and high student turnover plagued the school. Suspensions were high — almost half of the student body was suspended at least once — and attendance was lower than the district average.
In July 2011, the board announced that a new principal, Jacqueline Jolly, would take over the school at 1900 N. 1st St. in Brewer’s Hill. In 2011-12 suspensions skyrocketed. The percentage of students suspended at least once rose 10 percentage points in a year suspensions dropped district-wide. In fall of that same year then-Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) superintendent Gregory Thornton recommended closing the school and expanding the high-performing Maryland Avenue Montessori School program into the building. Carver and Maryland Avenue would function as one school with the upper grades in the Carver building.
Janel Hawkins stands outside the office at Carver Academy, where she will be going into her fourth year as principal. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
The middle-income Maryland Avenue parents and the largely African-American low-income Carver parents resisted. Instead, the school board, “decided to give Principal Jolly a chance to turn the school around,” said Falk. The board voted to freeze enrollment and open the school as an MPS charter school in 2013-2014.
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That decision stood until May 2012, when the board voted to reestablish Carver as a traditional public school. In July 2012, Jolly was replaced by Janel Hawkins, who previously served for 10 years as the principal of MPS’s Seifert Elementary. In Hawkins’ first year, suspensions fell slightly, compared to a nearly 5 percentage point drop across MPS. Student growth scores, which measure how much students learn from year to year, had been on par with the state average the year before but dropped dramatically — by nearly 13 percent — in the 2012 school year.
“We’ve had a lot of challenges,” said Melinda Laster, a fourth-grade teacher who has taught at Carver since 1999. Laster’s class has consistently seen high-quality academic results even while Carver has struggled.
That’s when leaders of three nonprofit organizations who were already working in MPS had an idea: what if they all worked together at one school with the goal of accomplishing a list of shared objectives? The executive directors of City Year Milwaukee, Teach For America (TFA) Milwaukee and Schools That Can Milwaukee (STC) came together and approached the Northwestern Mutual Foundation, which had previously funded all three organizations.
Irissol Arce, a program officer in Strategic Philanthropy and Community Relations at Northwestern Mutual, said the collaboration appealed to the foundation because it could “potentially be something that could be replicated and scalable.”
“They’re not [in] one of our focus neighborhoods but we definitely just saw this as an area where we thought there could be some positive things happening … and we thought that we really needed to step up,” she said.
The unprecedented collaboration sought to pull all five organizations together to improve academic performance. Northwestern Mutual would fund the initiative, STC would coach administrative staff, TFA would provide teacher support and City Year would give classroom and teacher support, with MPS determining a strategic vision and allocating additional resources. The organizations’ roles were similar to their work in other schools but the shared vision was entirely new.
By many accounts, even at the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year, the collaboration’s first year, the atmosphere at Carver was loud and disruptive — an environment that wasn’t conducive to learning.
On this spring morning, though, there isn’t a peep out of the students who walk single file into the school’s gymnasium for morning assembly. The gathering, which lasts for about 35 minutes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, is a cornerstone of the new Carver.
Tianna McCullough, Carver Academy’s Instructional Coach for Culture, says the school’s culture had to change. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
To turn Carver around, the school’s culture had to change, said Instructional Coach for Culture Tianna McCullough.
To that end, the school started “by having very clear expectations for what hallway movement looks like,” said McCullough. Those expectations include walking single-file on lines taped onto the hallway floors while maintaining noise at “level zero.” Children walk with arms crossed or at their sides and their mouths closed; the little children call the practice “hugs and bubbles.” Staff said the regimen, along with the practice of “self-contained” classes — students spend their entire day in a single classroom — has helped to decrease disturbances and has made it easier to build relationships with students. Students are outside of their designated classrooms for the bi-weekly assemblies and for 45 minutes of art instruction weekly.
“I have the same group of kids from 8:50 to 3:45. I love being self-contained because I think it’s so much easier to build a strong classroom culture,” said second-year TFA teacher Catherine Cwirla. “My first year, the very beginning was a little rocky.”
“Kids were just defiant, every day,” added Hawkins.
“Last year, we used to always stay (in the hallways) talking or somebody would get into it or start fighting,” said sixth-grader Latesha Davis. “This year, we didn’t have any fights but a couple.”
The new Carver
On this particular morning, most of the students are already in the gym, seated in sections divided by classroom. The classrooms are named after traditionally black colleges and universities — Morehouse, Howard, Clark Atlanta and Hampton are just a few. The classroom names are part of a focus on success and achievement; school leaders hope that exposure to the possibilities of later life will inspire the students to take ownership of their education.
Hawkins said staff, students and parents have “been having a lot of conversations about high school and college.”
“Our aim is to get our kids to college and career readiness,” said McCullough. “But the reality is we have kids that come to us and kids that are here in this building that are two and three grade levels behind. So, there’s a lot of work in … closing that achievement gap for our scholars,” the term staff and faculty use to describe the students.
About a third of Carver’s 450 students sit on the gym floor, cross-legged; a couple students hold hand-written signs that read “excellence” and “perseverance.” More than 95 percent of Carver students are African-American and about the same number are economically disadvantaged.
The seated students are surrounded by teachers and City Year corps members who stand, observing. Of the 22 adults in the room, 14 are black or mixed-race. Most are engaged in the assembly, watching Hawkins as she starts the event.
Hawkins begins with a call of, “Good morning, Carver!” The students respond with a less-than-enthusiastic, “Good morning, Ms. Hawkins.” They repeat the exchange once more until the students are loud enough. Then another chant: “Students, are you ready?” “We ready!” “Teachers, are you ready?” “We ready!”
Staff members are intentional about trying to increase what Hawkins and McCullough called the “joy factor.” Playing music when students enter the building, making sure staff and faculty are actively engaging students, even holding pep rallies before tests — they’re all new tactics the school has embraced.
“We talk a lot about joy,” said Hawkins, adding that she wants Carver to be a place where children and adults want to come.
At the assembly, Hawkins plugs the upcoming MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) test pep rally. “You don’t want to miss it,” she says. The mood in the room seems split; one student mutters, “I do.”
“We’re going to pull on some of the emotional strings,” Hawkins said in an interview, referring to the rally. “We want to get kids excited about [the test].”
Student progress — showing the ability to close gaps between target and actual scores on the MAP test — is the primary indicator of success in Carver’s transformation. Cheryl Baldwin, one of two UWM researchers working to measure the effectiveness of the Carver collaboration, said student MAP scores are an objective assessment of progress.
“When a school is well-structured, when teachers are effective in student engagement … that’s when learning will happen,” Baldwin said.
The MAP test, which is taken three times a year, in fall, winter and spring, provides a look at how Carver is faring. Hawkins said staff and faculty are trying to provide students with a “good testing environment” and motivation, factors that she cited as having a positive effect on test performance.
Laster, who gives constant encouragement in the classroom, said her students’ excitement for a particular test comes from the knowledge that they are able to do the work they’re being tested on. Laster often uses hands-on methods — for example, teaching math with manipulatives — because she acknowledged that some children “need a different strategy” to understand certain material.
“You have to let them have hope in themselves and believe in themselves that they can do it,” she said.
By the numbers
Hope had largely been lacking at Carver in recent years. The school scored 22.2 out of 100 in student achievement on Wisconsin DPI’s school report card in 2011-2012. There were changes in the report card over the next two years, including alignment with Common Core standards; the score dropped to 19.2 in 2012-2013 and 16 in 2013-14, when the state average was 67.1.
Carver’s MAP scores since the 2011-2012 school year have been marked by inconsistency. Many of the school’s end-of-year gains have been tempered by drops the following fall, after summer vacation. For example, toward the end of 2011-2012, the school seemed to be making gains, with almost every grade level closing gaps between actual and target scores in reading achievement and four of the nine grades making significant progress in math scores. But in fall 2012-2013, the achievement gaps for all but a few grade levels had widened in both subject areas and the slide continued into the spring.
Carver first-graders read The Fox and the Grapes with the help of first-grade teacher Lauren Mielke. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
“That first year … [we] kind of muddled through some things, second year is when the partnership came in (and) we actually developed a clear mission and vision that we created with the staff,” Hawkins said, noting that “80 percent of existing teachers left after that first year.”
Hawkins attributed the exodus to low morale but said the upheaval wasn’t necessarily a negative. “It signaled a starting-over,” she said. “I really count last year (2013-2014) as our first year of transformation.”
That year, Carver employed 13 first-time teachers; almost half came from TFA. The decline in achievement that had begun the previous year persisted in students’ fall 2013 MAP scores, but by spring of 2014 some of those measures began to rebound. The gap narrowed from fall to winter of 2014-2015 but those jumps mostly made up for the students’ regression from spring 2013 to fall 2014. The gains achieved in 2014-2015 have brought the school back to the achievement levels of early 2011-2012 with some improvement in reading, especially for older students.
