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OPINION: What Native American Heritage Month means to me | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Angela Kingsawan
November 9, 2020
Like her mother before her, Angela Kingsawan has her daughters, including the youngest Elena (pictured here), work alongside her in the garden. (Photo by Ana Martinez-Ortiz)
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Angela Kingsawan is a local herbalist and entrepreneur who uses her Native heritage to inform everything she does. She strives to share her knowledge of herbs and plants as part of her journey on the Good Path.
Kuira (Hello). My name is Angela Kingsawan. It is Native American Heritage Month, and I’m honored to share my perspective on why this month is significant to me.
I identify as a Native American woman, although my culture and upbringing has been very different from other Native people in Wisconsin. My mother is Rarámuri, and she grew up in the Southwest and Mexico. She moved to Wisconsin after marrying my father. I wasn’t raised in what would be considered a traditional Native American way, but I was raised learning traditions from my culture.
Even though my mother was so far from everything and everyone she knew, she stressed the importance of knowing who I am meant to be through our culture. Every activity and every story while growing up was a lesson. Some of my earliest memories are in the garden with my mom.
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My childhood was the beginning of my training as an herbalist. We spent all of our free time outdoors in every season. During those times, I was taught the importance of being humble, to quiet my mind and listen to nature. My mother continually instilled values of respect for others, food, land and water to me. We always had a garden and meals centered around fresh foods. We did, however, have a lot of trial and error. As my mother learned about the ways and foods of Wisconsin, we grew our knowledge together.
In our family, children are expected to learn by working alongside the adults. I have continued that expectation with my own three daughters. Like me, my daughters have been raised on the South Side of Milwaukee. I have made it a priority to connect them to our culture by sharing teachings and maintaining a lifestyle close to nature. We grow all our medicines and a great deal of our food. Each of the girls helps in a unique way to maintain our urban garden and our way of life.
It is because of the encouragement of my children that I began teaching about Indigenous foods and medicines in the community. It was also through their prompting that I eventually formed a small business, Yenepa Herbals LLC.
I struggled internally with forming a business, because I wanted it to function in a way that maintains our Indigenous values instead of only being driven by profit. When I finally moved forward, I decided to just let the business be a reflection of me.
I grow or ethically wild harvest every plant I use. Everything focuses on seasonality. When my harvest runs out, I either shift the recipes by wild harvesting or wait until the next growing season. Clients have come to understand my way of doing business. My daughters tease me because I am always willing to barter with community members. I take time to have consultations, not only to get to the root of the issue, but to truly get to know my neighbors. I’m not worried about competition because I feel there’s enough room for everybody.
The choices I make on how to run my business don’t make sense to some people, but that’s because it is continually growing and evolving with me.
As a Native woman, this is part of my decolonization journey. It is important for me to shift the ideas of success that mainstream society dictates upon us. I regularly re-evaluate my mindset, how I treat myself and how I interact with others.
The decolonization process is difficult and painful, especially for communities of color, but I am becoming a whole person because of the path I’ve chosen.
This month as we reflect on Native American heritage and how cultures have been impacted, I hope each of us takes a moment to reflect on our own journey. When we open up our mindset and become a little uncomfortable, we can change in amazing ways. We are all meant to walk in beauty. I hope to meet each of you on the Good Path.

author: Angela Kingsawan


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 8, 2020

source: news-milwaukeenns

created: November 8, 2020

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

author: Adam Carr


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The NNS coronavirus update: What Milwaukee residents need to know the week of Nov. 9 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Matt Martinez
November 9, 2020
UWM will offer free rapid tests beginning Nov. 10, part of a federal surge testing program. (Photo by Adam Carr)
Here’s the latest update on COVID-19 in Milwaukee and the resources you need to combat it.
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will begin offering free rapid tests on Nov. 10.
The tests, part of an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, will be offered in the UWM Student Union, 2200 E Kenwood Blvd.
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The free tests are available to community members over the age of 5. Participants must register in advance.
Generally, tests on the Milwaukee campus occur from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., depending on the day.
The South Shore testing site, 1625 10th Ave. in South Milwaukee, will close Wednesday, Nov. 11 to observe Veterans Day.
Mayor Tom Barrett said there were 547 tests at the site last Wednesday. The site is normally open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The site will be open on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday this week.
Other city-run Milwaukee testing locations are expected to be open.
Dr. Ben Weston, director of medical services for the Milwaukee County Department of Emergency Management, said COVID-19 numbers continue to worsen as the third surge goes on.
“Not only do we not have a flattening of the curve . . . we’re seeing a steepening of the curve as our numbers are getting worse and worse,” Weston said.
Cases in Milwaukee County continue to climb, as 15% of all tests are coming back positive. More than 400 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, Weston said.
Weston urged residents to continue to follow guidelines such as avoiding gatherings, even smaller, indoor ones, to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Stephanie Smiley, interim administrator of the Division of Public Health in the state Department of Health Services and Wisconsin’s chief health officer, is stepping down effective Wednesday, Nov. 11.
Smiley said the past months have been difficult and that she plans to focus on her health.
The Department of Health Services reported an average of 4,389 cases in a week on Nov. 4. Over the last two months, that average has increased by over 500%. The state broke record highs in single-day cases last week as well.
The state is also at a 33% positivity rate for the last seven days, meaning one third of all COVID-19 tests in the state are coming back positive.
Read our story here.
To obtain a free mask, residents can visit these sites:
NNS reporters also gathered a list of where to buy locally made masks if you’re looking to show some local business love when masking up.
Check the City of Milwaukee Health Department’s website for the most updated facts and answers to questions about the mask ordinance.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Milwaukee Health Department alters mask distribution plan to fit decreased demand
Health officials are encouraging people to get vaccinated for the flu this season to avoid coinfection with COVID-19. To find out more about why vaccinations this year are crucial, read our earlier reporting.
Click here for places where you can get flu shots.
Look here for up-to-date statistics on COVID-19 in the county. More precautions on how to stay safe and information on COVID-19 can be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website.
Contact your health provider, call IMPACT 2-1-1 or take a look at the county’s testing site map to find a testing center near you. The free community testing sites at the Northwest Health Center, 7630 W. Mill Rd., and Southside Health Center, 1639 S. 23rd St., are now open and operating. Miller Park is also opening as a testing site effective Oct. 19.
For more information on testing, including how to identify symptoms and when you should get tested, visit TestUpMKE.com. Available in English, Spanish, Hmong, Burmese and Arabic.
Check out our continuing coronavirus coverage.
Looking for more personalized direction to resources and information during the coronavirus crisis? Get connected with News414, a texting-based news resource from Milwaukee NNS, Wisconsin Watch and Outlier Media. You can text MILWAUKEE to 73224 and begin to receive free, personalized data via text messages.

created: November 9, 2020

author: Matt Martinez


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NNS Spotlight: Milwaukee native finds success by lifting up others | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
PrincessSafiya Byers
November 10, 2020
George Hinton, the CEO of the Social Development Commission, speaks at a community event in 2016. “My goal is not to give anybody anything,” he says. “My goal is to help those I serve to get to a point where they don’t have to rely on SDC or any other organization for resources.” (File photo by Edgar Mendez)
Editor’s note: This story is part of an  occasional series that highlights groups and people worth knowing in Milwaukee. To nominate a person or a group, email info@milwaukeenns.org and put “Spotlight” in the subject line.
Seven years ago, feeling undervalued and out of options, George Hinton was on his way out of Milwaukee.
After spending over 10 years in leadership positions at Aurora Health Care, he was not satisfied with the work he was doing. Furthermore, he was unhappy with the resources being put into the African American community.
“He didn’t feel like he was being valued the way people who are not of color would have been valued given the same experiences,” said Michelle Hinton, his wife. “The values of the organization were no longer consistent with his values as a person.”
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A leadership role with the Social Development Commission, or SDC, kept him in Milwaukee.
“A part of SDC’s mission is to study, analyze and recommend solutions for the major social, economic and cultural problems for people residing in the communities,” said Hinton, who serves as CEO. “That mission aligned with my values as a person and as a professional.”
The SDC provides an array of services, including resources for  employment, education, finance, health and wellness, for Milwaukee County residents who live in poverty.
Hinton knows first-hand the struggles his organization’s clients face.
“I am from Milwaukee,” he said. “I am a product of this city, and my line of success was not always a straight line.”
Hinton dropped out of school as an adolescent. He ended up going to the United States Marine Corps. And he didn’t start his professional career until 1991 when he was in his late 20s.
As one of 14 children, Hinton knows the strain poverty can have on someone’s life.
“He understands the struggles of the community,” said Abra Fortson, executive manager of support at SDC. “Not just from an academic or distant point of view but from his own experiences.”
“He doesn’t just talk about the struggles of poverty,” Fortson said. “He discusses dismantling oppressive systems.”
Hinton said his goal to help people move themselves beyond poverty.
“My goal is not to give anybody anything,” said Hinton. “My goal is to help those I serve to get to a point where they don’t have to rely on SDC or any other organization for resources.”
Under Hinton’s leadership, SDC has become involved in several community organizations that work to amplify what the community says it needs. And Hinton himself speaks out against racism and on behalf of those fighting for change.
“I was born in the ’60s,” said Hinton. “I wasn’t old enough to participate in what was going on, but I was old enough to watch.”
“The issues of this city are my issues,” he said, “and I want to teach my community how to solve them.”

