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Club Kids founder seeks help renovating North Side building for community center | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
February 1, 2016
Marcus Duke, executive director of Club Kids 414, organizes donated materials at the North Avenue building. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Marcus Duke, executive director of Club Kids 414, an organization geared toward keeping youth off the streets and out of jail, is working frantically to rehabilitate a North Avenue building he hopes will finally give the group a permanent home.
Without a safe and positive place in the neighborhood to visit each day, he said, more and more kids from the neighborhood will turn to the streets and eventually lose their lives or end up in prison.
“These kids in Milwaukee aren’t scared to die, they’re actually scared to live,” Duke said.
During his teens, Duke started a gang and sold drugs before a life change more than 20 years ago helped him find his true calling. “I’ve dedicated my life to helping kids,” he said.
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For two decades now he’s been hosting events such as talent shows, gift giveaways and other celebrations at public spaces including McGovern Park, the Urban Ecology Center’s Washington Park branch and local churches.
Valencia Halloway (right) and her daughter Lamiya Tuggles fold clothes for a rummage sale during a recent Club Kids 414 cleanup event and fundraiser. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Duke noted that — like the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team — the group needs a permanent home to become sustainable and serve more kids.
“If we can get this community center and theatre up and running I’m thinking we can serve more than 100 kids a day here,” he said.
Duke is seeking donations and looking for volunteers to help rehabilitate the building he’s leased at 2342 W. North Ave. The brick building, which previously housed the teen nightclub Amistad, is in need of HVAC, roofing, floor work and paint.
“These kids need somewhere positive to go before they turn to the streets,” he said.
Just days ago Club Kids hosted a cleanup event and fundraiser to help remove some of the clutter from the building and raise awareness in the community about the effort to open the club.
Among the volunteers were Valencia Halloway and her daughter Lamiya Tuggles, who learned about the event online.
“It’s so needed to have places for teens and kids to go. Places like this help them stay safe and gain skills that will help them succeed in school and beyond,” said Halloway, as she folded clothes for a rummage sale.
Tony Currin, a local R & B singer, met Duke seven years ago during a Club Kids talent show at McGovern Park. Since then, he’s been a loyal volunteer.
“When I [saw] how many kids he was keeping safe and out of danger, I decided to follow him,” Currin said.
Currin envisions the building on North Avenue as a space where teens can show off their talents while also receiving tutoring and mentoring.
“It can be something really positive for the kids in Milwaukee, especially the kids in the hood who really don’t have a positive place to show their talent and do other things outside of selling drugs, stealing cars and gangbanging,” Currin said.
It takes a village to improve the lives of youth in Milwaukee, said Terrance Davis, visitor services specialist at the UEC Washington Park branch. Davis has worked for years with Duke, helping him plan several Club Kids events at UEC, the most recent being “Christmas in the Hood,” a gift giveaway and holiday celebration.
Davis said having a permanent center for Club Kids would provide an awesome alternative for the kids who also frequent the center.
“There can never be too many places for kids to hang out and feel safe,” Davis said.
In its current state, the building is still a ways from being ready to open as a community center and theatre, Duke admitted. Until then, he said, he’ll keep reaching out and praying.
“I can’t give up; there’s gotta be a way to make this happen for the kids in this neighborhood,” Duke said.


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
January 31, 2016

source: news-milwaukeenns

created: January 31, 2016

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

author: Adam Carr


text:
Flynn ties homicide rise to ease of getting guns | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
February 1, 2016
jsonline.com

created: February 1, 2016

author: Andrea Waxman


text:
MPS enrollment for fall now open | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Public Schools
February 1, 2016
Families looking for a new school for the fall are encouraged to apply now through February 19 for the best opportunity to attend their first-choice school.
The annual MPS Three-Choice Enrollment process is opening as the district is continuing to expand access to strong academic programs.
mpsmke.com/EnrollMPSThree-Choice allows parents and guardians looking for a new school for the fall to select up to three schools they would like for their child.
mpsmke.com/findaschool
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Those seeking new schools or learning opportunities will find some with new locations, others undergoing expansion and still others growing or adding programs. This is part of MPS’ efforts to expand strong programs through its Regional Development Plan. Efforts now underway to offer more options include:
Photo: Jeremiah Curtin Leadership Academy
MPS continues to advance its eight strategic objectives to improve student outcomes focused on student achievement, effective and efficient operations and family and community engagement. The district continues to build on success including its seven high schools rated among the best in the state and nation by U.S. News and World Report and the Washington Post and its 82 schools recognized for reinforcing positive student behaviors and helping all students learn.
All applications received during the Three-Choice period are treated equally and a random selection process will take place if there are more interested families than seats in a given school and grade. Families receive an enrollment preference if a sibling is enrolled in the school or if it is their neighborhood school.
Enrollment applications received after February 19 are handled on a first-come, first-served basis.

author: Milwaukee Public Schools


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
February 1, 2016


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New volunteer engagement portal offers one-stop shop for local volunteer opportunities | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County
February 1, 2016
United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County in a new collaborative partnership with the Nonprofit Center Milwaukee (NPC) is launching a new volunteer engagement portal today.
By creating a venue that both allows individuals to see the many ways they can make a difference and agencies to promote their needs. United Way has increased the potential for volunteerism, donations, and involvement in the community. Nonprofit partners in the area began posting their volunteer needs on the new portal today in hopes of increasing the opportunities for community members to get involved.
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Rockwell Automation is the corporate sponsor of the new portal, titled Volunteers United.
The portal has enhanced features for those seeking volunteer opportunities.
Mobile or Desktop: now mobile enhanced for ease of use on cell phones/tablets, easy to share with friends and family on social media
Facebook Sign In: Users can sign up/in using Facebook
In-App Messaging: Users can message within the portal without using email
Volunteers can follow their favorites: Users are able to ‘follow’ or ‘fan’ their favorite agencies and types of volunteer opportunities. Personalized updates are then available to the user upon login
The web portal can be found here: http://volunteer.unitedwaygmwc.org/