Reading has been the crux of the school’s challenges. In addition to the collaborative efforts, the school was named an MPS Commitment School, along with 13 other struggling campuses. Those schools received “additional instructional support, professional development and operational assistance” from MPS over the course of the 2014-2015 school year. This commitment provided Carver with a “reading interventionist” and a “student support teacher.”
Leni Dietrich, leadership development coach at Schools That Can, stated that Carver’s reading scores are “probably [some] of the lowest in the district.” For this reason, in its second year the collaboration has focused on reading, instituting a phonics program for younger children, investing in “leveled libraries,” which mark books by color depending on reading level, and creating a summer reading program.
“If you want kids to be excited about learning, you have to give them good things to read … and you have to give kids books that are at their reading level,” Dietrich said.
Carver is also focusing on increasing attendance and reducing suspensions to improve achievement.
Having students in the classroom consistently is absolutely necessary for academic improvement, said Angela Kaper, a sixth-grade teacher in her second year at Carver. “Attendance is the base; we have to have our kids here.”
In 2012-2013, Carver’s attendance rate was 88.9 percent, just below the MPS average but significantly lower than high-performing schools such as Maryland Avenue, which has an average above 95 percent. In 2013-2014, the collaboration’s first year, Carver’s attendance fell to 86.8 while the district average rose slightly. Hawkins said Carver’s goal is that 95 percent mark.
The school’s suspension statistics are more problematic. Between 2009 and 2011, Carver’s suspension percentage hovered near 50. The statistic measures what percentage of the student body was suspended at least once. In 2009-2010, the MPS average was almost 30 percent but, over the next three years, that figure fell more than 12 percentage points to 17.4.
In 2011-2012, Carver’s suspension rate jumped to more than 55 percent. During that year, 303 of the school’s 546 students were suspended; those students missed an average of 6.1 days. The following year, Hawkins’ first, suspensions stayed about the same with each suspended student missing an average of 6.3 days. MPS officials have said, in respect to suspensions at Carver, “the trend of significant decline continued” in 2013-2014 but Wisconsin DPI has yet to publish suspension statistics for 2013-2014 and 2014-2015.
Creating a culture
Hawkins said she is encouraged that students have begun to understand the expectations she and others have for them. She cited a situation where a student was about to be suspended, but he came to her and said, “‘Ms. Hawkins, you know, we probably should talk about this because you want me here and so the suspension might not be the best thing, right now.’
“So, we had that conversation. Kids are paying attention — they know we need them here,” she said.
The Carver administration has been very intentional about defining what kind of culture it wants. Toward the end of the Thursday morning assembly, McCullough launched into a story about a fifth-grader from Milwaukee French Immersion School who was a model student until one day on the bus when another student taunted the girl, calling her “four eyes.” Her coke-bottle glasses were a sensitive topic; she dared him to say it again. He did and she hit the boy.
The young girl was, in fact, McCullough. “I lost my cool and it’s something that stuck with me,” she said.
“Had I paused in that moment … that could have changed the outcome of that situation,” said McCullough. “When you’re … in a tough situation, it’s easy to just react off of your impulses, to react off of your emotion.”
The Carver staff emphasizes core values — in announcements, in assemblies, in counseling sessions and throughout the day. Every day, they stress the values of belief, stewardship, perseverance, integrity, respect and excellence (BSPIRE).
“No excuses!” The students chant together at the assembly. “We work hard to get smart to go to college!” This time, they’re loud enough the first time.
“We want a culture of excellence,” McCullough said. “We want a culture where our students are not only exposed to academic rigor … but also that character piece. We are preparing them to be the citizens of tomorrow, the leaders of tomorrow.”
McCullough, who is in her second year, spearheaded the creation of a “choice management system” at Carver that tells students that they “are able to make choices.” They system is based on a “token economy” in which students get “deposits” when they make positive choices and are issued deductions when they make negative choices. Students must accumulate a certain number of points to achieve specific incentives, including participating in field trips or dances, or getting privileges such as unlimited bathroom access.
“Within that choice management system is a whole system of … consequences if there is a breach to culture,” said McCullough.
One of those consequences might be a one-on-one meeting with McCullough, Hawkins or Assistant Principal Kristin Hinds, a time out or staying in an administrator’s office for the day. “It just [depends] on what the infraction was,” Hawkins said.
Even though the staff is looking for alternatives to suspension, there are certain lines that can’t be crossed, added McCullough. “If you are being unsafe, if you are putting yourself, other students or teachers in danger because of your behavior, then that is a point where we are beyond, ‘Let’s have a conversation about that.’”
At that point, she said, the administration would work with that family “to develop an action plan … to better support that student, moving forward.”
Building relationships
For some students, the changes have made a difference. Damien Harris is a sixth grader who Hawkins said “was suspended quite a bit last year.” Damien has been at Carver for eight or nine years and said he used to put hot towels on his head to act like he was sick so he wouldn’t have to come to school. Now, after a visit with a counselor and an understanding of what school will mean for his future, he says he likes school and will miss it over the summer.
“When I learn … it excites me,” said Damien. “I know that it’s … a ticket to my success.”
Latesha Davis, who came to Carver two years ago after attending Browning Middle School, said she was always getting suspended for things like fighting, spitting on people and throwing people’s clothes in the toilet.
“I started doing all my work, I didn’t have no fights this year,” she said. Latesha said she didn’t get a single suspension this year and she doesn’t run in the halls anymore.
On the other hand, Lauretta Warren’s 6-year-old son has been suspended “four or five times,” for crying and being rowdy, according to the single mother. She said she’s asked for a meeting with Hawkins but hasn’t gotten the help she’s looking for. Her son, who is in kindergarten, came to Carver early in 2015 with his sister after a run-in with a teacher at his previous school. Warren went to the school board and an investigation followed; nothing was found and the boy was transferred.
“I want help for him — that’s my baby,” said Warren.” I don’t want it to be like this the rest of his life, getting kicked out of school or … whatever the case may be.”
Hawkins said she had no recollection of speaking with Warren and that “quite a few” children the boy’s age had been suspended multiple times. Student privacy policies prohibit MPS from commenting on individual disciplinary situations.
The challenges some students face in school can be exacerbated by conditions at home or in their neighborhood. Angela Meadows, a program manager for City Year, said the type of “trauma situations” that Carver students encounter “runs the gamut,” including homelessness, domestic violence and gun violence.
City Year has nine corps members at the school who help provide emotional support for students as well as operational support for teachers. The corps members check in with students in the mornings to set goals for the day and participate in an exercise called Circle of Power and Respect (CPR) every morning. Meadows said their work is really about building relationships.
“Without a relationship, people just aren’t as likely to care what it is that you have to say or what you think if you aren’t showing that you’re just as interested in them as a human being,” Meadows said.
She said it’s important to approach difficult situations with students with the understanding that “there’s something deeper going on” and to “not assume that it’s an attack on you as a person.” For many students, that’s the difference between success and failure.
Kate Tindle is a government education consultant and board chair of Teaching for Change, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to build social justice. Tindle said strong, positive relationships between students and adults are “the number one thing” that made a difference in schools, particularly “high needs” urban environments, such as Carver.
“One of the things that we work really hard at is building those relationships,” said Hawkins, adding that since students come from all over, creating a sense of community at the school is important.
Latesha said she and her teacher, Ms. Kaper, have “good talks,” which she says make her feel special. “Knowing that my teacher’s got faith in me, that makes me want to come to school every day,” she said. “When I’m off, she’ll try to talk to me to get me back together and she won’t give up on me.”
Kaper, who has taught everywhere from juvenile detention centers to choice schools, always seems to be in high gear. She believes “teaching is in your soul” and that “you have these children’s lives in your hand.” For that reason, she pushes her kids — and herself — every day.
“I let my kids know, and any kid I come in contact with … I believe in you. And, once they know that someone believes in them and tells them they can succeed and gives them the possibility and the tools to succeed … they’re gonna fly.”
“Not every child is given the same opportunities,” said Kaper. “It’s not fair. And, my kids in this house (Carver) are just as important as any other child.”
“So, my goal … is to help the kids that aren’t given the opportunity that everyone else is and give them 150 percent of myself,” she said.
“Seeing how Ms. Kaper teaches, it just makes me want to be a teacher,” Latesha said, who added that every time she helps younger students, her confidence in her ability grows. “I stopped doing what other people do and started being myself.”
Hawkins said the school has made some gains but is “by no means” ready to call the effort a success. “I think, when we can show some consistency over time, then that’s when we’ll really raise the flag and say we’ve declared victory,” she said.
Northwestern Mutual has scaled back investment by 35 percent since the collaboration’s first year at Carver. Arce said that the partners informally acknowledged at the outset that the collaboration would need “at least three years” but she added, “We don’t want to step away from Carver until we really know that they’re sustainable and that the partnerships are sustainable.”
Representatives of all the partner organizations affirmed their commitment, moving forward. TFA is determined to see the work succeed, said Milwaukee Executive Director Garrett Bucks. “We’ll be there until Carver is one of the strongest schools in the city.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct an error in the following sentence: “There were changes in the report card over the next two years, including alignment with Common Core standards; the score dropped to 19.2 in 2012-2013 and 16 in 2013-14, when the state average was 67.1.”