created: November 10, 2020

author: PrincessSafiya Byers


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 9, 2020


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Post from Community: African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin is cooking up a record year in 2021 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin
November 10, 2020
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
The African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin is poised to embark on its most impactful and successful year in 2021.
The AACCW reached its $1 million fundraising goal in October to build the new Legacy Co-Working and Innovation Space at 1920 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Milwaukee.
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The organization plans to celebrate the grand opening of the Legacy Space in early 2021.
Once open, the 4,000-square-foot Legacy Space will feature a commercial kitchen tailored for baking to help grow catering and other businesses, private offices, a coffee shop and retail space.
“The Legacy Space will create an exciting hub for everything we hope to accomplish to help our members create and grow their own businesses,” said Ossie Kendrix Jr., president and CEO of the AACCW. “The Legacy Space will be a place where our members can collaborate, co-work and learn from each other.”
The opening of the Legacy Space will cap an impressive series of milestones for the AACCW:
Kendrix said the AACCW projects its membership to grow 25 percent annually and to help launch up to 80 new businesses at the Legacy Space over the next three years.
Kendrix also announced that he and his wife, Deirdra, have moved to the Dallas area, where her consulting firm DC Global Group has expanded its footprint. They are maintaining dual residences, and Kendrix returns to Milwaukee as needed to fulfill the AACCW’s mission.
The AACCW Board of Directors asked Kendrix to retain his leadership role with the organization in 2021.
“Covid-19 has forced organizations to pivot and operate differently. The AACCW is no exception,” said Debbie Allen, chairwoman of the organization. “Over the past nine months, the Chamber has been challenged with the need to continue serving its members during the pandemic. I’m proud to say our president has successfully moved the Chamber to operating virtually, and the organization has been a tremendous resource to its members. The AACCW has also been a venue for corporations to donate funding for minority businesses. The length of the pandemic is uncertain, and Legacy is before us. Thus, it’s imperative that a leader like Ossie stay the course with the AACCW in 2021.”
“Ossie has done a phenomenal job leading the African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin and has really demonstrated his value to the organization throughout the pandemic,” said Nikki Purvis, the incoming chairwoman of the AACCW Board of Directors.
“While teleworking, he has introduced new programming and services to members; developed, nurtured and strengthened strategic partnerships; and completed the $1 milliion Legacy Capital Campaign,” Purvis said. ”During these unconventional times, it is critically important – from an operational and relational standpoint – for the Chamber to continue to focus on implementing our plans for 2021 and creating a sustainable environment for staff, members and donors alike.  Ossie has proven that teleworking is not a hindrance to his leadership, so I am confident the Board’s decision to support his dual residency is fitting for the moment.”
Later in 2021, the AACCW Board will work with Kendrix to determine the right time to consider a leadership transition and a possible successor.
The AACCW Board also expressed faith in the competence of the AACCW staff, which includes Jona Moore who oversees AACCW Programming.


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 10, 2020


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‘I felt like I lost a part of me’: How Camille Mays finds peace after gun violence took her son | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Matt Martinez
November 11, 2020
Losing her son to gun violence has forced Camille Mays to identify ways to cope. She now has over 100 houseplants that she tends to regularly. On days when she loses her purpose, the plants are always there, and they fuel her to press on. (Photo by Adam Carr)
For more than four years, Camille Mays has planted peace gardens in Milwaukee for victims of homicide.
The gardens are meant to provide a place for families to visit and pay their respects after the city tears down memorial sites for them. It’s a simple gesture, she said, but one that has brought her close to the families of many victims.
“My heart went out to the families of people, you know?” Mays said. “I just couldn’t imagine what it would be like. And I always tell them, ‘I don’t understand, and I’m sorry. I hope I don’t ever understand.’”
On Nov. 10, 2019, the tragedy of homicide became personal.
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Her son, Darnell Woodard II, called Booka by his family, was killed by two gunmen when they robbed him during a drug deal. Booka, the oldest of her sons, was 19. Mays suddenly had her world turned upside down.
“I felt like I lost a part of me,” Mays said.
Like mother, like son
Mays, a 43-year-old Sherman Park resident, always knew that her son was like her: fearless and ready to jump into anything. He laughed at one of his robbers before they killed him. But it wasn’t until he died that she realized how much he had taken after her until friends and neighbors came forward to talk about times that he had helped them.
Mays said Booka did things for his younger brother, like paying his phone bill and checking in on his grades. He was also a mentor in the life of a little boy, one of their neighbors, something Mays never knew about until after Booka died. He was very protective of his family, too.
Camille Mays stands in the peace garden she made in memory of her son Booka, who was killed in November 2019. (Photo by Sue Vliet)
“He was like a teddy bear inside,” Mays said. “My Booka didn’t fool with anyone he didn’t know, but if he knew you, his heart was gold.”
In the immediate aftermath of the homicide, Mays was surrounded by family and friends and received much media attention. Things got even harder after the first two weeks.
“Two weeks after is when everything disappears,” Mays said. “When all the support and the food and the people, it disappears. And I never thought about that part of it as I was calling and checking on those people throughout all the years.
“That’s why it meant so much to them, because people drop off,” she said. “They forget or they move on or it’s the next news story or they dismiss one of the stories with drugs or something else.”
Mays said she was thankful for the support she received but realized that other families don’t always have as many people checking in on them. She said every family should be able to get that support.
“It should be more outreach, more people checking in and more people doing stuff after, because we are not OK,” Mays said.
Mays doesn’t mind saying it. She’s not OK. She’s traumatized. She still offers peace gardens but doesn’t go to vigils or gatherings anymore because of how emotionally heavy they are. Even movies and music can be triggering for her, making her relive emotions from the shooting.
‘There’s no textbook for this’
She’s not OK — but she’s learning to live with it.
Slowly, she has begun a long healing process and is willing to talk about it.
First, she had to find somebody to talk to. She’s found that talking helps, but only a few can truly understand. Where therapy has fallen short for her, talking with people who have experienced the same violence has helped her to heal.
“I don’t care how much therapy training you have, how many degrees you have, if you haven’t been through it,” Mays said. “You can give me a textbook explanation, and there’s no textbook for this.”
Mays said she finds strength in other people who have been through it, and that they’ve helped her heal.
Mays also finds strength in mindfulness. In the last year, she’s turned to yoga, meditation, Himalayan salt lamps and baths, and healing crystals. She’s also tried reiki, a Japanese method of stress relief.
She turned to some much-needed peaceful distractions as well. She said she has gotten into coloring and even painting lately. It’s important to have something to take your mind off of negative thoughts and find peace, she said.
Finding peace in the garden
In addition, Mays still gardens. She now has over 100 houseplants that she tends to regularly. On days when she loses her purpose, the plants are always there, and they fuel her to press on.
“It’s just like a constant reminder to change and grow,” Mays said. “We just got to nurture ourselves and things. It just reminds me of growth. It’s always something new. It’s always a new leaf.”
Mays said she also relies on her family and friends. She said she is blessed to have the support of a circle of friends and wanted to acknowledge them, including her fiancé.
Mays was engaged to Greg on Dec. 31, 2019. She said Greg has helped and supported her through the healing process and often reminds her to take care of herself.
“If I’m really stressed, he’ll make me just completely stop and sit down, because I’ll drive myself into anxiety sometimes,” she said.
Greg will also tell her when it’s time for her to pamper herself, meaning it might be time to get her nails done or get a massage.
Mays said everyone should be able to be pampered, but she also recognizes the tough economic realities. People can barely afford basic needs in our communities, Mays said, let alone pampering. People that might need that healing the most simply can’t get it.
It’s still a struggle, Mays said, but she’s looking to the future. She hopes to keep serving the community, through her flowers and through her words. She also serves on the Community Collaborative Commission, which gives input on community policing and police-community relations. And she has a wedding to plan.
She finds strength every day to keep going. But one of her greatest sources of strength remains, and always will be, her late son.
“I know that Booka wouldn’t want me to be sad and be down. He would want me to continue,” she said. “It’s hard to explain, but the very thing that brings you down is what picks us up, motivates us to keep pushing.”

created: November 11, 2020


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Here’s what struggling Milwaukee County homeowners need to know about getting financial help | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
PrincessSafiya Byers
November 12, 2020
Homeowners who are behind in payments because of COVID-19 can get help from the Milwaukee County Mortgage Assistance Program. (File photo by Scottie Lee Meyers)
The Milwaukee County Housing Division has partnered with Housing Resources Inc. to provide mortgage assistance to homeowners facing mortgage delinquency or foreclosure due to financial hardships created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funds are provided through the federal CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act.
Housing Resources, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping individuals and families buy homes, received $2.7 million for the Milwaukee County Mortgage Assistance Program and has already distributed about $300,000 to 65 approved applicants.
Emmett Gross, the homeownership preservation specialist at Housing Resources, answered questions about the process.
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It’s a two-step process. First, there is a general screening process that makes sure applicants are eligible, and if they are, we complete the process of requesting necessary documentation.
We’ve had around 500 applications thus far and some phone calls about the program. The county reached out to us for this program because we have experience with helping people navigate housing issues like foreclosures and we have experience managing and distributing funds.
They should gather and submit all the documentation needed as soon as possible. Looking for those last documents often slows down the process.
No. You can be eligible, but if you do not verify eligibility through proper sources, you may not receive assistance.
Yes. The most important thing that people should know is that these funds do NOT cover property taxes. They apply to mortgages. Also, these funds are exclusively for people affected by COVID.
We want people to know that the deadline to apply for this program is Dec. 18. and we are working on a first-come, first-served basis so if you are thinking of applying you need to do it as soon as possible.
Yes. We know it’s frustrating to not receive the funds, but we are still willing to assist people with their mortgage companies and whatever else they may need.
Mediate Milwaukee offers mediation for tenants, landlords, homeowners and lenders to help work through conflicts and come to agreements. You can call them at 414-939-8800 or email apply@mediatemilwaukee.com.
Legal Aid Society of Milwaukeecan provide legal assistance to income-eligible tenants in dispute with landlords, as well as to homeowners. You can call at 414-727-5300.
Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Councilcan help homeowners protect themselves from mortgage and foreclosure prevention scams, as well as from predatory home loans. You can call  414-278-1240.
Housing Resources Inc. can provide counseling to homeowners and has programs to help people prevent foreclosure. You can call 414-461-6330.
Federal loan programs:  Those with federally or Government Sponsored Enterprise-backed mortgages are covered by the CARES Act. Mortgage forbearance is available to those who request it. The CARES Act also suspended foreclosures on many government/GSE-backed loans through  at least Dec. 31.
Homeowner with a mortgage through the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, or WHEDA,  can find information and assistance by clicking here.
If you think you are at risk of becoming homeless, you can always  or text your ZIP code to TXT-211 (898-211).