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Next Act Theatre Examines Race Relations 24 Years After the Los Angeles Riots | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
February 1, 2016
WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio


text:
TUXEDO BOOT CAMP WITH ANDRE LEE ELLIS | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
February 1, 2016
MilwaukeeMag.com


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Diverse & Resilient bringing HIV/STI testing to Milwaukee’s northwest side | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Diverse & Resilient
February 2, 2016
Diverse & Resilient is thrilled to announce the expansion of our HIV/STI testing services to the Milwaukee Northwest Health Center in partnership with the Milwaukee Health Department starting February 9, 2016. In an effort to address the rising rate of HIV/STI among African American gay men, this expansion of free HIV/STI testing will ensure accessibility to comprehension sexual health services for our targeted population and the LGBT community as a whole.
7630 W Mill Rd
Milwaukee, WI 53218
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Monday: 12:15pm–4:00pm
Tuesday: 12:15pm–4:00pm
Thursday: 3:00pm–6:00pm
(1st, 2nd and 4th Thursdays)

created: February 2, 2016

author: Diverse & Resilient


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On the Block: Embracing the children | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
February 2, 2016
Nick Carson, father of three, grew up in the Amani neighborhood. Concerned not only for his own children, but for all community youth, Carson shares his thoughts on the importance of talking to, understanding and accepting all of the neighborhood children and young adults.


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Walnut Way founders empower Lindsay Heights residents, foster community | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jabril Faraj
February 2, 2016
Walnut Way co-founders Sharon (left) and Larry Adams share a moment. (Photo by Adam Carr)
Editor’s note: This article is one of an occasional series profiling the 15 finalists for the Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innovation (MANDIs). Sharon and Larry Adams are finalists for the Northern Trust Navigator Award, which recognizes individuals for leadership and collaboration.
In 1997, Sharon Adams moved back into her family home in Lindsay Heights after being away for almost 30 years. She was dismayed by what she saw.
“I couldn’t get this voice out of my head, that home wasn’t the place that I left,” she said. She said “the trees were gone” and police sirens were a familiar sound at night.
Adams, who describes the call to come back as spiritual, began to walk the street, meet neighbors and listen to them. In 2000, shortly after she met and married Larry Adams, they founded Walnut Way Conservation Corp. Since then, the couple has worked with neighborhood residents to help create a culture of community-led neighborhood development and address issues including housing and healthy food.
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Larry had been working in the neighborhood since the late 1980s as an electrician and contractor for the YMCA. He met Sharon when she was looking for a quote for electrical work.
Back then, Larry said, contractors would never come to the neighborhood to make assessments. “The truth of the matter is, this neighborhood didn’t really matter,” he said, adding, “[Sharon] was very persistent.”
Larry replaced a bad electrical switch free of charge and said he would return with a written estimate but, before he could leave, Sharon asked if he wanted a cup of tea. Though Larry recalls he was quite busy that day, he said yes.
“I sat down with her, and I drank the tea and listened to those things that she wanted to do around the house, as far as renovating her home,” he said.
Sharon Adams mingles with community members during a recent event held to pay tribute to her and her work at Walnut Way. (Photo by Sue Vliet)
So, that was the beginning,” Larry said. “A year later, we were married.”
In 1998, the two worked together to create a tulip garden in the neighborhood. Larry said the garden was about showing the ability for change. “If you’re able to show people … you’ll be much more effective. So, we were able to demonstrate by putting 2,000 tulip bulbs in the ground that this could be a place … that matters.”
In 2000, Walnut Way began working in an 11-block area where more than 100 homes had been demolished to clear a path for the Park East Freeway, which never materialized. In 2008, the organization expanded its work to encompass the entire Lindsay Heights neighborhood.
Under the guidance of Walnut Way, more than 100 homes in Lindsay Heights have been restored or rebuilt and more than 20 vacant lots have been transformed into gardens and green spaces.
“Everyone loves beauty,” Sharon said. “And, if you stop and you talk to people long enough everyone has a hope — they want their children to succeed, they want to work, they’re tired of their homes being demolished.”
Sharon and Larry are quick to deflect praise; they’re “uneasy” with the focus on the two of them, she said. Sharon attributes the growth of Walnut Way to “neighbors walking and believing and building homes here.”
When the couple started looking into other places that had made considerable gains after long periods of disinvestment, whether it was in Boston, Detroit or Oakland, “the ideas and the hopes and the call for action came from the people who lived there.” Sharon said it’s important for people to have a voice and the ability to effect change.
Venice Williams, executive director at Alice’s Garden, came to Lindsay Heights in 1988 and served as youth minister at Cross Lutheran Church for nine years. “During those years, there were no conversations of health and wellness; there were no conversations about the health of this neighborhood,” she said.
“They’ve been a vessel,” Williams said, referring to Larry and Sharon. “A vessel where you can come and, whether you have a little bit to contribute or whether you have a whole lot, the call was to come and to bring … your dreams and your vision.”
Mary Ann Dawson has been a resident of Lindsay Heights since the late ’90s. Dawson volunteered along with her neighbor and friend Louise Wilhite to help restore the house at 2240 N. 17th St., which would eventually become the Walnut Way offices and now serves as a meeting place. She said the two leaders have set an example for others.
“Whatever you did, they were appreciative of it,” said Dawson. “Whether it was little, whether it was great, they were appreciative.”
“Sharon had a way of engaging people with resources and making them better than they knew that they were,” Larry said, adding that this is not only true professionally but personally, as well.
Sharon said, however, that her work would not have made a difference without Larry’s determination to get things done. “This area was so blighted and so disinvested in, and so disconnected, that to invite someone to be a collaborator, a partner … seemed like I was presenting a pipe dream. And, what Larry, [as an] implementer, has done consistently is to make it work.”
Maanaan Sabir, who is a co-owner of The Juice Kitchen, part of the new Innovations and Wellness Commons at 1617 W. North Ave., lives and works in Lindsay Heights. “I’m a lover of landmarks,” he said. “In my life, there have been so many landmarks that have directed me and guided me to the right path. And, this area … has been the right path for me.”
Jeremy Davis, an environmental specialist with Walnut Way, came to Milwaukee in 2010 with a return ticket to Johannesburg, South Africa, and a job waiting for him there. But he never went back. “The community that I came to, it’s a place of destination,” he said. “There’s a lot of places that I’ve been, a lot of places that I’ve seen, but what I encountered here … was powerful enough to keep me.”
Sharon announced late last year that she would be stepping away from full-time work with Walnut Way. Larry has had recent medical problems he’s had to recover from. But both are grateful for the people they have met and are excited for what the future holds.
“We always talk about doing, being of service,” said Sharon. “So, I think that life will still be full of service and that service will include Walnut Way.”
Larry added, “This is our home; this is our neighborhood. We started not because there was a petition or a sign or any type of application … we started because we live here. We’re going to be involved — we’re not running, we’re not going. This is home.”