author: Jabril Faraj


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 5, 2015

source: news-milwaukeenns

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

author: Adam Carr


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Teamwork and hands on experience inspire girls to pursue STEM subjects | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 6, 2015
88NINE Radio Milwaukee

author: Andrea Waxman


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The Wisconsin budget and Shakespearean tragedy | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Margaret Rozga
July 6, 2015
Margaret Rozga, poet, civil rights activist and professor emerita of English at UW-Waukesha, warns that provisions hastily inserted into the state budget could result in a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.
Shakespeare’s great tragedies dramatize the social chaos and deadly effects set in motion by political as well as personal decisions made with great haste. King Lear, for example, opens with Lear’s ill-considered division of his kingdom despite the caution urged by the faithful Kent who speaks, though Lear would silence him: “in thy best consideration check / This hideous rashness.”
Macbeth, too, tunes out the more thoughtful voice of Banquo to rush into action based on the “imperfect speakers” who prophesy that he will be king. He discards all the reasons for caution, spurred on by his own “Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself.”
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Even Juliet cautions herself about falling in love so quickly. “It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden.” Unfortunately she does not heed her own sense that a well-advised pace is better.
The high drama of these great plays may seem removed from the daily routines in our own Milwaukee and Wisconsin neighborhoods. But slipped into the proposed Wisconsin 2015-2017 budget are hastily adopted provisions with far-reaching consequences that the Kents and Banquos of our time and place know will damage what we depend on to work effectively.
Foremost case in point is the proposed “turnaround” district within the Milwaukee Public Schools to be overseen by a county executive not qualified to be hired as school superintendent by the elected school board. Yet this county official would have the unchecked power to appoint a commissioner who would not have to answer to parents, families, students or teachers whose lives depend on the quality of the schools and who are in position to see problems that need to be addressed and their possible solutions.
A system that takes one’s child but gives one no voice disenfranchises and devalues the family and the city. It is a hasty political decision likely to have far-reaching negative consequences. The Milwaukee Public Schools’ community schools initiative promises better results, but the legislature never considered ways to support it.
This pending budget also includes a provision to allow anyone with a bachelor’s degree to teach the core subjects of English, math, social studies and science, and anyone, even a high school dropout, could teach non-core subjects. Rep. Mary Czaja (R-Irma) defended lower teacher standards as a way to help rural school districts find teachers of technical subjects, say a retired chemist or accountant to teach a course part-time, though she could not cite a single example of a school district that had requested such “flexibilities.”
If on the eve of Independence Day the Joint Finance Committee quietly reversed its support for this teacher licensure provision, it is a victory for the alert citizens who strenuously objected to it. But we need as well public commitment from committee co-chairs Alberta Darling and John Nygren that their processes will be less stealthy and less hasty in the future.
The committee also included without debate a requirement that high school seniors pass a civics test before graduation and added a provision to allow home-schooled students to participate in public school athletics, a measure actually opposed by the head of the state home-school association.
The Joint Finance Committee worked with haste to pass these school policy provisions. They were not part of the budget proposal presented at public hearings. They weren’t presented until May 19, when members of the Joint Finance Committee had only an hour to read them, only a few hours to debate them, and then approved them at 1:40 a.m. on a party line 12 to 4 vote. Democratic Senators Lena Taylor and Jon Erpenbach, and Representatives Chris Taylor and Gordon Hintz deserve thanks for being the thoughtful voices of Kent and Banquo, raising important considerations in the face of Republican-led haste.
When this budget comes before the whole legislature, I urge legislators not to act with “hideous rashness.” I urge legislators not to allow anyone’s “vaulting ambition” to overshadow the common good. They need to remove those policy matters never presented at public hearings. They should give such matters full consideration as separate issues on which many people have valuable insights to offer.

author: Margaret Rozga


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Amani block party celebrates community, challenges perceptions | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Madeline Kennedy
July 7, 2015
Standing on the sidewalk of a busy block in the Amani neighborhood during a sunny summer day, Ariana and her cousin had a lot to talk about. The 9-year-olds chattered about school and boys, but the foremost issue on their minds that day was gun violence.
“I’ve lived everywhere around the ghetto, and I like [living in Amani],” Ariana said. “But I don’t like when they shoot. I like Amani because it means peace and I want peace in our neighborhood.”
The two girls were among a large group of community members who gathered at 23 and Chambers streets recently for a block party raising awareness about gun violence in the neighborhood.
Lewis Lee, outreach coordinator at the Milwaukee Fatherhood Initiative, was one of the organizers. Lee explained that the purpose of the event was to bring members of the Amani community together and show the good that the neighborhood has to offer.
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A group of boys plays basketball at the Amani block party. (Photo by Madeline Kennedy)
“This is one of the hardest hit neighborhoods as far as crime,” he said. “We’re trying to change the stigma that we’re all bad and nothing good happens in this neighborhood. There’s a lot of good here that people don’t see.”
In recent years crime in Amani has dropped dramatically. Earlier this year, COA Youth & Family Centers released a report stating that crime in the area has dropped 32 percent since 2013. Executive Director Tom Schneider credited the reduced crime rate to a “comprehensive community effort” by residents and community organizations.
Many of these organizations came out to show their support at the block party. One of the most popular attractions was a table of chessboards set up by a group called Art & Cultural Chess Educated Super Society (ACCESS). ACCESS CEO Quan Caston has been playing chess for more than a decade and explained that the game can improve a child’s critical thinking skills.
“It’s something very constructive for them to learn even if they never become teachers or grandmasters,” Caston said. “The analogies and strategies are all there in the game. We want them to think like chess players when they’re making decisions in life.”
Amani residents play chess at a block party on Chambers between 23rd and 24th streets. (Photo by Madeline Kennedy)
Billy Trammell of Phenomenal Men Support Group brought one of the block party’s more eye-catching attractions: a small cargo trailer fashioned into a jail cell. Complete with prison bunk bed and toilet, Trammell said the intention of the built-to-scale prison cell is to discourage kids from crime and instead pursue an education.
“The kids these days see a lot, but they don’t see any good role models,” Trammell said. “They see their uncles and their brothers out here smoking blunts or selling dope and that’s what they’re going to become. But we want to teach them that eventually that’s going to wear out and not lead them to a good place.”
Many of the community members in attendance have been personally affected by gun violence. Lee said he lost two friends and on one occasion was shot five times. Standing in the middle of the street at 24 and Chambers, Lee added that his brother was shot on that very block when he was 18.
“Losing so many people back in those days made me want to turn things around for the kids today,” Lee said. “This neighborhood is real sentimental to me because I lost so much, but it also helped me gain so much. It led me to the work I’m doing now because I used to be part of the problem. Now I’m part of the solution.”

author: Madeline Kennedy


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 6, 2015


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Native Youth Empowerment Project kicking off | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center, Inc
July 7, 2015
The Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center, Inc. (GLIIHC) is excited to announce the start-up of a native youth group entitled the Youth Empowerment Project (YEP). This new project will provide a unique opportunity for native youth, 11-19 years of age, to join together for fun, culture, education, leadership skills, and community involvement. Our native youth are the leaders of tomorrow, and GLIIHC is committed to promoting the health, safety and wellbeing of the American Indian youth in the Greater Milwaukee Area. We invite youth and parents to take part in this youth group that will work to empower our youth in health, wellness, and success.
The YEP will be an ongoing group that runs all year long. The youth group will meet two Friday evenings of every month to join in discussions on youth focused topics, plan and participate in youth related activities/events, and to socialize and form connections with native youth involved in the project.
Native youth 11-19 years of age
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The GLIIHC Gathering Room
5:00-7:30 pm
The YEP will be led by Deborah Black, Behavioral Health Counselor in the All Nations Wellness Center Department of Behavioral Health.
TO REGISTER:  CONTACT DEBORAH BLACK at (414) 383-9526, ext. 303


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 7, 2015


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 7, 2015
FLYER-GLIIHC-Youth-Empowerment-Project


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On the Block: I still feel safe | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
July 7, 2015