created: November 12, 2020


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 11, 2020


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OPINION: Why we take care of our elders, our ‘wisdom keepers’ | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jeremiah Wayman, Dona Yahola & Jessica Martinez
November 12, 2020
The WOLFE Group gathers for one of its regular healthy meals before COVID-19. (Photo provided by Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center)
Editor’s note: Have something on your mind? “Community Voices” is the place to let Milwaukee hear what you have to say. To be considered, we need your name, email address and phone number for verification. Please email your submissions to info@milwaukeenns.org.
The primary author, Jeremiah Wayman (top), is the director of marketing and communications at Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center, or GLIIHC. Also contributing to this piece were Dona Yahola (middle), a case manager at GLIIHC and Jessica Martinez (bottom), a community health worker at GLIIHC.
The definition of heritage has been passed down as a tradition over time, like a seed from the past. In Native American cultures, those responsible for passing down those traditions to future generations are our elders — the wisdom keepers.
These wisdom keepers can take on many roles, with the term “elder” being earned for various reasons: keepers of cultural knowledge; leaders in the community; positive role models for younger generations; persons guiding education, business, spiritual ceremonies; those who positively impact the strength and future of their community.
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For many Natives, the respect for one’s elders is born at home. With large family circles, the connection to that heritage has many pathways, whether that be through one’s grandparents, aunts or uncles.
For Dona Gilane Yahola, Ojibwe and Oneida, as well as GLIIHC case manager, those connections were built at a young age, with conversations over meals allowing her to listen and absorb experiences and knowledge from her elders in the Milwaukee community.
With the stature and importance of elders within Native cultures being held in high regard, it’s imperative for those around them to make sure they have the support they deserve. It was around early 2004 that Pat Delgado, program coordinator of the Indian Council at the time, and Dr. Cieslik, health coordinator for the Department of Aging, in collaboration with the Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center, sat down and discussed how they could help improve the overall health and wellness of the elders in Milwaukee’s Native American population.
The idea of physical activity and healthy eating seemed to have become increasingly difficult for our elders. The goal was thus to find a way to make both necessities more accessible. With that, Work Out Low Fat Elders, or WOLFE, was born in May 2004. The purpose of Mino Ayaa (“being well” in Ojibwe) drove a weekly gathering where elders would gather and create a healthy meal, using traditional methods when able, and also taking part in a physical activity that varied from week to week.
Yoga and Zumba were offered and tailored to the capacity and needs of the elders. WOLFE increased access to these social and heart-healthy activities for elders who may have been dealing with ailments that otherwise prevented them from participating.
Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center harvests fresh produce in its Native Wellness Garden. (Photo provided by Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center)
Ricky, a WOLFE member since 2017, describes his experience as extremely positive, “getting turned onto different foods that I normally wouldn’t try. No fats, using natural seasonings.” He jokes about not being served fried chicken during these meal times but adds that these tended to be the best, most healthy meals that he would have all week.
Now over 16 years later, the WOLFE program continues to run strong, while evolving amidst challenging obstacles. The leadership has changed, now under the watch of Loren Rendino, registered dietitian, along with a team that is powered by community health workers dedicated to serving the Native community.
During the summer and harvest months, the program has grown to include giveaways of fresh produce from our Native Wellness Garden, operated in collaboration with UW-Extension. Just this past season, workers harvested over 790 pounds of produce for the community. With friendships made over the years, that harvest continues to grow.
When COVID-19 began to restrict access to the clinic and community interactions, there was concern that this would negatively impact what had become a part of a weekly routine for our elders. Knowing the importance of these meals and healthy activity, the team came up with the plan to continue preparing weekly meals, but instead offering them either by pick-up or delivery.
While WOLFE members do miss the “comradery, conversation,” says Becky, a WOLFE member since 2019, there is still an appreciation for the guidance each meal provides on how to eat healthy consistently.
Yvonne, a member since 2014, appreciates the weekly deliveries, as well as biweekly phone calls for health checks, offering opportunities to converse with other WOLFE members.
Since March 18, when COVID-19 forced a pivot to its current format, the team has prepared roughly 1,000 meals for our group of elders. A previously in-person program that was reaching about 15 elders per week now routinely reaches 40-50 members in a given week.
Ricky told a story reminiscing about meals being served at his grandparents’ home as a kid. “They were very community oriented, seemed to know everyone from all walks of life, and during meal times more people just kept showing up,” Ricky said. “But somehow there was always enough food.”
The WOLFE program has been able to do the same. Along the way, the Hunger Task Force has supplied boxes of produce and shelf stable items for our members. UniteMKE chipped in with free boxes of produce as well. It seemed from week to week, more people wanted to be involved in keeping our community fed and healthy.
Could this reach and impact have been predicted when Patsy Delgado and Dr. Cieslik put this together back in 2004? Maybe.
But as we celebrate Native American Heritage Month, it is important to remember what matters is the “why.” It is to help provide our elders, our heritage, our traditions, our living DNA, our wisdom keepers with a way to help them eat healthier, pay more attention to “being well,” and hopefully, ensure they are around a little while longer to share with us the traditions that were passed down to them.


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5 things to do and know the weekend of Nov. 13 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ana Martinez-Ortiz
November 13, 2020
Sonya Thompson of the Ko-Thi Dance Company is teaching an adult dance class Sunday, Nov. 15. (Photo provided by Ko-Thi Dance Company)
It’s Friday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about as the nation grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please email info@milwaukeenns.org and put “5 things” in the subject line by noon Thursday.
1. Volunteer at Hope Street Ministry: Saturday, Nov. 14
Hope Street Ministry, 2522 W. Capitol Drive, is looking for volunteers from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Nov. 14. Volunteers will be asked to clean, paint or help with general maintenance. If you are interested, email Thomas at thomas@hopestreetministry.org.
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2. Free flu shot clinic at Gee’s Clippers: Friday, Nov. 13
Anthem Medicaid is hosting a free flu shot clinic at Gee’s Clippers, 2200 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13. You do not need to be an Anthem Blue Cross or Blue Shield member to receive a shot. If possible, bring an insurance card and a photo ID.
3. Prostate cancer panel and webinar: Saturday, Nov. 14
The City of Milwaukee is hosting a free webinar titled “Men’s Health Matters: Prostate Cancer Initiative.” It will take place via Zoom from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14. To register, click here. Daryl Davidson will moderate the panel discussion featuring experts and cancer survivors. For additional information, call Jermaine Murry at 414-236-0042.
4. Pop-up at The Underground Makers Market: Saturday, Nov. 14
Jewels of the Divine is having a pop-up event at The Underground Market, 3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave., from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14. The Underground Market is located on the lower level of the Sherman Phoenix. There will be waistbeads, nose cuffs and more available for purchase.
5. Studio dance class with Ko-Thi Dance Company: Sunday, Nov. 15
The Ko-Thi Dance Company’s Sonya Thompson is teaching an in-person studio dance class at Danceworks studios, 1661 N. Water St., from 1 p.m. to 2:15 on Sunday, Nov. 15. Each class is limited to eight students, and masks and registration are required. To register, click here. Registration closes at noon on Sunday, Nov. 15. The company will be hosting dance classes every Sunday through Sunday, Dec. 20.
Bonus: Service journalism for Milwaukee: News414
Earlier this year, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, Wisconsin Watch and Outlier Media launched News414. News414 is service journalism that works for and with Milwaukee residents to provide them with the information they need regarding housing, mental health and domestic violence, food security, health and safety and jobs and money. Join News414 today by texting MILWAUKEE to 73224.
Bonus: The latest coronavirus coverage from NNS
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service reporters are hard at work bringing readers up-to-date information regarding coronavirus. Stay informed on coronavirus by following us on our Facebook page and subscribing to our daily newsletter. All coronavirus related articles can be found on this landing page. If you have a question or concern about coronavirus, send them in our way. We’re here to serve you.