author: Jabril Faraj


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24353129796_f45a494e23_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
February 1, 2016


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How to volunteer in February | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee
February 3, 2016
If reading is your passion, you can share your love of literature with children by volunteering at Next Door. (Photo courtesy of Next Door)
Give your heart to volunteering this month. Volunteer Milwaukee, a service of the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee features a calendar full of events for volunteers, both one-time and ongoing. Here are a few of the opportunities in February.
Read With Me
Share the excitement of books and read with young children 2- to 5-years-old, once or many times on a Tuesday or Wednesday at Next Door.
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Contact: Martina A. Stevens at 414-562-2929 ext. 153
Create Pizazz for a Cool Cause
Help with event planning, social media and website management for Cream City Foundation, an agency serving the needs of the LGBT community.
Contact: Peter Holbrook at 414-225-0244
Kohl’s Design It! Lab Genome Team Assistant
Help visitors design and create bracelets and necklaces that reflect their own unique traits at Discovery World Saturdays and Sundays now until April 24 with morning or afternoon shifts.
Contact: Kelly Christman at 414-765-1978
WILD Valentines Party!
Serve treats and refreshments, assist with games and other fun family activities at Betty Brinn Children’s Museum Feb. 12, 5:30 to 9 p.m. and Feb. 13, 10 a.m. to noon, or noon to 4 p.m.
Contact: Ana Minter at 414-390-5437
Daddy and Daughter Dance
Volunteer for dance at North Division High School. Feb. 19, 5 to 8 p.m. decorate gym. Feb. 20, 9 – 12 p.m., set up; 4 – 7 p.m., help serve refreshments; 4 – 8:30, check coats; 4 – 8 p.m., work in the photo booth.
Contact: Heather Aschoff at 414-773-9823
Stride & Glide
Set up course, direct runners and walkers along course or staff finish line on the morning of Feb. 27 for the 5K run/walk at Milwaukee County Zoo to benefit IndependenceFirst, an agency helping people with disabilities in Milwaukee.
Contact: Ana Kleppin at 414-226-8114

created: February 3, 2016

author: the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
February 2, 2016


text:
VITA program adds fifth site for free tax preparation | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Social Development Commission
February 3, 2016
The Social Development Commission (SDC) has announced a fifth location for Milwaukee County residents to receive free preparation of state and federal taxes. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is a free service that began on January 19. The program will continue through April 18.
VITA provides low and middle income residents with a household income of $56,000 or less to receive tax services at no charge. Eligible residents can get all of their tax returns back and avoid high preparation fees or refund anticipation loads.
The new site, located on Milwaukee’s south side, will begin service on February 8.
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Free tax preparation and filing is currently underway at previously announced locations, including two sites that operate Monday through Saturday, and two additional sites that offer service on different days of the week.
Qualifications for Milwaukee County residents, information on what to bring, and the schedule for services are available in English and Spanish on SDC’s website, cr-sdc.org.
Residents earning $58,000 or less can take advantage of a free Facilitated Self Assistance service, which provides the ability to file electronically at www.MyFreeTaxes.com.
This if the 15th season that the VITA tax service program has helped residents maximize their tax returns. In the first 14 years of the program almost 163,000 returns have been filed resulting in more than $174 million in tax refunds and credits back to residents and the local economy.
For more than 50 years, the Social Development Commission has operated as the Community Action Agency for Milwaukee County. SDC serves as a planner, coordinator, and provider of human service programs for low- income individuals and families residing in Milwaukee County. The agency is an intergovernmental commission and is governed by a board of 18 citizens from Milwaukee County, each of whom hold the title of “Commissioner.” For more information on SDC’s programs and services, visit cr-sdc.org. Connect with us on Facebook www.Facebook.com/SDCMilwaukee and Twitter www.twitter.com/CRSDC.

author: Social Development Commission


text:
Finding Common Political Ground on Poverty | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
February 4, 2016
The New York Times

created: February 4, 2016


text:
Free dental clinic bringing more smiles to Milwaukee | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
February 4, 2016
88NINE Radio Milwaukee


text:
Milwaukee affordable-housing projects compete for needed tax credits | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
February 4, 2016
Milwaukee Business Journal