author: Edgar Mendez


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Borchert Field C.A.R.E.S. creates master plan | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 8, 2015
Catholic HEART Workcamp volunteer Collin Gustad works with team leader Dick Leibold to rebuild a porch in the Borchert Field neighborhood. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
In this occasional series, NNS follows Borchert Field C.A.R.E.S., an association of block clubs in the Borchert Field neighborhood.
Two-and-a-half years after the 14th Street C.A.R.E.S. block club and blocks throughout the Borchert Field neighborhood came together as Borchert Field C.A.R.E.S., the alliance has a master plan.
Inspired by a similar project in the nearby Amani neighborhood, the Borchert Field group collaborated with graduate students from the UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning to prioritize its goals and figure out how to start working toward them.
“We thought about how the organization can grow into something successful and created a map for (it) to get there,” said graduate student Alex Morganroth, one of five team members working on the master plan.
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In its continuing fight for positive change in the North Side neighborhood named for the city’s first professional baseball field, Borchert Field C.A.R.E.S. (Community Advocating for Residential Empowerment & Stability) has also established the Story and Art Garden and started planning youth programs there. In addition, it expanded the reach of a volunteer housing repair project started last summer.
A.W.E. board member Adam Carr (center) is the first to tell a story in the Story and Art Garden at 9th and Burleigh streets, with LaFollette Boys & Girls Club members in the audience. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
Some of the organization’s goals are to create educational programming — especially for the neighborhood’s girls and young women, a vision for dealing with vacant spaces and a revitalized Burleigh Street, according to Morganroth.
Boosting resident involvement and increasing the visibility of Borchert Field C.A.R.E.S. emerged as important goals, said Denise Wooten, a co-chair of the group. Doing so will require, among other things, a Website, an active social media presence, and a permanent work and meeting space, all of which necessitate developing funding sources. Establishing itself as a nonprofit organization will also benefit the association, Morganroth said.
The plan includes approaching a menu of grant funders. “We looked at 10 organizations that are successful and figured out what were some good smaller grants (Borchert Field C.A.R.E.S.) could pursue,” Morganroth said. Going after more complicated federal grants will come later, he added.
For youth programming, Borchert Field C.A.R.E.S. is looking to its neighborhood gardens, established in empty lots with the help of resident gardeners and city agencies. The newest of these is the Story and Art Garden on the corner of 9 and Burleigh streets. Organizers envision the garden as a safe space where residents, especially children and teens, can share stories and express themselves through art, and where youth development leaders can offer programs.
Storyteller Adam Carr, a board member of Artists Working in Education (A.W.E.), launched stories in the garden on April 22, Earth Day, with an audience from LaFollette Boys & Girls Club. In addition, A.W.E. worked with area youth to create and install artwork in the garden.
Neighborhood resident and Borchert Field C.A.R.E.S. co-chair Zelodius Morton is developing a mentoring program for girls up to age 17. Citing fellow neighborhood resident Andre Lee Ellis, who has built a large grassroots program called We Got This to mentor young men and boys, Morton plans to build a similar program for the neighborhood’s young women and girls.
Morton, a psychotherapist, is particularly concerned because Milwaukee is a center for sex trafficking. She aims to protect neighborhood girls with activities that build self-esteem, strengthen community bonds and healthy choices, and create awareness of the threat of sex traffickers. She has obtained permission from the city to use the Story and Art Garden for the program, she said.
Another issue Borchert Field residents and Borchert Field C.A.R.E.S. have struggled with is maintaining and preserving housing stock. After the failure of the Targeted Investment Neighborhood Program in Borchert Field, begun in 2012, and similar problems with neighborhood homeowners failing to qualify for the newer Strong Homes Loan Program, the group looked to volunteer organizations for help, according to Wooten. The Strong Homes Loan Program stopped accepting applications for 2015 in May.
Last year, Wooten connected with Catholic HEART Workcamp (CHWC), a faith-based nonprofit that sends teams of teen volunteers with adult team leaders to help underserved communities with housing maintenance and repairs. In the first year, Catholic HEART volunteers assisted four Borchert Field residents. This year, Borchert Field C.A.R.E.S. promoted the project and helped 15 households apply and get help.
Residents must provide materials but the volunteers do the work, which included repairing porch steps, painting inside and outside, clearing out basements and attics, and gardening, Wooten said. If residents are able to help, CHWC likes them to do so. “I’m finding out that (the teens doing the work) really like talking with the residents about the history of being in their homes, showing them a home atmosphere,” Wooten said.
Wooten is philosophical about the revitalization of the neighborhood and the progress of the organization. “We know it’s complicated,” she said. “It’s slowly coming together. More and more people understand it’s not going to happen overnight, but it’s not going to happen if we don’t make it happen.”
Borchert Field C.A.R.E.S. meets at 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month at Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church, 1345 W. Burleigh St. The July 14 meeting will be held in the community garden at 10 and Burleigh streets, weather permitting. All community members are welcome and encouraged to attend.


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Bublr Bikes releases equity report, pledges to make bike share system accessible to all Milwaukeeans | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Bublr Bikes
July 8, 2015
(Photo courtesy of Bubblr Bikes)
As part of its commitment to making biking share accessible to all Milwaukeeans, Bublr Bikes issued a report Wednesday that will guide its efforts to remove barriers to use based on income levels and neighborhood.
In releasing the report, Bublr Bikes announced several steps it has already taken and key recommendations for future actions.
Nancy Ketchman of Bottlewood Communications, who conducted the independent study for Bublr, found that the most effective way to create an equitable bike share system is to place stations in low-income neighborhoods (LINs).
“Most systems have historically started out in more affluent neighborhoods, mostly to ‘make money,’ with expansion into LINs an important, but secondary goal,” Ketchman wrote in the report. “Bublr Bikes has an opportunity to become a leader in equity by reversing this typical expansion strategy.”
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Based on the report’s findings, Bublr has already implemented several important programming changes to help improve community access, including:
The report also identifies six additional key “action items”:
“The Bublr Bikes board of directors and staff are committed to implementing key action items to create a bike share system enjoyed by our very diverse community,” Bublr Board Member Juli Kaufmann said. “We see this report as a good first step. We ask you to hold us accountable and help us achieve our mission of a bike share system for all.”
Since late 2014, Bublr Bikes, a Milwaukee-based not-for-profit, has launched 11 bike share stations in and around Milwaukee’s downtown. The Bublr Bikes system is a public-private partnership between the City of Milwaukee and Bublr Bikes, with additional support from many other public and private partners.
Another 20 stations and nearly 200 more bikes will be added to the Bublr Bikes system in 2015. In the coming years, the system plans to expand to over 100 stations and 1,000 Bublr Bikes in the Milwaukee area.
Bike share programs already operate in dozens of U.S. cities, including Chicago, Denver, Des Moines, Houston, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Madison, Minneapolis, New York City and Omaha.
The full report also can be downloaded at:
http://bublrbikes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/150701.BublrBikesForAll.pdf
The executive summary is available at:
http://bublrbikes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/150701.BublrBikesForAllExecSum.pdf [Note: Both documents are also attached to this email.]<rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"			xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"			xmlns:trackback="http://madskills.com/public/xml/rss/module/trackback/">		<rdf:Description rdf:about="https://milwaukeenns.org/2015/07/08/bublr-bikes-releases-equity-report-pledges-to-make-bike-share-system-accessible-to-all-milwaukeeans/"    dc:identifier="https://milwaukeenns.org/2015/07/08/bublr-bikes-releases-equity-report-pledges-to-make-bike-share-system-accessible-to-all-milwaukeeans/"    dc:title="Bublr Bikes releases equity report, pledges to make bike share system accessible to all Milwaukeeans"    trackback:ping="https://milwaukeenns.org/2015/07/08/bublr-bikes-releases-equity-report-pledges-to-make-bike-share-system-accessible-to-all-milwaukeeans/trackback/" /></rdf:RDF>
Information on using Bublr Bikes is available at BublrBikes.com. Bublr Bikes is on social media at: http://facebook.com/BublrBikes and https://twitter.com/BublrBikes.

author: Bublr Bikes


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How to see Discovery World in two hours | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Paul Fladten, Discovery World
July 8, 2015
While you could spend an entire day at Discovery World, the museum is a perfect place to visit if you wish to spend just a few hours downtown. The only problem you’ll have is deciding which experience to choose.
The first exhibit to explore is the Reiman Aquarium. Literally built on top of Lake Michigan, the aquarium features 10 different tanks that house everything from porcupine puffer fish and moon jellies to native paddlefish and shovelnose sturgeon. The Reiman Aquarium is designed to replicate the nautical trek from the Great Lakes to the Caribbean — the same journey Discovery World’s tall ship, the S/V Denis Sullivan, used to make every year. The aquarium’s Touch Tanks also allow visitors to pet stingrays and bamboo sharks.
Music lovers can immerse themselves in Les Paul’s House of Sound — the world’s largest collection of Les Paul’s artifacts and the innovations that he inspired.
Aspiring pilots can fly a plane in our Flight Simulator.
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Finally, it’s nearly impossible to find a cooler way to spend two hours than aboard Discovery World’s tall ship. Commonly described by the public as a “pirate ship,”,the Sullivan is the world’s only re-creation of a 19 century three-masted Great Lakes schooner. Two-hour day sails are offered from May through October allowing passengers to help set the sails, take a turn at the helm, or simply enjoy a breathtaking view of Milwaukee.

author: Paul Fladten, Discovery World


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Milwaukee Chief Says More than Police are Needed to Address City’s Soaring Homicide Numbers | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 8, 2015
WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio


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Milwaukee Y extends sign-up period for $5 swim lessons at five Milwaukee County Parks | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee
July 8, 2015
The Milwaukee Y announced today that it has extended the sign-up period for its Milwaukee Swims program in partnership with the Milwaukee County Parks by two weeks in order to give more children and families access to its $5 swim lessons that are being offered at five parks this summer.
As a result of positive feedback and increased interest since the Milwaukee Swims program began last month, the Milwaukee Y will now accept new registrations until Monday, July 20.
According to a recent Red Cross survey, 61 percent of children, including more than half of all teens, can’t perform basic swim safety skills.  And nearly a fifth (18 percent) of adults who will be expected to supervise a child near water this summer are not able to perform all five water safety skills. These critical water safety skills, also known as “water competency,” are the ability to, in this order: step or jump into the water over your head; return to the surface and float or tread water for one minute; turn around in a full circle and find an exit; swim 25 yards to the exit; and exit from the water. If in a pool, be able to exit without using the ladder.
To address this critical issue, Milwaukee Swims lessons are available for children ages six and above, as well as non-swimming adults, and are designed to teach non-swimmers basic swim skills and water safety, including how to recognize dangerous situations when in and around water environments.
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Sessions are $5 per individual or $10 per family and are taught by certified YMCA swim instructors. Registration can be completed onsite at any of the Milwaukee Swims park locations, at any Milwaukee Y Center, as well as online at www.ymcamke.org.  For more information, you can also call the Milwaukee Swims hotline at:  414.357.2838.
Program runs until August 22  /  Lesson times:
Five Milwaukee County Park locations:
For children ages 1 to 14, fatal drowning remains the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Adding to this grave problem is the fact that nationally, 70 percent of African-American children, 58 percent of Hispanic children and 40 percent of white children have little or no swimming ability.
The Y is committed to reversing these preventable and troubling statistics by collaborating with the Milwaukee County Parks to offer Milwaukee Swims, a partnership designed to bring swim lessons to more locations throughout Milwaukee County.
a champion for healthy living, the vision of Milwaukee Y is a stronger, healthier Milwaukee where families of all incomes and backgrounds truly thrive.