created: November 13, 2020

author: Ana Martinez-Ortiz


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 12, 2020


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NNS Spotlight: Milwaukee’s queen of dance still reigns supreme – even in retirement | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
PrincessSafiya Byers
November 13, 2020
Ferne Caulker founded the Ko-Thi Dance Company in 1969. (Photo provided by Ko-Thi Dance Company)
Editor’s note: This story is part of an  occasional series that highlights groups and people worth knowing in Milwaukee. To nominate a person or a group, email info@milwaukeenns.org and put “Spotlight” in the subject line
Ferne Caulker is still dancing.
But Caulker, the 73-year-old retired founder of Ko-Thi Dance Company, said she’s just moving at a slower pace these days.
“I’m like the whisperer now. I’m still around . . .  but I don’t have to do all of that work,” said Caulker, who also taught dance at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. “I’m still tied to the form. I still support the art.”
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Over the years, Caulker marched in the open housing marches of the ’60s, raised a daughter, taught four generations of people to dance at Ko-Thi and spent over 40 years at UWM.
And she continues to give back.
“I try to keep my brain active,” she said. “There is no excuse not to be enriched.”
‘Mama Ferne’
Ferne Caulker, often called Mama Ferne, says “I’m like the whisperer now. I’m still around… but I don’t have to do all of that work.” (Photo provided by Ferne Caulker)
Many in the community call Caulker “Mama Ferne.”
“It’s a term of endearment,” she said. “It’s an honor to have worked with so many people and have them see me in that light.”
She’s earned that name, her mentees said.
“Mama Ferne is an artistic mother for me,” said DeMar Walker, the new artistic director of the Ko-Thi Dance Company, which specializes in dance and music  from the African Diaspora. Caulker founded the organization in 1969.
“I confide in her for many things professionally but also personal things because she is so wise,” he said.
Walker met Caulker over a decade ago when he auditioned to be a part of Ko-Thi, and they have been close ever since.
He remembers being intimidated by Caulker at first.
“She just has a no-nonsense presence,” Walker said. “But when I got to know her and even took some of her classes, I learned she is a trailblazer, a warrior, a woman who loves to see people authentically express themselves through dance and music.”
Shawn Short, a former student of Caulker’s and the founder and director of Ngoma Center for Dance, said Caulker has helped him flourish in his career.
“She was one of the first connections I made and didn’t have to fight to make it,” Short said. “She helped me fill in the cracks of being Black in academia.”
Though Short met Caulker as a student 10 years ago, he still calls her regularly to check in and talk.
“If you ever need a creative solution wrapped in truth, you need Ferne in your network or family,” Short said.
Caulker is currently at work on her memoir.
But she’s never too busy to offer advice.
“Find your destiny because we all have one,” she said.


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50272782347_5115175b29_o | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 12, 2020


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‘Proud of my city’: Turnout down, but Milwaukee’s Black voters leapt hurdles to vote | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Anya van Wagtendonk (Wisconsin Watch)
November 13, 2020
This article is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access.
Early in the morning on Election Day, Angela Lang stood in a conference room in the offices of BLOC — Black Leaders Organizing for Communities — on Milwaukee’s north side, addressing nearly two dozen staff members and volunteers.
It was the first time the team was together in the building since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, said Lang, the group’s executive director. They were gathered on Nov. 3 to build on months of community organizing to get out the vote among African-American voters in Wisconsin’s largest city.
The stakes were immense. A worsening pandemic — and accompanying economic recession — was disproportionately harming people of color, and a nationwide reckoning surrounding racism and policing spurred residents to the streets last summer.
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“For me, what I define as success is that we sought out to increase Black voter turnout in the city of Milwaukee,” she told her team. “Despite what happens in the rest of the state, despite what happens to the rest of the country. That’s our slice of the pie.”
In Wisconsin, his margin of victory was slim: just 20,539 votes, according to unofficial totals.
But voter turnout was stagnant in Milwaukee — and down in primarily Black neighborhoods, a Wisconsin Watch analysis found — at a time when the number of votes cast statewide soared above 2016 levels.
Wisconsin Watch examined the 17 voting wards in Milwaukee in which at least 85 percent of the voters are Black. The analysis found that the raw number of votes cast dropped in all of them in 2020 compared to 2016. The predominantly Black wards were identified by L2, a widely used proprietary voter database, and total votes cast came from the Milwaukee County Clerk’s Office. In all, voters cast 1,222 fewer votes in those 17 wards than in 2016, Wisconsin Watch found — a drop of nearly 11%.
Experts and organizers say that was largely due to pandemic-related hurdles, such as the loss of crucial voter engagement tools including door-knocking, and the fact that Black voters are less likely to favor voting by mail — a method that about 60% of Wisconsin voters used to cast their ballots in 2020. Fear of the pandemic, which has ravaged Milwaukee, created additional barriers, they said.
But get-out-the-vote organizers bristle at the suggestion that Black voters haven’t done their part in the past two elections — particularly in a state where lawmakers have made it disproportionately harder for them to vote.
For Lang, and other activists who worked on get-out-the-vote efforts among the city’s Black and Latino communities, the numbers don’t tell the full story. To them, persuading voters to participate despite the relentless force of the COVID-19 pandemic — coupled with the same obstacles to voting that they faced in 2016 — rendered a numerically flat turnout a victory.
On Saturday, with an American flag pinned to her hair at the downtown Zeidler Union Square, Lang addressed a jubilant crowd.
“Let me tell you, with all these circumstances, the insurmountable barriers, I am damn proud of my city,” she said. “The fact that we had all of these challenges, and yet you still showed up? Imagine if that work didn’t happen. Imagine if the groups and the organizations didn’t make that happen. We would not be standing here today.”
Overall, nearly 3.3 million Wisconsinites cast ballots in the election, compared to 3.1 million voters in 2016. But the total number of ballots cast in Milwaukee did not increase as some had predicted, remaining nearly flat with fewer than 150 votes separating the total from the 2016 figure of 247,836.
Milwaukee contributed roughly 195,000 votes to Biden’s statewide vote total of 1.6 million – up about 6,000 from what Hillary Clinton won from the city in 2016. Trump also saw a bump of about 3,000 votes in Milwaukee, earning 48,414 votes in 2020, compared to 45,411 in 2016. The main difference from 2016: a drop in votes for third-party candidates.
Because Wisconsin offers same-day registration, the Wisconsin Elections Commission recommends measuring turnout based on all eligible voters, not simply those who registered before Election Day, but eligibility figures are not yet available. The number of people who registered on Election Day also is not yet available.
Examining only voters who registered before Election Day, turnout this year was nearly 78% in Milwaukee, lagging behind other Wisconsin cities. In Green Bay, for example, 84% of registered voters cast a ballot, about the same percentage of those who turned out in Madison. Again, once eligible voter numbers are available for 2020, these turnout percentages will change.
Days before official numbers were released, Lang signaled that regardless of the final tally, BLOC’s success in 2020 would largely be judged by its work to build relationships among organizers and residents.
“The story will be how you all showed up every damn day, you pushed through, you pushed through tears, you pushed through tragedy, you pushed through trauma, to do this work,” Lang told her team on the morning of Nov. 3. That effort has drawn attention from activists and observers throughout the country and news organizations including the New York Times, Washington Post and NPR.
On Election Day, BLOC activists fanned out to 30 precincts on the city’s north side to act as “voter guardians,” engaging with residents. Working from their homes, some 45 activists called and texted voters throughout the day to urge them to vote.
In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, organizing tactics necessarily changed. Over the weekend, a ballroom at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center was converted into the nerve center for Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT), which mobilizes young people of color. There, canvass manager Princeton Jackson kept tabs on the 19 people out in the field dropping literature on doorsteps and running text and phone banks.
Because of the pandemic, door-knocking, usually a highly effective tactic, was off the table, Jackson said. Instead, the group’s operations went fully digital. By the end of Election Day, he said, the group had sent out 1.7 million text messages and placed 913,000 calls. In the two weeks between the start of early voting and Election Day, LIT organizers left literature at 49,700 doors — mostly in Milwaukee’s deeply segregated Black and Latino-majority neighborhoods.
The pandemic “definitely tested our ability to, essentially, evolve or die,” he said. “I think we did a pretty good job in terms of pivoting and just making those necessary changes to ensure that we still galvanize, organize and encourage as many people as we can to exercise their right to vote, especially during such a pivotal time in our nation’s history.”
Democratic political strategist Sachin Chheda said the cancellation of door-to-door canvassing and other community engagement efforts likely hurt turnout in the city.
“In Milwaukee, I think we’ve lost everything in terms of those interactions,” he said. “When you think about what it takes to get a first-time voter to the poll, when you think about what it takes to convince somebody who is economically oppressed that voting is going to make a difference, it requires a level of engagement in person, and missing that, I think, really did have an impact.”
Nevertheless, spirits were high on Election Day among those venturing to the polls, said Jennifer Epps-Addison, network president at the New York-based Center for Popular Democracy, a national progressive group that organizes for racial and economic justice. Her group had trained — virtually — activists in seven states, including Wisconsin, to serve as election observers.
“There was a lot of excitement across the city, and people participating in voting,” said Epps-Addison, a Milwaukee native. “You know, the line that I kept using is, ‘Have a joyful Election Day,’ and people really were feeling joyful as they went to the polls.”
In some ways, joy is also a tactic. Outside of the Fitzsimonds Boys & Girls Club, a polling place in Metcalfe Park, BLOC activists Dawonyae Robinson, Dawn Holt and Shanice Jones, all 21, danced, sang and handed out shirts and masks that read “Count Every Vote.”
“We came out here, we had a great day, enjoyed ourselves,” said Robinson, his voice hoarse by 5 p.m. “Some people walked up angry, left happy. Some people walked up happy and left even happier. So that made our day a lot better and it made it go very smoothly.”
Midway through the day, somebody called the police with allegations of electioneering that reached the District Attorney’s office. The office declined to pursue the matter, but Robinson said it deterred some would-be voters — police presence at the polls can be intimidating or off-putting to some — and the group had to put their signs away. But the interaction did not dampen their spirit.
Robinson cannot vote, a condition of being on probation. That motivates his activism, he said, and his chant for the day: “I can’t vote, but you can.”
“It’s so important because I need people to take my place in this voting situation,” he said.
Black voters face hidden challenges on their way to the polls. An investigation based on leaked documents showed the 2016 campaign of President Donald Trump used demographic data to systematically dissuade voters in Milwaukee’s primarily Black neighborhoods from participating in the election.
An analysis of the data by Channel 4, a British news organization, found that Black voters made up a disproportionate share of the group identified as “deterrence” voters, or voters the Trump campaign sought to dissuade through Facebook ads. Brad Parscale, former senior advisor to the Trump campaign, denied in a 2018 PBS FRONTLINE interview that the campaign ever targeted the Black community.
In one Milwaukee voting ward in 2016, where 80% of the residents are Black, 44% were marked for deterrence. Of that group, only 36% turned out to vote, according to the analysis.
That’s why, in 2016, when some cited lower turnout among Black voters in Milwaukee as a factor in Trump’s narrow 22,748-vote win over Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin, activists were unhappy.
They viewed those numbers as part of a trend in which Wisconsin Republicans pushed for years to make voting more difficult, including by enacting voter ID requirements that disproportionately discourage Black voters.
At the Zeidler Square victory celebration Saturday, the Rev. Greg Lewis, executive director of Souls to the Polls Milwaukee, pushed back against the idea that Milwaukee’s turnout had missed the mark. Lewis pointed to challenges facing voters, such as voter ID requirements, a still-pending court case aimed at purging 130,000 voters from the rolls and the shortening of the early voting period to two weeks.
A survivor of COVID-19, Lewis also identified extra hurdles to voting caused by the pandemic, perhaps most clearly illustrated during the April 7 primary, when 180 polling places in Milwaukee were reduced to just five.
“We have to fight all those things. And we still came out, and we voted,” he told a cheering crowd. “I don’t want to hear about anybody talking about depressed voting in Milwaukee. You ought to be talking about those politicians who are suppressing our vote here in Milwaukee.”
Nationwide, voting experts pointed to the role that Black voters played in this year’s election, and especially in urban cores such as Detroit, Philadelphia and Atlanta, where the outcome in these cities drove the outcome for the state.
But even as Black voters turned out overwhelmingly for Biden, the Trump ticket saw a small uptick in its support from African-Americans across the country, including in Wisconsin. Trump’s support from Black voters increased by two percentage points to 8% from the 6% of that vote he garnered in 2016.
Some prominent Black celebrities, including rappers Lil Wayne and Ice Cube, expressed support for Trump in the campaign’s final days, and some polls indicated a higher-than-expected favorability towards Trump among Black men.
In Wisconsin, the Trump campaign courted Black voters via its Black Voices for Trump campaign, which emphasized the president’s record on issues like criminal justice reform and school choice. Republicans established their first-ever Milwaukee field office in February, signaling an attempt to reach Black voters. At least one prominent billboard in the city proclaimed Trump’s record on Black unemployment.
Henry Fernandez, principal at the African American Research Collaborative, a polling firm, cautioned against overstating that shift.
“Neither rappers in my age group nor polls that under-sample Black men should be used to get the pulse of the Black community,” he said. Black men comprise “the second most progressive voting bloc in America; only Black women perform better for progressive and Democratic candidates, with 92% of Black women supporting Biden,” he said.
“Black men, Black women and other people of color, were the only reason this election came out the way it did,” he said.
That’s in the face of ongoing obstacles, including a historic preference for in-person voting and a competing fear of contracting COVID-19, said Kevin Morris, a voting rights researcher at the Brennan Center for Justice, a New York University Law School-based center that advocates for changes to improve democracy.
“Racial minorities, for a number of reasons, didn’t shift as much to vote-by-mail options this year as white voters did,” Morris said. “Especially Black voters are less trustful of voting by mail. And they’re less trustful that their ballot will count. And so it isn’t a seamless process for them to switch how they vote.”
That sentiment is compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, cases of which climbed precipitously in the weeks leading up the election, and which has disproportionately harmed Black communities nationwide, including in Milwaukee.
In general, Morris said, voters are less likely to turn out if they are sick themselves, or caring for a loved one, “or there are disruptions in their life.”
Coming out of her polling place at Gwen T. Jackson School in the Lindsay Heights neighborhood, Carolyn Dillard said she never considered anything but voting in person on Election Day — even though wearing a mask triggers a breathing condition.
“I never do early voting, because I don’t want my ballot to get lost or anything. I go to the polls, so I know I did it properly,” she said, echoing a theme that activists say they heard during get-out-the-vote efforts.
Even in the face of these challenges, Lang said, a diverse Milwaukee — working class, queer, Black, brown and Indigenous voters — came out.
“I don’t need to tell you how hard this year has been,” she said Saturday, as American flag balloons waved behind her and passing cars honked their support. “And for whatever reason, we all had the audacity to still show up anyways and make our voices heard.”
Wisconsin Watch’s Bram Sable-Smith and Nora Eckert contributed to this report. The nonprofit Wisconsin Watch (wisconsinwatch.org) collaborates with WPR, PBS Wisconsin, other news media and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by Wisconsin Watch do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.
Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit newsroom that focuses on government integrity and quality of life issues. Sign up for our newsletter for more stories and updates straight to your inbox.This article is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access.