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Milwaukee agencies participate in National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
UMOS
February 4, 2016
February 7, 2016, is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD), a national HIV testing and treatment community mobilization initiative designed to encourage Blacks across the United States to get educated, get tested, get involved, and get treated, as HIV/AIDS continues to devastate Black communities. In Milwaukee, agencies and organizations are hosting a free event at MATC, 700 W. State Street on February 8 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
While Blacks represent approximately 12% of the U.S. population, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that Blacks account for 47% of the nation’s new HIV infections. In 2012, an estimated 14,102 Blacks were diagnosed with AIDS in the US, a number that has slowly decreased since 2008. By the end of 2011, an estimated 265,812 Blacks with an AIDS diagnosis had died in the US. In 2012, HIV was the 5 leading cause of death for all Blacks and the 5 leading cause of death for both Black men and Black women ages 35–44. Many of those who are infected with HIV are unaware of their status and may unknowingly transmit the virus to others. Special events such as press conferences, town hall meetings, health fairs, church services, community marches and rallies, candlelight vigils, and free HIV testing will be held throughout the nation.
In Milwaukee, agencies and organizations will be conducting free HIV testing using a rapid HIV test where results are obtained in 15 minutes. Free urine-based STI testing will also take place. Condom distribution, information on PreP and other prevention methods will be available, along with community resources tables with other health related and job training information. The first 50 people to get tested for both HIV and STI will receive a $10 Walmart gift card.
“It’s time to mobilize and talk about this devastating disease so we can make a difference… and there’s no better time than now,” says Gina Allende, UMOS HIV program manager and lead agency coordinating the event.
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Participating Milwaukee agencies and organizations include 16th Street Clinic, Greater Milwaukee Center, Diverse and Resilient, Inc., Milwaukee Health Services, Inc., Neighborhood House, Milwaukee Health Department, Planned Parenthood, Medical College of Wisconsin, LGBT Center Urban League, WRTP Big Steps and UMOS.
Now in its 16th year, NBHAAD organizers remain focused on all cities where Black communities are disproportionately impacted and the epidemic is not slowing. Some of these cities include Atlanta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; Chicago, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; Dallas and Houston Texas; Detroit, Michigan; Los Angeles, Oakland and San Francisco, California; Miami, Florida; New Orleans, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; Newark and Trenton, New Jersey; New York, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; and Washington, D.C.
Several Black celebrities and national community leaders have served as the face and voice of this huge effort while encouraging thousands of Black communities to mobilize and do something that will be long-lasting in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Past spokespersons include: President Barack H. Obama (during his time as Illinois Senator), Congressman Elijah E. Cummings; Tony Dungy; Idris Elba; Kimberly Elise; Lance Gross; Hill Harper; Taraji P. Henson; Tom Joyner; Congresswoman Barbara Lee; Chris Bridges (aka Ludacris); Percy Miller (aka Master P); Tangi Miller; Patrick-Ian Polk; General Colin Powell; Sheryl Lee Ralph; Gloria Reuben; Romeo; Rev. Edwin Sanders; Travis Smiley; and Congresswoman Maxine Waters.
NBHAAD is directed, planned and organized by a group known as the Strategic Leadership Council (SLC) who partners with the CDC and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to mobilize communities and address specific issues in regards to local epidemics and best practices that are science based and will influence the course of HIV in Black communities across the country.
For more information on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, visit: www.NationalBlackAIDSDay.org.

author: UMOS


text:
MPS, restaurateurs announce 2-year culinary arts program | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
February 4, 2016
jsonline.com


text:
Unemployment: The All-but-Certain Fate of Too Many Poor Black Boys | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
February 4, 2016
The Atlantic