author: YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee


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More hands-on outdoor experiences, AP camp, Italian camp, Tech camp among new MPS summer school programs | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Public Schools
July 8, 2015
Milwaukee Public Schools’ Summer Academy program is expanding its “Summer Adventures,” outdoor experiences at community institutions that connect to classroom learning based on rigorous college- and career-ready standards.
Summer Academy is MPS’ largest summer school program, providing K-8 students the chance to reinforce what they’ve learned in the previous and preview what they will learn in the coming year.
The expanded experiences join a host of new summer programs this year, including a camp to prepare students to succeed in college-level Advanced Placement courses, an Italian language camp at Victory School and a Bradley Tech summer camp connecting middle school students to career and technical education.
MPS’ Extended School Year program for students with significant special needs is bringing some of the outside “Summer Adventures” institutions such as Discovery World and the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center into classrooms.
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Summer Academy page
“Keeping students learning over the summer with engaging programs is mission critical to help them prepare for the year ahead,” MPS Superintendent Dr. Darienne Driver said. “It also helps fight summer learning loss, which is the tendency for students to lose some of the progress they made in the previous year during the summer.”
In addition to the above programs, MPS is expanding its Project Lead the Way pre-engineering camps and adding additional English as a Second Language sites, providing options closer to families’ homes around the city. MPS also continues to partner with Columbia St. Mary’s Smart Smiles dental care program to provide free dental care to students in need.
Complementing summer school programs, MPS’ Milwaukee Recreation also provides Community Learning Centers, Child Care Camps, Safe Places, Summer Recreation Enrichment Camps and summer playground programs. For more information on Milwaukee Recreation programs, visit MilwaukeeRecreation.net or call (414) 475-8701.

author: Milwaukee Public Schools


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Training helps heighten police officers’ empathy for victims | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 8, 2015
jsonline.com


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When Dropping Out of School Is a Deadly Decision | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 8, 2015
The Atlantic


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Neighborhood youth create Superhero Hide out for the neighborhood | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Riverworks Development Corporation
July 9, 2015
Riverworks Development Corporation has partnered with Artists Working in Education, Inc. (A.W.E.) to engage neighborhood youth in transforming a Tot Lot into a superhero hide out. Youth have been working alongside A.W.E. Satellite Studio lead artist Jasmine West, assistant artists Michaela Murry and Kailee Evans, high school intern Nia Wilson, Riverworks Neighborhood Ambassadors and numerous CarMax volunteers on the Harambee Superheroes project.
“The art project is a catalyst to our ongoing community development relationship with the The CarMax Foundation, working together to make this neighborhood better.” said Darryl Johnson, Executive Director. “It creates social connections, impacts the neighborhood aesthetics and celebrates art and culture in the Harambee community. The project is part of a bigger initiative that RDC is partnering with the Greater Milwaukee Committee around Creative Placemaking in the area”
This community art project teaches youth that everyone can be a superhero, and asks, “As a superhero, how will you help Milwaukee become a better city?” Through creative thinking, art making and teamwork, the artists and youth are painting and creating all the elements for the top secret hide-out, from a mission control station to superhero vehicles. In the process, they have considered questions such as, “What superhero powers do I have that can help my neighborhood?” and, “How will I change the world today?” When youth aren’t turning the planter benches into superhero vehicles, they’re decorating their own superhero capes and making power-up amulets (aka rocks covered in glitter). Youth are also creating and painting portraits of their sidekicks, some of which will be displayed permanently at the site.
“The park just keeps getting better and this free art program gives youth an opportunity to work with artists and create art for the park,” shared Ali Carlucci, A.W.E. Program Director. “They’re making a big visual and playful impact, by turning almost every piece of furniture into something that promotes imagination and exploration.
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The project began June 29th and runs through July 10th.
This project would not be possible without the support of CarMax, Milwaukee Arts Board, Burning Man, MPS Partnership for the Arts, MPS Arts Internship Program, Riverworks Development Corporation, Keefe Avenue Safety Task Force, Harambee Great Neighborhood Initiative and Greater Milwaukee Committee.

author: Riverworks Development Corporation


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On the Block: The space between | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jabril Faraj
July 9, 2015
Milwaukee Stories link: http://milwaukeestories.org/2015/07/03/ive-got-a-lot-of-learning-to-do/


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 8, 2015


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Couple leads effort to serve home-cooked meals to neighbors in need | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
July 10, 2015
Arthur Ward (front left), his wife Brenda (front right) and their small team of volunteers have been serving free meals at Butterfly Park, 3717 W. Meinecke Ave., for more than 10 years. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Three days a week — Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays — Arthur Ward, his wife Brenda and a handful of dedicated volunteers set up a small white canopy near the north end of Butterfly Park, 3717 W. Meinecke Ave., in the Metcalfe Park neighborhood.
The canopy is a signal to park visitors, mostly children, that dinner will soon be served. This particular day it’s chili dogs, a juice box and a small bag of candy. In the past the menu has been smothered chicken with greens or ribs served with rice and gravy — all homemade.
“We’re trying to bring the community together in peace and let them eat together,” Ward said.
Though many children smile as they walk away with their meals, Ward doesn’t see them. A beating more than 25 years ago left him without one eye and blind in the other.
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A typical meal, this one featuring a main course of chili dogs, costs the group about $200. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
“Helping the community helps me get over what I lost and the anger I once felt over it,” Ward said. Sharing a meal is a show of unity, he added. “It’s something we really need in this community.”
Ward’s group, the Matilda Ward Youth Empowerment Association, named after his late mother, has been providing free meals at the park for more than 10 years. On a typical day the group feeds more than 100 people.
Brenda Ward is also disabled, having lost the bottom portion of her left leg and foot to diabetes a few years ago. Her disability hasn’t slowed her spirit either.
“If they keep eating, we’ll keep coming,” she said, while serving chili seated in her wheelchair.
At one point, during the height of the Wards’ summer meal program, they served 400 meals a day. In prior years, many meals the group provided were paid for by funding from organizations including the Hunger Task Force and Social Development Commission, but in the past two years the organization has been going it alone.
Funds for the meals come from the couple’s disability checks and money Ward earns, as well as small donations, but it’s been an increasing challenge to pay for meals that on average cost $200.
Keyainna Burchette has been coming three times a week for dinner, usually with her four children in tow.
“They love coming here,” Burchette said. The meals served at the park provide an opportunity to come out and meet other kids and parents. Without them, “we’d be sitting in the house watching TV.”
Greg Hill, Ward’s brother in-law, has been volunteering to help with the meals for the past 10 years. “We’re out here showing that there is unity amongst us,” Hill said, as he opens a bag of hot dog buns.
Melissa Thompson, who lives near the park and said she often comes to enjoy the meals, brought along her younger brother, Jeremiah, cousin Andre and goddaughter Armani. “She really likes it,” Thompson said, pointing to Armani as she sat on a swing chewing on the bun of her chili dog.
The group plans to serve meals through most of August, according to Ward.
And they’ll find ways to keep paying for them, he said. “It’s worth it to know that people enjoy what we do.”


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 9, 2015


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Program cultivates new crop of neighborhood leaders | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sue Vliet
July 10, 2015

author: Sue Vliet


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How the Location of Milwaukee County Children’s Court Might Hinder Crucial Family Engagement | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 12, 2015
WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio


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Ta-Nehisi Coates Looks At The Physical Toll Of Being Black In America | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 12, 2015
National Public Radio


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The Moment for Criminal-Justice Reform? | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 12, 2015
The Atlantic


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Milwaukee does not need “plantation politics” | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Della Wells
July 13, 2015
(Photo by Sonji Hunt)
Della Wells, an artist and community activist, writes that a Republican plan to take over Milwaukee’s failing schools sidesteps Milwaukee residents and their elected officials.
In 1998 when Gov. Tommy Thompson proposed a state takeover of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), Milwaukee school board member Leon Todd called the takeover plan “plantation politics.” Todd’s stinging assessment indicated that the only reason Thompson proposed the plan was that Milwaukee had a large African- American population so taking over the public schools would be an easy sell to Wisconsinites.
If Thompson’s proposal had been approved, the state would essentially become MPS’s overseer, just like the overseers hired during slavery to maintain control of the slaves.
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Seventeen years later, Sen. Alberta Darling and Rep. Dale Kooyenga, both Republicans, have proposed a plan to take over MPS’s failing schools, but this time the schools would be under Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele. Neither Darling nor Kooyenga live in the City of Milwaukee, nor were they elected by the residents of Milwaukee. They are attempting to sidestep Milwaukee residents and their elected officials.
Quite frankly, I feel the only reason Darling and Kooyenga feel they can get away with their proposal is because most of the failing schools are in poor and African- American communities. This is hypocrisy because there are failing schools in other districts in Wisconsin, but their proposal does not include those schools. I believe this is because those schools are in predominately white districts.
State Sen. Lena Taylor exposed this hypocrisy when she suggested the same proposal be implemented in other districts where there are failing schools. Interestingly, the same state lawmakers who supported this plan for Milwaukee did not support the same plan in their own districts.
Darling and Kooyenga’s proposal is akin to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s state takeover of Detroit. I believe their goal to privatize MPS Schools is to sell Milwaukee education to the highest bidder. The move would weaken local control of Milwaukee’s public schools, dilute the impact of Milwaukee votes on pertinent issues and weaken the teachers’ union. As far as I know, neither Darling nor Kooyenga have met with any of the residents, parents, students or teachers at the affected schools.
Since Darling and Kooyenga appointed themselves to fix MPS and ignore input from Milwaukee lawmakers, residents and teachers, perhaps Milwaukee residents should circulate and sign a recall petition in River Hills and Brookfield to send a message that we are unhappy with their leadership on this issue. Oh wait, we Milwaukeeans can’t. We don’t live in their districts.
“Plantation politics” is alive in Wisconsin, whether it takes the form of voter ID, food stamp reform, weakening unions or the takeover of MPS. It is not what Milwaukee or Wisconsin needs to address their problems.