author: Anya van Wagtendonk (Wisconsin Watch)


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Adams_vote-1170×780 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
November 12, 2020

author: Dwayne Burtin


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Dwayne Burtin
November 12, 2020


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Dwayne Burtin
November 12, 2020


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Greg_Lewis-1170×787 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
November 12, 2020


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sisters_vote-1170×780 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
November 12, 2020


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Dwayne Burtin
November 12, 2020


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NNS on WGLB radio: Reporter Sam Woods discusses getting Black students involved in STEM | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
November 15, 2020
(Photo by Adam Carr)
Sam Woods joins Saryea Murchison and Dennis Walton on WGLB radio to talk about how Milwaukee Excellence charter school is more than quadrupling the number of Black students in Wisconsin to take the Advanced Placement computer science exam this year.
The trio also talk about MPS and the city joining a nationwide lawsuit against e-cigarette companies Juul and Altria for allegedly contributing to the recent spike in teen tobacco use.
You can find the story on Milwaukee Excellence here, and the story on e-cigarette lawsuits here.
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created: November 15, 2020

author: Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 15, 2020
“NNS Interview Sam November 13”.


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Post from Community: BBB Scam Alert: This get-rich-quick con promises fast money on Cash App | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Wisconsin Better Business Bureau
November 15, 2020
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
Want to turn $500 into $10,000 with very little effort?  Of course, you do! Scammers are taking advantage of people’s get-rich-quick dreams by promoting “money flipping” scams on social media, and BBB is seeing dozens of reports each month about these cons.
How the Scam Works:
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You see a photo of a pile cash on social media. In the caption, the user brags about having “flipped” a couple hundred dollars into thousands. Want to do it, too? It’s easy. Just message the account holder. The “investor” will ask you to send money – typically $300 to $800 –  through Cash App or another digital wallet service. Then, they “invest” your money in the stock market where it multiples in a few days.
Sounds great, right? Here’s the catch. When you try to get your money back, the scammer claims that Cash App charges a fee to return it. In other cases, the con artist alleges that you first need to pay taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. Some victims report sending thousands of dollars in phony fees. Every dollar you pay for money flipping – from the initial “investment” to the alleged taxes – is going straight into the scammer’s pocket. You won’t see any of your money again.
Cash App and its parent company Square are aware that scammers are using its platform in this way and they have communicated with customers who have been impacted by certain scams. They recommend that any customer in need of additional assistance contact their support team cash.app/help.
Tips to Avoid Money Flipping Scams:
For More Information
Many investment scams use similar techniques, see BBB.org/InvestmentScam. Learn more about Cash App scams and staying safe when using a digital wallet like Cash App and Zelle.
If you’ve been targeted by this scam, help others avoid the same problem by reporting your experience on the BBB Scam Tracker.
For more information or further inquiries, contact the Wisconsin BBB at www.bbb.org/wisconsin, 414-847-6000 or 1-800-273-1002. Consumers also can find more information about how to protect themselves from scams by following the Wisconsin BBB on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

author: Wisconsin Better Business Bureau


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Post from Community: Gov. Evers, Lt. Gov. Barnes to host people’s budget virtual listening sessions | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Gov. Tony Evers
November 15, 2020
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
Gov. Tony Evers and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes today announced a series of People’s Budget virtual listening sessions as the state begins the 2021-2023 state budget process. Gov. Evers and Lt. Gov. Barnes will host four virtual, issue-based budget listening sessions to hear directly from families and workers about the issues affecting Wisconsin. The first virtual listening session will occur on Tues., Nov. 17, 2020 at 6 p.m. and will focus on healthcare and public health in Wisconsin.
“Our first budget was crafted by and with the people of our state, and this budget will be no different,” said Gov. Evers. “The listening sessions for our 2019-21 budget were successful in helping us develop a budget that reflected the stories, experiences, and priorities of folks across our state. Although we won’t be able to host these listening sessions in-person this time around, I look forward to visiting with Wisconsinites virtually and hearing their thoughts and feedback as we put together the People’s Budget.”
A full schedule of these listening sessions is available below and on the governor’s website here. All participants must register to attend on the governor’s website here. Wisconsinites are also welcome to submit written comments on any topic at any time here. Members of the press are invited to attend and will receive RSVP information in advance of the listening sessions.
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Budget Listening Session on Healthcare and Public Health
Tuesday, November 17, at 6 p.m.
Register to attend here.
Budget Listening Session on Environment, Infrastructure, and the Economy
Wednesday, December 2, at 6 p.m.
Registration will be live one week before the listening session date.
Budget Listening Session on Criminal Justice Reform
Tuesday, December 8, at 6 p.m.
Registration will be live one week before the listening session date.
Budget Listening Session on Our Schools and Education
Wednesday, December 16, at 6 p.m.
Registration will be live on week before the listening session date.