text:
Washington Park resident & D.A. Chisholm Among Crime Prevention awardees | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Safe & Sound
February 4, 2016
The 67th Annual Crime Prevention Awards will be held on February 9, 2016 from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm at the Wisconsin Club,Grand Ball Room. The awards will be hosted by Safe & Sound and LISC Milwaukee, sponsored by AAA Wisconsin and with support from the Milwaukee Police Department. Ten awards will be given to outstanding law enforcement individuals as well as outstanding community members committed to helping improve Milwaukee and to make it’s neighborhoods and roadways a safer place for all residents.
The Community Awards will be highlighting individuals and businesses that go above and beyond to ensure that their neighborhoods are safer places for the community and it’s residents. These awards will be highlighting individuals like Aaron Blathers of Rocksteady Barbershop and Salon. Blathers constantly gives up his personal time and supplies every Monday to give free haircuts at Safe & Sounds Barbershop Mondays. He uses this opportunity as a platform to mentor troubled youth by developing positive relationships and encouraging alternatives to violence.
Law Enforcement awards will be highlighting efforts made by those in the Law Enforcement field such as Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm. Some of DA Chisholm’s many accomplishments include the development of the “early intervention” program to help eligible individuals avoid incarceration or probation as well as the development of Community Prosecution Unit (CPU ) that incorporates a community based Community Prosecutor, problem solving police officers, domestic violence professionals, a nuisance abatement building inspector, a Department of Corrections parole agent, CPU community coordinator in conjunction with residents and community organizations. Chisholm is not only using his position to prosecute dangerous criminals but to partner with residents and the community to lower crime and nuisance activity.
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New sponsor, AAA will be presenting two new awards for crime prevention through traffic safety. AAA Wisconsins’s regional focus to reduce the number of traffic incidents on Milwaukee’s roadways makes them an ideal fit to be this years awards new sponsor.
Community Awards
Outstanding Individual Involved in Crime Prevention:
Aaron Blathers (Rocksteady Barbershop and Salon)
Aaron Blathers dedication to his community has been an ongoing effort. He has been present at nearly every Barbershop Monday, a program of Safe & Sound helping groom youth on the inside and out, where donates his day off and supplies every Monday to give haircuts and good advice to young people. Blathers uses his expertise to develop positive relationships with troubled youth and to encourage alternatives to violence. Blathers selfless efforts have gotten recognition and raise awareness for the great mentor opportunities offered in the community.
Outstanding Individual Involved in Crime Prevention:
Cacy Kemp (Safe & Sound)
As former Community Prosecutor Unit (CPU) Coordinator with Safe & Sound, Cacy Kemp works alongside District Seven’s Community Liaison Officer and the CPU partners. Among other community-police relations initiatives, Kemp instituted a Rapid Response protocol in District Seven which entails calling in a property owner or resident for properties in which a violent incident occurs. This program is designed to prevent any additional crime from reoccurring at that property through a series of resident and CPU outreach and reporting measures. Through Kemp’s Rapid Response protocol and her devotion to numerous community meetings within District Seven she helped prevent further crime and helped keep residents safe in their homes.
Outstanding Block Club Award:
Villa/Rohr Blockwatch (Henry Davis Block Watch Captain)
With Henry Davis as its Captain, the Villa/Rohr Block Watch has been responsible for encouraging residents to call police on suspicious activity, resolving loitering issues, rehabilitating vacant homes and the planting of a community garden, and strongly opposing taverns with a record of major incidents in their neighborhood. Villa Rohr Block Watch leadership helps provide a sense of accountability, safety and community residents in addition to the likely deterrence of crime in the with the increase in neighborhood supervision and maintenance.
Outstanding Corporation or Business Award:
Gahn Meat Company (Anthony Gahn)
Gahn Meat Company, owned by Anthony Gahn, has repeatedly provided meat products for District Seven community events. Through these community events District Seven and partners attempt to make citizens feel welcome and safe. At the numerous events throughout the year Gahn Meat Company has provided hamburgers and hot dogs for socials and picnics that can draw a crowd 500 people. A sense of social cohesion is one way to develop the neighborhood safety and Gahn’s in-kind support was central to the neighborhood fellowship and involvement.
Outstanding Greater Milwaukee Partnership Award:
The Salvation Army (Faithe Colas)
Leading The Salvation Army efforts, Faithe Colas has been an active and vital partner in District Seven’s Faith Based Initiative Team and Adopt-a-Block Initiative ensuring the neighborhood has the resources and support essential to quality of life. Colas is continually looking for ways she can provide useful tools and education to District Seven’s residents. Among the notable support were large food and children’s toy donations to community events.
Outstanding Faith Based Organization Award:
District Seven Chaplains- Alexis Twito, Jessie McSwain and Merrick Watkins
District Seven’s Chaplain Program, including Alexis Twito, Jessie McSwain and Merrick Watkins, respond to crime scenes and offer prayer, vigils and spiritual guidance to victims, witnesses, officers and the general community. At one particular vigil where a victim’s mother fainted and a person ran through the crowd, panic ensued. However, with the support of the Chaplains, order and peace was restored. These Chaplains have assisted in Prayer Walks, Adopt-a-Block party, the District Seven Job Fair, National Night Out and Kids & Cops in Costume Halloween events.
AAA Traffic Safety Award-Community:
Ulysses Brown (Washington Park Partners)
Ulysses Brown is a member of the Washington Park Partners (WPP) Steering Committee and organized residents to develop an informal block club. One of its early opportunities was addressing the speeding and poor lighting concerns on their street that made it unsafe for especially young residents. The group persistently raised concerns with officials and community agencies and successfully negotiated the
installation of speed humps to slow traffic and restore safer conditions. Brown reported blocked visibility from brush overgrowth in the alley leading to its removal by The Green Team, a WPP Initiative. Beyond the traffic safety efforts, Brown helped organize events such as the Alderman Walk, Ice Cream Social and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) neighborhood survey. He has even purchased and is rehabbing a vacant lot and abandoned building that was once a location for loitering.
Law Enforcement Awards
Crime Prevention Advocate Award:
Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm
In his role as Milwaukee County District Attorney, John Chisholm has been dedicated to sending fewer people to prison while maintaining public safety. Chisholm has created the “early intervention” program where an individual is assessed and deemed eligible for intervention to avoid incarceration or probation. Chisholm has also developed the Community Prosecution Unit (CPU) in Milwaukee that incorporates a community based Community Prosecutor, problem solving police officers, domestic violence professionals, a nuisance abatement building inspector, a Departments of Corrections parole agent, CPU community coordinator in conjunction with residents and community organizations. Through these programs Chisholm has provided the necessary resources for more just and safe criminal justice outcomes as well maintaining fiscal responsibility. Chisholm is not only using his position to prosecute dangerous criminals but to partner with residents and the community to lower crime and nuisance activity.
Outstanding Community Liaison Officer(s) Award:
Police Officers Jesus Gloria & Jose Acevedo- District Two Community Liaison Officers
District Two, Milwaukee Police Officers Jesus Gloria and Jose Acevedo are being awarded for the Outstanding Community Liaison Officer award. Working together for two years Officer Gloria and Officer Acevedo have made a positive impact on the residents of Milwaukee’s District Two by organizing over 150 block watches and providing resources to over 200 block watch captains. Through the Next Door website they keep District Two residents informed by sending pertinent information such as crime trends and seasonal crime prevention tips.
Officer Gloria and Officer Acevedo are also a presence at schools and local businesses. Gloria learned and received training on the schools S.T.O.P. program and both provide training to area businesses to prevent shoplifting, robbery and what to do if they are involved in an incident.
Officer Acevedo runs the charge of the Police Auxiliaries and Explorers programs in addition to his other responsibilities. While Officer Acevedo is at an event Officer Gloria fills in and helps out without hesitation, further solidifying their strength as a team.
Outstanding Civilian Contribution Award:
Mrs. Jessica Rodriguez-Jasso
After noticing three individuals running from their neighbor’s house to a car in an apparent robbery Mrs. Rodriguez-Jasso recorded the description of the vehicle and license plate number. Her husband then was blocking the alley preventing the suspects from getting away. After an altercation began Mrs. Rodriguez- Jasso intervened. Her husband was shot twice in the leg and the suspect fled. The description and license plate number were traced to the suspect’s residence. It was found that the suspects were involved in another robbery that same day. Thanks to Mrs. Rodriguez-Jasso and her husband’s bravery and excellent observation and reporting the suspect’s robbery spree was ended.
Outstanding Professional Contribution Award:
Police Officer Joshua Dummann
Officer Joshua Dummann and other officers responded to a domestic violence call. There was a restraining order against the suspect and after arriving at the scene, the suspect was found holding a knife to his estranged wife’s neck. After using training techniques to diffuse the situation and the suspect refused to put down his weapon and release the woman, Officer Dummann fired one precise round ending the incident. Officer Dummann’s training and decisive action prevented the incident from escalating further.
AAA Traffic Safety Award- Law Enforcement:
Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Patrol Division
The MSCO Patrol Division prevents significant traffic incidences through its comprehensive efforts including programs for impaired driving awareness and traffic incident management.
MSCO Patrol Division committed to raising awareness of impaired driving through training, performance and patrol resulting in 642 OWI arrests to date. Through training initiatives such as Advance Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement the Bureau has been effectively working on reducing the number of impaired driving incidents saving countless Milwaukee County lives.
The MCSO Patrol division has also made travel through Milwaukee County safer through their diligent application of the TIME principles of clearing traffic incidents properly, promptly and knowledgeably. With the use of high visibility safety vests and their effective partnership with the WisDOT Statewide Traffic Control Center they have increased community safety by promoting compliance with traffic laws. By quickly clearing incidents, sharing critical life safety information in real-time through all available channels
and providing a prepared force MSCO has effectively and expeditiously dealt with highway safety challenges. As a result, they are increasing driver and first responder safety, decreasing traffic delays, informing the public and coordinating with response partners openly and with the intent on developing solutions.