author: Della Wells


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 12, 2015


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New documentary challenges perception of homelessness in Milwaukee | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Allison Dikanovic
July 13, 2015
On a recent Sunday afternoon, two women walk through MacArthur Square, the park just east of the towering Milwaukee County Courthouse. As Faith Kohler passes a bush with someone’s belongings hidden under it, she said, “It bothers me. I get really actually emotional when I see cardboard in the bushes, and I think, why do we have people living like that?”
Kohler said that it was a series of questions along these lines that motivated her to make a film about homelessness. For the past five years, she and producer Jessica Farrell have spent their nights and weekends creating a documentary on homelessness in Milwaukee and its relation to the justice system, while maintaining full-time jobs.
Kohler, a spunky Brooklyn native and mother of three with a career as a federal agent under her belt, now works on the enterprise security team of a Fortune 100 company. Since Kohler had no prior film experience, she brought in the dynamic Farrell, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee film and photography grad whose day job is at an advertising agency.
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Kohler and Farrell regularly stroll through the park or other areas where those experiencing homelessness tend to congregate, and nearly every Saturday they work at a food pantry. They strike up conversations with anyone they encounter, often finding familiar faces and offering blankets and water. They inform people of resources available to them in the city to improve their situation, or simply listen and learn about how the person lives.
Faith Kohler (left) and producer Jessica Farrell converse in the studio space they share with other local artists in Brewer’s Hill. (Photo by Allison Dikanovic)
This particular Sunday, they are joined by their friend MacArthur Willis, who goes by the nickname General and is featured in the film. He transitioned out of homelessness through a program at the Guest House in 2008 and provides that perspective to Kohler and Farrell.
“I was working for the Guest House when Faith told me about her film,” he said. “I’ve known her for a while. She would bring the kids down here, and they would just talk to people, and I just got to know them.”
The film, called “30 Seconds Away: Breaking the Cycle,” stemmed from the relationships Faith formed with homeless men through volunteering at shelters and meal programs. It is in the final stages of production after a successful Kickstarter campaign. It also was chosen as an IndieWire “project of the day.”
“Realizing that so many of the people I was interacting with had such special and unique needs that none of the existing resources were meeting got me interested in looking at what else was there. Why is it like this?” she said. She added that she did her best to include insight from a well-rounded group of sources to tell the most complete version of the story.
Kohler explained that her experience in law enforcement, starting with earning her J.D. at Marquette University, puts her in a unique position. She was able to befriend those in the homeless community by volunteering, but also experienced the suspicion that many of them felt toward the justice system when they learned that she worked in law enforcement. She explores this disconnect in the documentary.
Kohler and Farrell see themselves as people who can identify both with those who work for the city and those who live on the streets. “It isn’t anything weird for us to move back and forth between the communities we encounter. And I think most people don’t do that because they don’t see that [the homeless] community here is made up of the same kind of people … on the block that you live on,” she said. Both Kohler and Farrell emphasized the importance of remembering the “people” part in the phrase “homeless people.”
(Photo by Allison Dikanovic)
Their film follows the stories and cases of several men who have experienced or are still experiencing homelessness, including General. It takes its audience down “the trail,” or the typical daily path of a homeless person in Milwaukee, including shelters, meal programs, parks and the library. It also takes viewers through the court system, highlighting gaps in how the city serves this population.
Judge Derek Mosley, whose courtroom is featured in the film, acknowledged some of these pitfalls. “Homeless people who end up in the criminal justice system have a host of other needs that … aren’t addressed in our current system,” he said. “I’m not sure if the community realizes how many people who are homeless find their way into the system and end up being incarcerated.”
The film highlights the “perpetual cycle between living on the streets and jail time and being in the ER. The story comes full circle with how it’s costing taxpayers and how it’s costing people their lives,” said Farrell.
The filmmakers’ goal is to better inform the public so that more meaningful ways to address chronic homelessness in Milwaukee can be put into practice. “We just wanted to put everybody’s perspectives together and let society come up with some better answers,” said Kohler.
During the filming, Kohler and Farrell witnessed some positive developments in how the city is trying to tackle chronic homelessness. Kohler referred to the Milwaukee Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Team as “some of the best homeless outreach cops anywhere, right here in this city.” She said the team did not exist five years ago.
The filmmakers are also encouraged that Milwaukee County recently adopted a “housing first” model, which seeks to provide people with stable housing before requiring treatment or participation in other programs. Kohler said she is “cautiously optimistic” as she watches to see how the model is implemented and its outcomes. She mentioned the possibility of producing a second documentary to follow up on the initiative.
In the meantime, Kohler and Farrell are logging long hours in their eclectic studio space in an old shoe factory on Brewer’s Hill making final changes to the film with their editor, Andrew Swant. The team is hoping that “30 Seconds Away: Breaking the Cycle” will debut in the fall at the Milwaukee Film Festival, but that is yet to be confirmed.
Following the film’s debut, Kohler and Farrell are hoping to engage more community members in its content through outreach efforts such as screenings and workshops around issues of homelessness and the justice system.
Kohler said the way homelessness is addressed in the future depends on how people see each other. “It’s humanity. Find your humanity and go share your humanity with other humans,” she said.

author: Allison Dikanovic


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Clean Summer Youth Program fights crime with jobs | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jabril Faraj
July 14, 2015
Cleveland Easley and other students work at a pocket park on 19th Street and Meinecke Avenue. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
Cleveland Easley works to uproot a weed at a pocket park on 19th Street and Meinecke Avenue under the hot, midday sun. He gathers the leaves in his hands and pulls; they break. Easley comes back with a shovel to get the rest.
“I like getting the job done — I like doing it right,” he said.
Easley is one of 200 youth being employed through the Clean Summer Youth Program, an expansion of the Earn & Learn summer work program. The new program is putting youth across the city to work for six weeks with the goal of cleaning up Milwaukee communities and reducing crime. Program participants were selected from a wait list for the Earn & Learn program, which has operated since 2005 and served more than 3,000 youth last year.
“I made my restrictions loose,” said Ald. Russell Stamper. “As long as you’re 14 and you’re in school and you want to work … no child should be turned away, if they take the initiative [to apply].”
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Stamper said he created the program, which started July 1, on a short timeline as a result of a spike in violence this spring. Mayor Tom Barrett responded to the rash of homicides by allocating $2 million of unspent 2014 Milwaukee Police Department funds to increase the number of officers on the streets. Stamper was not against increasing the presence of law enforcement but said he also wanted to “develop a program to not just react to crime but prevent crimes.”
“The way you reduce crime is you employ people,” said Stamper, adding that another goal was to strengthen relationships with city churches.
Grace Fellowship Church of Milwaukee, Neighborhood House of Milwaukee, Running Rebels, Journey House and the Urban Ecology Center are all participating in the new initiative.
Neu-Life Community Development, which operates the park at 19th and Meinecke, has employed youth through the Earn & Learn program for seven or eight years, said Director Jody Rhodes. Neu-Life was planning to get about 20 youth but learned in late May that about 10 more would be coming through the Clean Summer program.
Stamper acknowledged the program was put together “very last minute” but Rhodes said she is happy to have more youth. “That’s 10 more kids off the streets doing positive stuff so we couldn’t say no.”
Jaquawn Seals, 21, started working with Neu-Life Community Development at 15, which inspired him to change his life. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
Jaquawn Seals is a full-time employee at Neu-Life who supervises a group of about a dozen students working at the pocket park. Seals, 21, who went to jail as a teenager for riding in a stolen car, described himself as “a troubled kid.” Then, when he was 15, Seals got a call from someone at the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board (MAWIB), which runs the Earn & Learn program. He’s been working with Neu-Life ever since.
“I was involved in gangs and I used to get into fights a lot, get suspended from school a lot, things like that,” said Seals, who didn’t have a father figure in his life. “I came [to Neu-Life] and they showed me something different, other than the neighborhood I was used to. It made me want to change my life.”
Kahala Burks, 16, who has three younger sisters, has enjoyed the opportunity to play with young children at Neu-Life’s Wellness Wednesdays, an aspect of the summer program that brings different age groups together. Burks said it feels good to have a hand in changing her environment.
“Some of these kids out here are without a family — some of them grow up without a dad or [with] a dad in jail or their momma died at an early age,” said Burks. “You don’t ever know what other people are going through.”
The Clean Summer program also provides youth with “career enrichment” activities every Friday, including financial literacy education at Junior Achievement, a trip to Discovery World and more.
For many of the youth, this is one of their first jobs, an opportunity to learn and gain valuable experience. Seals said work helped him become more positive and stay out of trouble because he doesn’t “have to think about doing bad stuff to get money.”
Kendric McMillian, 16, is expecting a baby in August. McMillian, who worked “from time to time” at his uncle’s grocery shop last summer, said even though the pay was pretty good — he got $8 an hour — he needed work that was more steady to meet the needs of an infant. Program participants are paid $7.50 an hour for 20 hours per week.
“She’s gonna be in my pockets,” said McMillian. He is applying at Culver’s and hopes the experience from working over the summer will help him land the job. McMillian also said he would be interested in working toward a part-time position at Neu-Life.
Rhodes stressed that even though Neu-Life participates in the summer work program, it also provides opportunities for youth year-round “to help them sustain some sort of independence during school time.” She said a third of the organization’s staff has been involved in the Earn & Learn program.
Seals said he’s been able to get to where he is now because people were impressed by his hard work. But he knew right away he didn’t want to waste his chance. “When I first came, when they first called me … I thought to myself, ‘This is an opportunity to get a job so I’m gonna give it the best I can, give it my all.’”
The Clean Summer Youth Program received $375,000 of funding for 2015, missing out on $60,000 more from Community Development Block Grant funds, money that Stamper said would have allowed the program to employ 30 more youth. After the funds were allocated to the youth program during a May 27 Community and Economic Development Committee meeting, the money was returned to Compete Milwaukee, a transitional jobs program that has struggled to fill 135 openings because of narrow eligibility requirements. As of the committee meeting, 72 of those placements had been filled.
Stamper, who initially asked for $1 million, said he just wants the money to be put to the best use, and that both programs should be reevaluated. At the same time, Stamper said kids want to work and “the capacity is there” to employ them.
“I don’t think they should be turned away,” he said. “Give them a job if they want it.”
Jill Lintonen, a marketing and public relations specialist at MAWIB, said about 52 percent of youth who applied for the Earn & Learn program were placed in a position. The Earn & Learn program has served about 22,000 youth over its 10 years.
“Every summer we get lots more applications than we have jobs available,” she said. “With more funding, we could fill more jobs.”
“It’s a win, win,” said Rhodes of Stamper’s new initiative. “We wish it was more than six weeks; we wish there was more funding.”