author: Gov. Tony Evers


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5 things to do and know this week in Milwaukee: Nov. 16 to Nov. 21 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ana Martinez-Ortiz
November 16, 2020
Milwaukee Health Services is hosting a Thanksgiving dinner giveaway, but pre-registration is required by Wednesday, Nov. 18. (NNS File Photo)
It’s Monday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about as the nation grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic. If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please email info@milwaukeenns.org and put “5 things” in the subject line by noon Thursday.
1. Boswell Book Company presents Kiese Laymon and Christine Kendall: Monday, Nov. 16 and Thursday, Nov. 19
Boswell Book Company is talking with two well-known Black authors this week. The first talk is with Kiese Laymon who will be discussing his collection of essays in “How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America.” The conversation will take place virtually from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 16. Click here to register.
Later this week, Boswell Book is speaking with Christine Kendall, the author of “The True Definition of Neva Beane.” The discussion will take place virtually from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19. Click here to register.
2. Pinto con Tinto: Sugar skulls: Tuesday, Nov. 17
Latino Arts, 1028 S. 9th St., is hosting Pinto con Tinto from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Participants will make papier mache sugar skulls, which are associated with Day of the Dead. Spots are limited and pre-registration is required. Tickets cost $25. Guests must be 21 and older to attend.
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3. Rent for Success program: Thursday, Nov. 19
The City of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services is hosting a Rent for Success event. Rent for Success is a free program designed to educate and empower Milwaukee tenants. The class will take place at the Department of Neighborhood Services, 841 N. Broadway, Room 105, beginning at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19. For more information, contact Herlyn Roberson at 414-286-8122 or email hrober@milwaukee.gov.
4. Milwaukee Health Services annual Thanksgiving dinner: Friday, Nov. 20
Milwaukee Health Services is hosting its ninth annual Thanksgiving dinner giveaway while supplies last. Early registration is required by Wednesday, Nov. 18. To register, click here. Someone will call you to confirm a dinner is available and if you prefer to pick it up via drive-thru or have it delivered. The dinners will be available to pick up at the MLK Heritage Health Center, 2555 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20.
5. WeGiveMKE food distribution: Saturday, Nov. 21
The Christian Faith Fellowship is hosting a WeGiveMKE food distribution at the Destiny Plaza, 7220 N. 76th St., from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21. Registration is required to receive a box. To register, click here. Boxes are limited. The group is asking that people bring a printed copy of their ticket or show the ticket on their phone to confirm they registered.
Bonus: Service journalism for Milwaukee: News414
Earlier this year, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, Wisconsin Watch and Outlier Media launched News414. News414 is service journalism that works for and with Milwaukee residents to provide them with the information they need regarding housing, mental health and domestic violence, food security, health and safety and jobs and money. Join News414 today by texting MILWAUKEE to 73224.
Bonus: The latest coronavirus coverage from NNS
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service reporters are hard at work bringing readers up-to-date information regarding coronavirus. Stay informed by following us on our Facebook page and subscribing to our daily newsletter. All coronavirus related articles can be found on this landing page. If you have a question or concern about coronavirus, send them in our way. We’re here to serve you.

created: November 16, 2020


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 15, 2020


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OPINION: Lessons we learned from ‘On the Table MKE’ | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Anita Mogaka, Mark Gesner and Megan Neubauer
November 16, 2020
Editor’s note: Have something on your mind? “Community Voices” is the place to let Milwaukee hear what you have to say. To be considered, we need your name, email address and phone number for verification. Please email your submissions to info@milwaukeenns.org.
Last month, the first virtual  “On the Table MKE” program focused on “healing justice.” Here are takeaways from those who participated in the annual event hosted by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.
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With a passion for the greater Milwaukee community and storytelling, Anita joined the Greater Milwaukee Foundation in July 2019 as a marketing communications specialist. She is part of the team that helps tell the story of the foundation and the organizations it serves through videos, articles, interviews, community engagement and more.
Since 2017, “On the Table MKE” has offered people throughout greater Milwaukee an opportunity to build relationships with others, engage in productive dialogue and turn ideas into positive action that benefits the community in a variety of ways. The past three Octobers, thousands have gathered at hundreds of places across the region on a single day to take part in these community-driven conversations.
In this period of extreme change, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation knew the program had to evolve with the times – we moved our premier in-person initiative to a virtual experience from Oct. 12 to Oct. 14. This year, participants had the opportunity to connect with the community and create dedicated time for learning, listening and leading with bold ideas, all online, and centered on the theme of “healing justice.”
Featured speakers included Frank Nitty, Rep. Kalan Haywood II, Rep. David Bowen, Tiffany Henry, Piper Anderson, Thelma Sias, Corry Joe Biddle, Oby Nwabuzor, Sam Woods, Gabriela Novakovic, LaShawndra Vernon, Kennita Hickman, Ray Nitti, Rosy Petri, Nicole Acosta, Anna Rose Menako, Danell Cross, Zeno Franco, David Nelson, Jordan Roman, Camille Mays, Shaheen Saiyed, James Causey, Angela Peterson, George Stanley, Sue, Ela, Cecelia Gore and Ellen Gilligan.
With more than 700 registered community members, we captured inspirational ideas and action steps through guided discussion questions. Participants were able to actively engage, note key-takeaways, and offer valuable feedback. Here are some of the comments we heard back:
– LEADING ACROSS GENERATIONS TABLE
– FUNDING THE FRONTLINES TABLE
– BUILDING COMMUNITY: AN ECOYSTEM FOR CHANGE TABLE
Mark Gesner serves as the executive director of Cardinal Stritch University’s Hub for Innovation and Community Engaged Learning.  He is the co-founder of Mission Fuel, a business accelerator for nonprofit leaders, host of the Mission Driven Leaders Speaker Series, and co-author of the recently published book, “Your Life is Your Message: Discovering the Core of Transformational Leadership.”
At the start of our On The Table discussion about Leading Across Generations, I had to smile. Appearing on my Zoom room screen were my fellow panelists, all of whom were younger, more ethnically diverse, and considerably more hip than me. It was apparent that I was invited to represent a generation that was more . . . seasoned.  And so, in order not to get defensive about my status as an elder, I amused myself by thinking up euphemistic monikers for my advanced state of being. I also wondered if I could quickly call my daughter for a youth-enhancing screen filter. It was a delusional start, but it kept me from turning off my camera.
Fortunately, the moderator helped us all feel welcome, and I was able to mostly listen and learn. My fellow panelists, representing Gen Zers to Xers, were clear about their leadership lenses. They urged us all to “unleash opportunities” for younger generations by putting them in leadership roles, build networks of influence across generations and lean into mentoring in ways that break down barriers and build up pathways for new ways of thinking at the helm. For my part, I thought it important to note that the way people learn is often different across the generations, and that positional power does not equate to meaningful leadership influence. I also have learned that the most impactful leaders are the ones who align their actions with their core values, and who ultimately realize they have to feel empowered themselves in order to effectively empower others.
My fellow panelists urged that we all start practicing what we were preaching by engaging in intergenerational discussions about leadership, and to each use our own influence by being more inclusive and action oriented.
Since our discussion, I’ve taken their guidance to heart by being more conscious about mentoring younger colleagues, and by intentionally identifying and referring younger professionals, particularly leaders of color, to serve on organizational boards of directors.
There’s no doubt we all deserve a seat at the leadership table and that we need to be vigilant about creating opportunities for leaders from all generations to be successful.
Personally, I’m hopeful that people will not stereotype what I may appear to be on the exterior.  But for backup, I’m going to text my daughter about that filter… calling her would be so passé.
Megan Neubauer is an undergraduate student at Carroll University in her senior year studying philosophy, politics, and economics. As a student at Carroll, Megan has been involved in Student Senate, participated as a Humanities Fellow, and received the PioScholar Research Grant. Graduating in May, she plans to attend law school to achieve her dream of becoming a lawyer.
Currently, Megan works as a support specialist for Wisconsin Philanthropy Network and continues to involve herself in the philanthropic community.
Signing up for an “On The Table MKE” session opened my eyes to the world of possibility that the Milwaukee county region shows for the future. As a young and developing leader in my own community, I came eager to learn from the experienced individuals around me in the conference. The session I attended, titled “Building Community: An Ecosystem for Change,” explored ways to develop community and bring about change. Although at first the session was intimidating (given I was one of the youngest participants there), I found myself wanting to reflect on the impact of the advice given to the younger generation.
The panel consisting of Danell Cross, David Nelson, and Zeno Franco provided great insight into the risks and challenges of being a leader in a community. Cross talked largely about what it means to not follow the social and societal rules around you as a leader in a community. She highlighted the importance of including minority and young voices at the table of these discussions, an insight more young and evolving leaders need to be hearing. Going into this conference, I was intimidated and felt largely out of place. I didn’t offer any grand experiences. I wasn’t in a position of power. However, I was ready to learn about what I could offer to those around me, and Cross reaffirmed the younger generations’ importance among community leadership.
Additionally, Nelson brought up the topic of differing value systems among leadership positions. At times, these value systems can cause points of contention and tension in communities. Nelson spoke about the importance of people in positions of power to come ready to learn and with an open mind. Keeping an open mind allows each participant, regardless of their background, to have a voice and a seat at the table. Regardless of where my generation ends up, I think it’s important that we take this advice at a young age.
No one person is better than the other due to their power; everyone brings value and knowledge with them. As the younger generation continues to climb the ladder of power, this is a lesson that will need to reign true if we hope to inspire changes in the communities we represent.
Franco also kept with the theme of breaking down barriers. Initially commenting on the high experience level of the panel, he brought up the importance of recognizing in most large community conferences, you won’t know the people around you. Each individual has their own goals and agenda in these conferences, but it’s important to consider the goals of the whole.
Again, as a young voice, this captivated my attention with the inclusion of everyone in the conversation. Another key takeaway for any age group was the conversation regarding goals sometimes hindering progress. While setting goals is good, at times, it can be counterintuitive to true collaboration and progress when the goal is too unattainable or broad. This is a concept I believe all generations could benefit from using. So often goals can be too pressuring or take away from the free flow of ideas in a group. While it’s good to ground meetings in goals, it’s also good to let ideas flow naturally and creatively.
As a young voice in philanthropy and community leadership, I believe each of these panelists brought to the table advice that included all generations. While it can be intimidating to join a conference when the panel is experienced and in positions of power, this doesn’t mean anyone should exclude themselves from the conversation. You bring power to the table regardless of your background, age, or race, and this discussion highlighted that.