author: Safe & Sound


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Letter from Milwaukee: Forced Out | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
February 8, 2016
The New Yorker

created: February 8, 2016


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New Sojourner Family Peace Center offers array of services under one roof | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
February 8, 2016
Carmen Pitre, president and CEO, Sojourner Family Peace Center, leads a tour of the organization’s new building during the grand opening. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
Beyond offering a sparkling new building to shelter victims of domestic abuse, the recently opened Sojourner Family Peace Center has created space in one central location for a multitude of partners who address family violence.
“This building is for the community. You deserve dignity and respect,” said Carmen Pitre, president and CEO of the center, speaking to dignitaries, representatives of partner organizations, funders and others at the recent grand opening. “We are here to help families heal,” Pitre added.
One of the first and largest such centers in the U.S., the $20-plus million project was designed on the Family Justice Center model, pioneered in San Diego and endorsed by the United States Department of Justice. Surrounding victims of domestic violence with all of the resources they need when they are in crisis, in the same location where they are sheltered, has proven to be the most effective model for healing and rebuilding lives, the DOJ concluded.
(From left) Carmen Pitre, CEO, Sojourner Family Peace Center; Thelma Sias, vice president for local affairs, WEC Energy Group; Cecelia Gore, executive director, Brewers Community Foundation; and Peggy Troy, CEO, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin chat at the center’s grand opening. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
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Violence prevention through education is another of Sojourner’s goals. The center includes a large space for teen programs, parent and staff education, and childcare. Rooms are available for the use of community groups and Pitre said she would like to see community members coming in and out on a regular basis.
Beyond helping families dealing with immediate crises, Pitre wants the center, located at 619 W. Walnut St., to foster deep connections between clients and their own neighborhoods. “We have been talking with groups throughout the city about partnerships we could create that help families when they return to any neighborhood in the city,” Pitre said, citing the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee and the Milwaukee County libraries as examples.
The former shelter, Sojourner Truth House, offered 46 beds to women and children, at a confidential location. The new shelter can accommodate 56 and is embedded in a secure section of the new center. Residents are literally and figuratively wrapped inside a network of advocates and healing professionals.
“This facility gives us the opportunity to wrap (services) around people and show them that they have the power to break the cycle of violence,” said Peggy Troy, CEO, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Sojourner’s main partner in the new facility.
The  Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Child Advocacy Center and Milwaukee Police Department Sensitive Crimes Unit are located in the building. In addition, Aurora Health Care, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, Milwaukee Public Schools, Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, Jewish Family Services, and Wraparound Milwaukee are among the partners that will have representatives in the new facility.
In addition, the Marquette University Law School Restorative Justice Program, Marquette University College of Nursing and others are finalizing details of their partnerships.
Major funders include the State of Wisconsin; Charles E. Benidt Foundation; Zilber Family Foundation; and former Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig and his wife Sue, in support of the center’s Child Advocacy Center.
Pitre commended the center staff, saying they are the ones “who stand in the dark, holding candles” to guide those who come to them in need.