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 13, 2015


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How to stay safe at the beach | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
American Red Cross
July 15, 2015
Courtesy of Visit Milwaukee
While you’re enjoying the water, keep alert and check the local weather conditions. Daily weather reports and swim hazard risks are available on home page of the Milwaukee County Beaches website.
Make sure you swim sober and that you never swim alone. And even if you’re confident in your swimming skills, make sure you have enough energy to swim back to shore.
Avoid currents
Rip currents are responsible for deaths on beaches every year, and for most of the rescues performed by lifeguards. Beachgoers should be aware of how dangerous rip currents are, and swim only at beaches with lifeguards in the designated swimming area.
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Lake Michigan is particularly dangerous. Over the last 10 years, Lake Michigan has had seven times the number of rip current incidents (which includes rescues and fatalities) than the other Great Lakes. In 2013, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported 36 deaths due to submersion or drowning in natural water.
Rip currents can form in any large open water area, such as low spots and breaks in sandbars, or near structures such as jetties and piers.
Swim safety

author: American Red Cross


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 14, 2015


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Milwaukee health advocates celebrate five years of smoke-free Wisconsin businesses, but challenges remain for Milwaukeeans | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Community Advocates
July 15, 2015
July 5 marked five years since Wisconsin became a smoke-free state! Throughout the month, Milwaukee’s tobacco prevention and control community is celebrating the law for creating safer indoor air-quality in bars and restaurants, healthier bartenders, lower smoking-rates, and even more smoke-free home rules, but also wants to raise awareness that the battle is not over yet.
Their statement reads:
“Wisconsin’s smoke-free law has had an enormous impact on the health of Wisconsin and Milwaukee residents. Because of the law, neither employees nor customers have to worry about being exposed to harmful secondhand smoke in Wisconsin’s workplaces. Five years after the law went into effect, it’s hard to remember the days where we had to choose between ‘smoking’ and ‘non-smoking’ sections. Thankfully, our future generations won’t ever have to make the choice.”
However, challenges remain, especially for diverse populations in Milwaukee and those living in poverty. The tobacco industry continues to disproportionately target urban communities with intense advertising and promotional efforts, leading to much higher tobacco use for those populations. While Wisconsin’s overall smoking rate is 18%, the rate is 26% and 27% for Hispanic/Latino and African Americans respectively. Furthermore, for those with an income of less than $15,000, the rate is 35%. (Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System )
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Additionally, the use of smokeless products and e-cigarettes are on the rise—especially among young people. The 2014 Wisconsin Youth Tobacco Survey found that 7.9% of high school youth report using e-cigarettes and nearly 10% of high school youth use smokeless tobacco products.
The groups’ statement concluded “Smoking may be on the decline, but our fight to protect the health of our communities and decrease the disparities is far from over. We remain committed to helping adult tobacco users quit and preventing teens from getting addicted in the first place.”
Supported by the Wisconsin Tobacco Prevention and Control Program (TPCP), the aforementioned coalitions and networks work to prevent and reduce the death, disease, and health care costs caused by tobacco. Local efforts include youth prevention, community education, reducing tobacco-related health disparities, protecting people from secondhand smoke and treating tobacco addiction. For more tobacco facts and information on local efforts, visit www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/tobacco. Tobacco users who are ready to quit can call 1-800-QUIT NOW for free help and medications.

author: Community Advocates


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NNS on Lake Effect Radio: Pregnant Patients Looking for Answers | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
July 16, 2015
NNS reporter Devi Shastri goes on the air with Mitch Teich of WUWM’s Lake Effect to discuss Marquette University closing its Neighborhood Health Clinic.
Full story: https://milwaukeenns.org/2015/07/09/patients-struggle-with-closing-of-marquette-neighborhood-health-center/
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author: Dwayne Burtin


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10071862335_96fc68e594_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
July 16, 2015


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Northwestern Mutual project creates new jobs in Century City: Slideshow | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 16, 2015
Milwaukee Business Journal


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On the Block: Belief pays | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jabril Faraj
July 16, 2015
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/213866712″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Darlene Rogers grew up in Harambee where the norm for kids trying to “be somebody” is to leave. Rogers believes people need the chance to find something they’re passionate about and willing to persevere for. She acknowledged that, for some people, that’s easier said than done.
Read more about Darlene Rogers at milwaukeestories.org.
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author: Jabril Faraj


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 15, 2015

author: Adam Carr


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Plans in Motion for Fugitive Safe Surrender Program in Milwaukee | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 16, 2015
WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio

author: Andrea Waxman


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With homicides rising, teens aspire for positive change | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 16, 2015
jsonline.com


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Yellow Chair Project promotes community, connection in Thurston Woods | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Madeline Kennedy
July 16, 2015
Karen Mierow paints an Adirondack chair with Thurston Woods residents as part of the Yellow Chair Project. (Photo by Madeline Kennedy)
Residents of the Thurston Woods neighborhood recently gathered in a vacant lot with a unique mission: to paint their town yellow.
Organized by the Agape Community Center’s neighborhood development staff, the Yellow Chair Project provides free Adirondack chairs to Thurston Woods residents. Supplies for the project are funded by the city and Agape, so all that’s required of the community members is to arrive, assemble and paint the chairs yellow. This is the project’s first year. Several additional dates have been scheduled in July.
Karen Mierow, Agape’s neighborhood planning coordinator, said the project’s main purpose is to help residents get to know each other.
“Here’s the thing about chairs,” she said. “People like sitting in them. Why not all sit in chairs together and have happy friendship fun time?”
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Volunteers painted Adirondack chairs yellow. (Photo by Madeline Kennedy)
Stephanie Stilwell added that she and the other members of the community center’s staff chose yellow chairs for the neighborhood project because of their “cheerfulness and curb appeal.
“In Wisconsin people hibernate for six months out of the year, so the minute it gets over 55 degrees everyone is on their porch,” Stilwell said. “So we thought, ‘What’s better than having a nice relaxing chair, painted bright yellow so everyone can see it?’ ”
The project also caught the attention of a few non-Thurston Woods residents, including Bill Seitz, who lives in Muskego and works for Sigma-Aldrich. According to Seitz, the chemical company has many employees who live in Thurston Woods.
“There’s a lot of pride in this neighborhood and it’s been nice meeting the folks that live here,” said Seitz, who attended the kick-off event. “You’re only as good as your neighborhood so we try to help out as much as we can.”
Seitz added that he thought the experience was beneficial for all those involved, including his young son who he brought to help. Together the two spent hours assembling and painting chairs with Thurston Woods residents.
“It’s great for kids to get out of the suburbs and into the city,” Seitz said.
Thurston Woods resident Mike Morales agreed that the Yellow Chair Project helps connect neighbors across the community.
“Events like this are really nice. They bring everyone together and I’d like to see people do more stuff like this,” Morales said.
The popularity of the first Yellow Chair event on July 11 prompted Agape to add another date. According to Mierow, 17 chairs were completed at the first event and 30 people are already signed up for the one on July 18. Agape’s goal is to complete 75 chairs.
“It’s about more than just curb appeal,” Mierow said. “Residents get to form social connections. Once these are in their yards it’ll improve the neighborhood’s physical landscape and hopefully when people drive through the neighborhood they’ll see them and say ‘Oh yeah, I’m in Thurston Woods.’”