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50584454286_a629bf22ec_o | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 15, 2020


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 16, 2020


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The NNS coronavirus update: What Milwaukee residents need to know the week of Nov. 16 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Matt Martinez
November 16, 2020
The Milwaukee Health Department intends to use its flu vaccine distribution plan as a blueprint for the distribution of a vaccine. (Photo by Adam Carr)
Here’s the latest update on COVID-19 in Milwaukee and the resources you need to combat it.
As details of a possible vaccine for COVID-19 emerge, the Milwaukee Health Department is considering its options for distribution.
Interim Health Commissioner Marlaina Jackson said in the Common Council’s Public Health and Safety committee meeting last week that it’s difficult to plan exactly around the vaccine, since no specific date has been announced  for its release. She said that the city plans to use its flu vaccine distribution plan as a blueprint for the distribution of a vaccine. The city distributed 3,000 flu vaccines this autumn, exceeding its goals.
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Jackson said the distribution will prioritize frontline health care workers in its first few rounds. Subsequently, any vaccine will be distributed in a phased approach for the general public.
Pfizer announced last Monday that it had a vaccine for the coronavirus that was up to 90% effective. The vaccine reportedly provides protection from the disease for one month but could last longer.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the vaccine might be available to the general public as early as April.
The vaccine, however, is difficult to store. The vaccine has to be kept at minus 80 degrees Celsius because of a special genetic material called mRNA.  This genetic material will dissolve under warmer temperatures, rendering the vaccine useless.
Jackson said the Health Department is examining the storage issue in a “very mindful and careful way.”
The Common Council’s Public Health and Safety Committee, chaired by Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic, voted to allow the Health Department to charge steeper fines for businesses in violation of the city’s latest health order.
The proposal will go to a general council vote on Nov. 24 to determine if it’s implemented.
The legislation would move to reclassify the citation for violating the ordinance, making it more severe. The current maximum fine is $500. The new fines would likely range  from  $500 to $5,000. The new ordinance also would give the department the authority to charge a business up to $20,000.
Mayor Tom Barrett said during a media briefing last week that his office would work  closely with the Common Council to determine the actual fine amount.
“There’s no question that we have to raise the fines,” Barrett said.
Barrett said the $500 fine has proven to be  an inadequate deterrent for some business owners.
Due to the spike in COVID-19 numbers over the last several weeks, the Milwaukee Health Department is asking for assistance in contact tracing from people who have tested positive.
In a statement last week, Jackson, interim health commissioner, asked residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 to consider personally alerting people they have been in contact with. Jackson asked anyone who was asymptomatic or had mild to moderate symptoms to try to do so.
“As the case volumes grow, we want to speed the contact tracing work,” Jackson said in the statement. “The best way to avoid delays, or the real possibility of a contact not receiving information, is to encourage person-to-person contact tracing.”
The Health Department, which has 186 employees and additional staff working on contact tracing efforts.
Those who have tested positive should alert close contacts they may have. The following would be considered a close contact:
Those who are positive may have started spreading the disease up two days before symptoms appeared and should alert people they’ve been in contact with within that range.
The Wisconsin Division of Health Services has published guidelines for contact tracing. A website called Tell Your Contacts allows people to anonymously alert those they may have been in contact with.
Gov. Tony Evers signed an executive order last week that urges Wisconsin residents to stay home as much as possible and to only leaving the house when necessary.
The state saw 7,000 cases last week, and it set new single-day records in deaths, cases and hospitalizations.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said during a media briefing that Wisconsin, as a state, now averages more cases per day than New York City did at the height of the pandemic.
Things also continue to worsen locally. Ben Weston, medical director for the Department of Emergency Services, said Milwaukee County set a new record with 55  hospitalizations.
Read our story here.
To obtain a free mask, residents can visit these sites:
NNS reporters also gathered a list of where to buy locally made masks if you’re looking to show some local business love when masking up.
Check the City of Milwaukee Health Department’s website for the most updated facts and answers to questions about the mask ordinance.
Look here for up-to-date statistics on COVID-19 in the county. More precautions on how to stay safe and information on COVID-19 can be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website.
Contact your health provider, call IMPACT 2-1-1 or take a look at the county’s testing site map to find a testing center near you. The free community testing sites at the Northwest Health Center, 7630 W. Mill Rd., and Southside Health Center, 1639 S. 23rd St., are now open and operating. Miller Park is also opening as a testing site effective Oct. 19.
For more information on testing, including how to identify symptoms and when you should get tested, visit TestUpMKE.com. Available in English, Spanish, Hmong, Burmese and Arabic.
Check out our continuing coronavirus coverage.
Looking for more personalized direction to resources and information during the coronavirus crisis? Get connected with News414, a texting-based news resource from Milwaukee NNS, Wisconsin Watch and Outlier Media. You can text MILWAUKEE to 73224 and begin to receive free, personalized data via text messages.


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NNS Spotlight: ‘We wouldn’t take a recess’: How the Southside Organizing Center presses on despite the pandemic | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ana Martinez-Ortiz
November 17, 2020
Linda Zinke, a longtime volunteer with SOC, is working to make the South Side of Milwaukee a place people want to call home. (Photo provided by SOC)
Editor’s note: This story is part of an  occasional series that highlights groups and people worth knowing in Milwaukee. To nominate a person or a group, email info@milwaukeenns.org and put “Spotlight” in the subject line
Linda Zinke said she grew tired of city leaders and the police department not being responsive when it came to safety in her South Side neighborhood.
So she decided to do something about it, quickly becoming active in the Southside Organizing Center. For 30 years, the SOC, as the grassroots organization is often called, has helped residents create a safe and sustainable place to live, work and play.
“I got involved because I was having problems with disruptive people on my block,” Zinke said. “It was unsafe even for my children and their friends to play on the sidewalk.”
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When the pandemic hit, the nonprofit, located at 1300 S. Layton Blvd., found a way to continue offering resources and information to residents. The group took to Facebook Live with its video series, “3 o’clock with SOC,” which takes place at 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, with Wednesdays being offered in Spanish.
“When the pandemic hit, we had to pivot,” said Tammy Rivera, the executive director. “Our residents are going to need us now more than ever. We wouldn’t take a recess. Our residents depend on us.”
When the series began, staff provided updates on COVID-19, the census and the election. The group eventually hired a forum coordinator, a COVID-19 coordinator and expanded its relationships with community partners.
Zinke, a longtime volunteer and Block Club captain with SOC, said the series has helped keep her informed not only about COVID-19 but also about city officials and the steps residents can take to better their neighborhoods even in these unprecedented times.
SOC continues to provide resources and keep the community informed with its daily Facebook Lives titled “3 o’clock with SOC.” (Photo provided by SOC)
A change of leadership
Rivera, who received academic training in Latina leadership, was born and raised on the South Side. Her first interaction with SOC was as a homeowner when the organization connected her to housing resources. She officially joined the organization in 2015 as interim director.
When Rivera took over, SOC was experiencing financial issues intertwined with political ones. The organization was broke, she said, adding that most of its budget depended on government funding.
By working to diversify the funds, Rivera simultaneously pulled the group out of its political turmoil. Today, the organization is debt free and has a $1 million budget, she said.
Like Rivera, Marina Borges initially reached out to SOC for housing resources. She eventually began volunteering with SOC in 2012 before becoming a board director in 2016.
Borges said the organization has grown under Rivera’s leadership. SOC has expanded its partnerships, including one with the Benedict Center, she said.
“We’re moving forward to doing new things and keeping our community informed,” she said.  This includes holding forums on issues such as the appointment of a new Milwaukee police chief.
A focus on residents
For the past three years, SOC has offered a leadership program, the GOLD (Grassroots Organizing Leadership Development) Institute  to help residents develop leadership skills and advocate for the community.
The group also runs a youth ambassador program in which young people learn how to organize and engage with the community, including calling residents to check in on them.
In 2021, based on input from participants in the various programs, SOC plans to roll out a community development strategy, Rivera said.
Rivera said such efforts force her organization to live up to its slogan that every resident has a voice, a vote and a vehicle to organize.
“They’re good people who want the best for their communities,” Borges said, referring to SOC leaders. “It’s an open door – anyone can go to them.”
Ultimately, Zinke said, she wants her neighbors to know that the South Side “is not a place to get out of. It’s a place to come home to.”