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
February 7, 2016

created: February 7, 2016


text:
Obamacare exchanges enroll millions of new customers | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
February 8, 2016
Milwaukee Business Journal


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Programs aim to boost reading proficiency in primary grades | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
February 8, 2016
jsonline.com


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The Future of Urban Health Care is in Cleveland | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
February 8, 2016
The Atlantic


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SBA’s Emerging Leaders Initiative expands to help entrepreneurs grow and succeed | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
U.S. Small Business Administration
February 9, 2016
More than 70 Milwaukee  area business owners have taken their companies to the next level by participating in SBA’s Emerging Leader’s Initiative.  This free, intensive “Streetwise MBA” course  is being held in Milwaukee for the ninth year.
The Emerging Leaders training focuses on small, poised-for-growth companies with potential for job creation. The seven-month intensive, executive entrepreneurship education series includes approximately 100 hours of classroom time per participant and provides the opportunity for small business owners to work with experienced mentors, attend workshops and develop connections with their peers, city leaders and financial communities.
Area urban business owners can go to www.sba.gov/emergingleaders  for details and apply by March 15, or contact Shane Mahaffy in Milwaukee’s SBA office at shane.mahaffy@sba.gov or 414-297-1455 with questions.
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created: February 9, 2016

author: U.S. Small Business Administration


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South Side lofts help dispel myths about affordable housing | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
February 9, 2016
The Paper Box Lofts, 1560 W. Pierce St., opened in 2014. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Editor’s note: This article is one of an occasional series profiling the 15 finalists for the Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innovation (MANDIs). Paper Box Lofts is a finalist for the State Farm Building Blocks Award, which recognizes a real estate project that advances the community.
George Brittain didn’t much care for the smoky, poorly ventilated and space-starved apartment on West Highland that he lived in before.
“My unit was cramped and the building I lived in was real run down,” said Brittain, a soft-spoken man who stands more than 6-feet tall.
Still, he hadn’t put much thought into moving until he overheard a bus conversation in early 2015 about the fancy new digs that had just opened on the northern edge of Clarke Square, a working-class neighborhood on the South Side of Milwaukee.
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The conversation was about the Paper Box Lofts, a brown brick, 72-unit building at 1560 W. Pierce St.
“They sounded almost too good to be true,” Brittain said.
George Brittain, a 63-year-old part-time crossing guard, can look out on South Cesar E. Chavez Drive from his living room window. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
He stopped by to take a look, and soon after, he said goodbye to his old apartment on West Highland, and hello to a two-bedroom, 958-square-foot loft. The building also offers a business center with free access to computers and the Internet, a fitness center and community room.
“It’s like night and day,” Brittain said, about the differences between his old and new dwellings. Now, his commute to work is shorter and his living quarters are upgraded.
“I don’t want to live anywhere else,” said Brittain.
Brittain doesn’t fit the mold of a typical loft resident, said Falamak Nourzad, co-founder and principal of Continuum Architects, the firm that designed the building.
For one, he’s not a young urban professional: Brittain is a 63-year-old part-time crossing guard at Bruce Guadalupe Community School and Kagel School.
Part of the idea behind the Paper Box lofts, according to Nourzad, was that they could help remove the stigma associated with affordable housing. “You’re talking about a high-end apartment here. But, it is still affordable to all,” Nourzad said.
The five-story concrete building, which was originally constructed for the Milwaukee Paper Box Company but more recently served as a storage area for pontoon boats, cars and other items, is now occupied by a mix of part-time and full-time workers. Its occupants include business professionals who work downtown as well as employees of the nearby Potawatomi Hotel & Casino.
Eighty-five percent of the building’s units are classified as affordable, while the remaining are market-rate. About 10 percent of the units rent for $400-450 per month, said Paul Keenan, senior developer at Sherman Associates, a Minneapolis-based development company. There is a three-year waiting list for occupancy.
Most of the residents have children, another departure from the prototypical loft resident, said Keenan. The building on the corner of 16th and Pierce streets was identified by Keenan’s firm, which specializes in high-quality redevelopment projects in urban areas, as the perfect location to develop housing for young professionals and families.
Beginning in 2011, Sherman Associates worked in partnership with the Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative’s then-executive director Ramon Candelaria, among others, to secure low-income housing credits, state and federal historical tax credits, and loans to fund the project.
Greenfire Management Services, LLC., a Native American-owned business, was brought in to construct the building. According to Greenfire senior project manager Mike Timmers, 42 percent of the work contracted out for the project went to minority-owned businesses. The company also worked with local workforce development programs including the Milwaukee Urban League and UMOS to hire graduates of their skilled trades programs to do plumbing, electrical and other skilled work at the lofts. A number of them are still working in the trades, said Timmers.
Perhaps the most challenging part of the construction process, said Timmers, was maintaining the stringent standards of reconstructing a building on the National Register of Historic Places. Each apartment features a series of huge windows similar to the ones first installed when the building was constructed in the early 1920s. The project took 11 months to complete.
The building fits with the city’s comprehensive plan for Clarke Square, which called for more affordable housing and multi-family options, said Keenan, and it also serves as a gateway to the Menomonee Valley, the business district along South Cesar E. Chavez Drive and the reemerging industrial area along West Pierce Street.
The $16 million affordable housing project has already doubled the location’s tax base, said Keenan.
It also brought back to life a building in an area that had become a no man’s land since Milwaukee’s industrial base crashed and the box company closed, said Nourzad. Soon after the building opened in 2014, a new PNC Bank sprouted up one block south.
“The building really had an impact beyond itself and its own footprint to the surrounding neighborhood,” Nourzad said.
It’s certainly had an impact on his life, said Brittain, as he smiled, turned the knob and entered his light-filled apartment.
“I’m not suffocating here like I did in my last place,” he said. “This place is perfect for me.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct the percent of units that rent for $400 to $450 per month.