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City of Milwaukee Health Department reminds residents to stay safe in hot weather | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
City of Milwaukee Health Department
July 17, 2015
As high heat indices are predicted for Saturday, July 18, the City of Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) is reminding community members to exercise caution.
To prevent heat-related illness or death, the MHD advises citizens to take the following precautions recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
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The MHD will be enhancing surveillance for heat-related illness in the coming days, and working with Milwaukee Heat Task Force partners to address vulnerable population needs during this period.
Additional heat safety tips and information are available at www.milwaukee.gov/hotweathersafety or https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/climate/weather/heat.htm.

author: City of Milwaukee Health Department


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New program aims to cut violent crime among high-risk teens | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Matthew Wisla
July 17, 2015
Mentor Ben Harris tells Youth Works Milwaukee teens about his past reckless behavior, hoping they can learn from his mistakes. (Photo by Matthew Wisla)
About 50 male high school students and adult men sit in a large circle listening as Ben Harris talks about the mistakes he made in his teens and early adulthood. His voice fills the room; all eyes are on him.
“After I crashed through the guardrail the car rolled over seven times and I crawled out on my hands and knees through the window,” Harris said, arms and legs crawling through the air to show what it was like.
After several stories about his past reckless behavior, Harris, 31, described his current life as a successful multimedia producer. Then he brought his presentation to a close saying, “What you need to understand is that you don’t have to end up in life in the same place as where you started.”
Welcome to Mentor Monday at the Youth Works Milwaukee program. Harris is a mentor in a yearlong pilot program intended to reduce the rate of violent crime among high school age black males by providing jobs, life coaching and mentoring. Unlike most community initiatives, Youth Works Milwaukee hopes to turn a profit for investors while saving money for taxpayers.
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If the program moves from the pilot phase to implementation, crime data and police records will be used to determine whether violent crimes were reduced. If so, taxpayers and local government departments, such as the police and courts, save money that would be returned to investors.
Participants in Youth Works Milwaukee support one another. (Photo by Matthew Wisla)
Pay for success
This program model has been effective in Chicago where students in a similar program had 43 percent fewer violent-crime arrests last year than those in a control group. The Youth Works Milwaukee pilot, funded by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, was also given the opportunity by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency to test the feasibility of a “pay for success” model of funding here. If the pilot is successful, an investor would be sought to fund the program beginning next summer. Assuming violent crime goes down, the investor would be repaid, potentially with interest. If it doesn’t, there would be no repayment.
The idea to try the program in Milwaukee came from the Community Advocates Public Policy Institute, which is administering the pilot. “We saw the issue of violent crime in our communities and thought this (type of program) might be a way to tackle it,” said Kari Lerch, deputy director.
The pilot program kicked off in June and the Public Policy Institute is holding discussions with local government officials and potential investors, including community organizations and private individuals Local government departments that stand to benefit most from cost savings realized through lower crime rates include the Department of Corrections, the courts and police.
Youth Works Milwaukee has 37 participants from James Madison High School, 8135 W. Florist Ave. Many have been involved with the criminal justice system or gotten into trouble at school.
“For this program to make a difference in people’s lives and the community we wanted guys with high risk factors (for criminal activity),” said Walter Goodwyn, program director.
Initially, about 90 students were identified as potential participants based on whether they have a criminal record, have been suspended from school or live in ZIP codes with high rates of juvenile crime, according to Goodwyn. Students took part in several weeks of workshops, presentations and interviews to learn about the program and decide if they wanted to participate.
It’s not for everyone
After learning about the program, some students withdrew from consideration, and space limitations excluded others. “Some of the ones we chose said they wanted to stay out of trouble,” said Goodwyn. “Some want to be an example to others in their neighborhood and show them that there’s a better way, and others wanted to be part of the community we’re creating with this program.”
Brothers Christian (left) and Anthony (right) Robinson listen with Isaiah Lee (center) to presentations during a recent Mentor Monday meeting. (Photo by Matthew Wisla)
Echoing Harris, Goodwyn said that a student’s demographics or risk factors needn’t dictate his destiny. He thinks many students can improve their prospects in life if given the right opportunities and coaching. “I believe in young men who don’t have everything going for them, that they are redeemable,” Goodwyn said. “You can see the hope in their eyes.”
The Robinson brothers, Anthony, 18, and Christian, 17, were both selected for the program. “I really pay attention when I’m here because they can teach me how to be a better man,” Anthony said.
“They care about us here. They said they don’t want to hear about us on the news,” Christian commented.
A key component of the Youth Works Milwaukee program is providing a job for each participant. The program partners with an existing jobs program at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee. Mentor Monday meetings are held in the club location in Sherman Park, 3000 N. Sherman Blvd. Students started working at companies and organizations throughout Milwaukee beginning on June 30. About 40 employers participate in the Boys & Girls Clubs program, including Boston Store, U.S. Cellular, Walgreens and Circle 1 Network.
Students earn $7.50 an hour, more than Wisconsin’s minimum wage of $7.25. There is no cost to the employer. In many cases students are eventually hired onto the payroll once they’ve proven themselves. For example, Boston Store has hired about 50 students from the Boys & Girls Clubs program in the last four years, according to Mike Waite, director of career development.
Jobs lower crime rates
According to a report from the Brookings Institution, each year a high school student works results in a 15 percent increase in income in his or her 20s. And analysts at the National Bureau of Economic Research working with data from the Chicago “pay for success” program demonstrated a correlation between working teens and a reduction in violent crimes. However, according to Waite and other experts, it is difficult for teens to find jobs in an economy where they are competing with adults for seasonal and minimum wage positions. In summer 2014, 4.5 million teens in the U.S. were working, compared with 7.2 million in 2000, according to Brookings.
“The (teens) in programs like ours have opportunities that just aren’t available to others,” Waite said.
As part of Youth Works Milwaukee participants receive job skills training focused on interviewing skills, attire and how to communicate effectively with supervisors and co-workers. Students also learn how to manage their money and participants have the opportunity to open a bank account through a special program with PNC Bank.
Recently, Christian and Anthony Robinson took home their first paychecks. Christian has a job tidying up animal houses at the Milwaukee Zoo as an assistant janitor, and Anthony works at the Urban Ecology Center. The income has given them the chance to contribute to the household budget, they said.
By this time next year organizers of Youth Works Milwaukee will know if the pilot initiative has helped reduce violent crime and whether the city will agree to pay investors when the program meets its goals. In the meantime, it continues providing hope and opportunity to a group of high school students growing up in tough surroundings.
“Some boys (in the neighborhood) blame themselves for what they’re going through in their lives,” said Christian Robinson. “Here we don’t have to worry like that. Everyone has our back.”

author: Matthew Wisla


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 16, 2015


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Harambee Neighborhood Resident Spearheads a New Farmer’s Market | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 19, 2015
WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio


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Hispanic Youth Capable of Swaying Elections, But Majority Don’t Vote | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 19, 2015
Latin Post


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Milwaukee’s prosperity depends on bridging racial gap, group says | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 19, 2015
jsonline.com


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New Milwaukee Starbucks part of effort to help diverse, low- to medium-income neighborhoods | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 19, 2015
Milwaukee Business Journal


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Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers announces Community Impact Awards | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers
July 19, 2015
Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers (Sixteenth Street) first Community Impact Awards ceremony was held on Thursday, July 16th at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. The evening was closed out with music and entertainment by Tres Acoustico.
Community Impact Awards were given to recognize individuals and organizations that contribute significant volunteer time, expertise and/or resources to support Sixteenth Street programs and services. In 2014, more than 35,000 people relied on Sixteenth Street for medical care, behavioral health services, health education, supportive social services and neighborhood and community enrichment programing. Awards & Recipients are:
Community Partnership Impact Awards:
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Volunteer Service Impact Awards:
Healthcare Partnership Impact Awards:
Advanced Pain Management Philanthropy Impact Awards:


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City of Milwaukee Health Department announces dates and locations for 15th annual back-to-school health fairs | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
City of Milwaukee Health Department
July 20, 2015
With school season already around the corner, Mayor Tom Barrett and the City of Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) have announced that the City’s 15th annual Back-to-School Health Fairs will be held Friday, Aug. 7, at North Division High School (1011 W. Center St.) and Friday, Aug. 14, at Bradley Tech High School (700 S. 4th St.). Both events will run from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
“Our annual Back-to-School Health Fairs offer families an opportunity to get their children ready for a healthy school year,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “We are thankful to our generous sponsors for their support and to all the organizations providing services and resources at both fairs.”
The health fairs are presented by the City of Milwaukee Health Department and United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County in partnership with Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Children’s Community Health Plan, United Healthcare, Molina Healthcare, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, MHS Health Wisconsin, and Milwaukee Urban League.
Services at each fair include school-required vaccinations, lead testing, vision and dental screenings. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, a BadgerCare HMO, will also bring Green Bay Packers legend LeRoy Butler as one of the special guests to the 15th annual health fairs.
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“Each year we serve thousands of children at both health fairs,” said Commissioner of Health Bevan K. Baker. “Ensuring that families have access to required vaccinations and health screenings is essential to keeping schools and our community healthy year round.”
Free backpacks and school supplies will be provided to children with an up-to-date shot record, or those who receive vaccinations and lead testing at the fairs. Children must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian to receive gifts and services. For more information, call (414) 286-3521 or visit www.milwaukee.gov/health.