created: November 17, 2020


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Post from Community: Virtual & drive-up housing resource fair will feature key agencies, workshops | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ald. Milele A. Coggs
November 17, 2020
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs and Alderman Russell W. Stamper, II, have found a creative way to deliver much needed housing resources and information to residents during the pandemic. They realize that COVID-19 has hit Milwaukee extremely hard, but homeowners are still in need of vital information, and with that in mind they decided to host their annual Housing Resource Fair in the safest way possible featuring virtual and drive-up components.
The housing resource fair packet drive-up will take place in person on Saturday, November 21, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Northcott Neighborhood House – 2460 N. 6th St. The packets will have great information from more than 25 housing organizations about resources, vendors, and other housing and financial information. There will also be virtual housing workshops streamed online at www.milwaukee.gov/Channel25:
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Each session will also have a live Q&A afterward. This is the link to register for the HRF 2020 Q&A – https://tinyurl.com/2020HRF. HRF 2020 Workshops and LIVE Q&A:
“Our office receives many calls about housing needs, repairs, and foreclosure concerns,” Alderwoman Coggs said. “This event is just one way we are trying to bring the resources to the people, and it is my sincere hope that as many people as possible participate to learn more about the resources that are available.”
“The Housing Resource Fair is an opportunity for people who might need assistance in real estate ventures or other opportunities regarding housing,” Alderman Stamper said. “This information is especially valuable to know during the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are multiple resources available for people who need help during the pandemic.”
The Neighborhood Improvement Development Corp. and city staff have partnered with the Alders to help bring this program to city residents, and they will also be available to go over current city programs and to offer guidance through application processes for programs covered during the virtual workshops. You can learn more at the NIDC website, http://city.milwaukee.gov/NIDC.

author: Ald. Milele A. Coggs


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A Milwaukee County program has prevented over 1,000 evictions. But as 2021 approaches, money’s running out. | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Matt Martinez
November 18, 2020
Milwaukee County’s eviction prevention program has prevented 1,730 potential evictions so far, according to James Mathy, housing administrator of Milwaukee County. (Photo by Adam Carr)
Although the Milwaukee County Eviction Prevention Program is helping to keep a roof over the heads of hundreds of Milwaukeeans, it’s running out of money.
Using funds from the federal CARES Act, Milwaukee County has distributed $9 million to two agencies: Community Advocates and Hope House of Milwaukee.
In total, the program has help to prevent 1,730 potential evictions so far, according to James Mathy, housing administrator of Milwaukee County.
Deb Heffner, housing strategy director with Community Advocates’ Public Policy Institute, said Community Advocates is on pace to spend its $6.5 million in CARES funding by the end of November.
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Hope House received $2.5 million in CARES Act funding from the county. Executive Director Wendy Weckler said those funds should last until mid-December.
Struggling tenants already face steep challenges because the federal eviction moratorium, which has prevented landlords from issuing evictions during COVID-19, ends on Jan. 1.
Community Advocates and Hope House have used CARES funding for direct rental assistance. Community Advocates helps tenants pay rental arrearages, or money that the tenant owes the landlord from missed payments.
“We have an eviction moratorium, not a rent freeze,” Heffner said.
That’s where Hope House, a nonprofit dedicated to ending homelessness, comes in.
Weckler said her organization seeks to help people get ahead on paying their bills and to permanently break the cycle of homelessness.
Weckler said Hope House has helped over 750 people, including some who went through Community Advocates.
‘Already suffering’
Heffner said the money is going to people who have a COVID-based loss of income. But for some recipients, the problems didn’t start with the pandemic.
“A lot of people who need this assistance were already suffering or in jeopardy,” Heffner said.
Even so, the pandemic has made things worse. Normally, Heffner said, Community Advocates pays $800 to $1,000 on average for rental assistance. Since the pandemic began, that figure has ballooned to $3,000 to $5,000.
Mathy said that the money was distributed with racial equity in mind. People of color are disproportionately affected by the threat of eviction. Some 81% of households served on the Community Advocates contract are Black, Mathy said.
Mathy said the pandemic has also made it more difficult for shelters to house people due to difficulties with social distancing.
“Without this CARES Act funding … we would have seen a dramatic spike in homelessness, with frankly not a lot of places for individuals to go at the moment,” Mathy said.
Another round of federal funding is likely what will be needed to maintain the program’s scope. As of right now, it’s not guaranteed. The money that’s already been disbursed by the CARES Act can’t be used after the end of the year, either.
Heffner said if her organization is unsuccessful in getting more federal dollars, it will appeal to local and private donors.
Community Advocates also has partnered with other organizations to create the Rental Housing Resource Center, which provides tenants with connections for rental assistance, legal services and mediation services in one place.
The partners for the project include the Apartment Owners Association of Southeast Wisconsin, City of Milwaukee, IMPACT, Legal Action of Wisconsin, Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, Mediate Milwaukee and Milwaukee County.
Heffner said that Community Advocates is planning to open a physical space for the Rental Housing Resource Center early next year.
As far as House Hope is concerned, Weckler said if more federal money isn’t allocated, her organization will maintain a smaller prevention program.
Resources to help avoid eviction
You may be protected until January. Here’s what you need to know.
What struggling Milwaukee County homeowners need to know about getting financial help
Rent is still due: What you need to know about the federal order to halt residential evictions
Milwaukee resources to help you avoid eviction

created: November 18, 2020


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 17, 2020


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‘The leader our parents taught us to be’: The evolution of Nate Hamilton | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
PrincessSafiya Byers and Bridget Fogarty
November 18, 2020
Nate Hamilton (right) exhorts the crowd to love one another and help build a peaceful community in 2016 as brother Dameion Perkins looks on. (File photo by Andrea Waxman)
Almost seven years ago, Nate Hamilton was working as a roofer, trying to create a good life for his two kids.
Then the death of his brother changed the direction of his life, launching him toward a leadership role to improve relations between police and the community.
His brother, Dontre Hamilton, was killed by a Milwaukee police officer on April 30, 2014, and the incident led to huge protests in Milwaukee and national media attention.
Hamilton became a spokesman for his family, the founder of the Coalition for Justice, and a leader of the protests – though always with an emphasis on nonviolence.
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These days, Hamilton leads a city commission that aims to improve relations between the community and the Milwaukee Police Department.
Black people “both as individuals and as a whole, have failed to acknowledge the importance of ourselves,” Hamilton said. “It has become my goal to encourage people to attach themselves to what they care about and fight for it.”
Now a father of five, Hamilton is juggling parenting, being a business owner and police reform activism.
Hamilton attended Milwaukee Area Technical College to study carpentry and started a home-improvement business named Hamilton’s Improvements about a year after the death of his brother. His company does cosmetic work on houses from bathroom and kitchen remodeling to roofing and siding.
‘Willing to listen’
Over the summer, Hamilton was elected chairman of the new Community Collaborative Commission, or CCC, a reconstituted version of the Collaborative Community Committee, of which he was a member since its start.
“I think people like Markasa Tucker and Tammy Rivera saw something in me,” Hamilton said, referring to earlier leaders of the committee that was a precursor to the CCC. “They knew I am wiling to listen and put myself in a position to learn, so they nominated me.”
The new CCC is made up of Black and brown grassroots leaders who work within Milwaukee neighborhoods. When it was still a committee, the CCC in 2017 gathered community input on the U.S. Department of Justice’s unfinished 2016 review of the Milwaukee Police Department.
The group presented its final report in 2019. All but one of the report’s recommendations have still not been taken, according to a June statement.
Doubtful yet hopeful that its recommendations will be implemented, Hamilton said the CCC is moving forward nevertheless.
“We want to create a Milwaukee where the environment is good for everybody,” he said. “Not only are we working to ensure the community is happy, but police as well.”
The CCC is urging the Milwaukee Police Department changes its standard operating procedures for community policing and understands its responsibility, Hamilton said.
Common Council President Cavalier Johnson said the CCC offers the best approach to re-examine the relationship between MPD and the community.
The communicator
One of Hamilton’s best talents as a leader is his skill in communication, he said.
“I grew up with very responsive parents, so we communicated well,” he said. “I just wanted to give that to my kids, and that is still my goal.”
He said that because of the role he has taken as a community leader, people take him almost too seriously.
“I’m actually very talkative,” he said. “I like to laugh and have fun. I don’t think many people know that.”
His brother, Dameion Perkins, agrees.
“He is so passionate about whatever he is a part of that everyone doesn’t get to see it,” Perkins said. “But he can make you laugh.”
He said he especially appreciates how Hamilton stepped up after Dontre was killed.
“He took on learning the policies and procedures,” he said. “He became in that moment the leader our parents taught us to be.”
Hamilton also is finding time for himself.
“I have learned to be selfish enough to take time for myself,” he said. “I have to be fully responsible for myself before I can be responsible for others.”
The CCC’s next meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday. Details of the virtual meeting are on the City of Milwaukee website. Community policing and the search for a new police chief are among the topics scheduled for discussion.