author: Edgar Mendez


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
February 8, 2016


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ACTS Housing stabilizes neighborhoods through homeownership, ‘sweat equity’ | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Matthew Wisla
February 10, 2016
The Rev. Wang Chao Lee, wife Phua and son Yohan, along with family and members of their church, worked for more than a year rehabbing their new home. (Photo by Matthew Wisla)
Editor’s note: This article is one of an occasional series profiling the 15 finalists for the Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innovation (MANDIs). ACTS Housing is a finalist for the PNC Bank Trail Blazer Award, which recognizes an innovative approach to a community problem.
For six years, the boarded-up house on the corner, part of a seedy enclave created by three vacant houses and an open lot, was a home only for dealers, addicts and other desperate souls. That was until the Rev. Wang Chao Lee of the Grace Hmong Alliance Church and his family gutted and remodeled the two-story structure near Tiefenthaler Park last year. Now it is their home.
Lee, his wife Phua, who have five children ages 15, 12, 10, 8 and 2, worked with ACTS Housing to buy the duplex, which the city had foreclosed for back taxes. A nonprofit, ACTS helps low-income families transition from paying rent to owning homes by providing a range of real estate, homebuyer counseling, rehab coordination and financial services.
“(Its) innovative approach to restoring vacant, nuisance properties to owner-occupied homes results in a positive impact not only in the communities they work in, but for the many residents and homebuyers who might not otherwise have had the opportunity to own a home,” said Irma Yépez Klassen, associate director at Select Milwaukee, a nonprofit homeownership counseling organization.
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After three years of searching for a house, Christian and Lorena Medina contacted ACTS Housing and closed on their home near the Harambee neighborhood in November. (Photo courtesy of ACTS Housing)
Since the beginning of the recession in 2007 and the real estate foreclosure crisis it created, ACTS has helped more than 400 families buy homes in Milwaukee neighborhoods. It is the only nonprofit licensed realtor in the state, and also offers personalized HUD-approved counseling. ACTS has four rehab counselors on staff to advise families and help coordinate repairs. Also, through its affiliate, ACTS Lending Inc., it provides loans to those receiving counseling and brokerage help from the organization.
Although its business model focuses on real estate transactions, ACTS attributes its success to understanding neighborhoods and families. “In this space, you need to understand the person and why they are where they are,” said Frank Cumberbatch, ACTS program manager.
“Something that makes us unique is realtors at ACTS have a cultural connection to the families they help,” Cumberbatch said. ACTS realtors usually speak the native language of the people they work with and most have grown up and often still live in the communities where they are selling houses.
For low-income families, purchasing a foreclosed home, even at a discounted price, may seem out of reach, especially when most of those houses require extensive rehabbing to bring them up to code and make them livable.
“Our team can bring a family from step one all the way through to homeownership, but we tell everyone right at the outset that this is probably going to be the hardest thing you’ve ever done,” said Michael Gosman, ACTS executive director.
Hard work
After purchasing his home for $3,500, Lee worked on it for a year along with his brother, extended family and many members of his church. Together, they converted the vandalized duplex into a 2,000-square-foot home with four bedrooms, two baths and high ceilings throughout. But it took a lot of work and sacrifice.
His routine included arriving at the house shortly after dinner most nights and working into the wee hours of the morning. Each part of the project came with its own challenges. “There were no movie nights and not much family time last year,” said Lee, 50. “We had to rebuild the staircase to bring it up to code and while we were working on it I even fell down it — twice.”
Phua, 48, said she and her husband watched You Tube videos to master the details of many repairs and made innumerable trips to the hardware store. “I never knew there were so many kinds of nails. Different ones for wood, cement, drywall,” she said.
Rehabbing a house on a limited budget requires resourcefulness. ACTS says its realtors negotiate favorable deals and the rehab counselors provide money-saving advice, but it’s up to each family to put in the “sweat equity” and spend time bargain hunting to make the project work.
The Lees searched second-hand stores for the lights in their kitchen and dining room, and used Craig’s List for bathroom fixtures. The new staircase that sweeps down from the second floor into the living room combines wood pieces from multiple sources, all stained to match, with spindles bought as factory seconds.
ACTS stresses sustainable homeownership as a route to stabilizing central city neighborhoods. According to an ACTS study, approximately 94 percent of the homeowners who bought through the organization from 1992 to 2013 were either still in their homes or had sold them. Only about 6 percent of ACTS homeowners were foreclosed upon, which ACTS said is about half the national average. In addition, the organization says that about 99 percent of the loans they make to families are repaid on time.
“ACTS places needed and important emphasis on sustainable homeownership,” said Will Sebern, executive director of Layton Boulevard West Neighbors. “They are a perfect fit for our mission since the work they do leads to long-term growth in our neighborhood.”
Since 2008, ACTS has helped 53 people purchase homes in the Layton Boulevard West neighborhood, with a total investment of about $3 million, Sebern said.
Most people hear about ACTS through word of mouth. Christian Medina, 29, and his wife Lorena, 30, wanted to stop renting apartments and spent three years looking for a house until a friend told him about ACTS. “Landlords never want to fix anything. And, besides, it’s not yours so you can’t do what you want with it,” he said.
In November, the couple closed on a city tax foreclosed home on north Fifth Street near the Harambee neighborhood. As part of the project, ACTS helped coordinate a forgivable loan from the city for the rehab work. Christian kept has job as an auto mechanic on the South Side, where they had been living, but doesn’t mind the 20-minute commute from their new home.
“We found a really nice house. This feels really good,” he said.

created: February 10, 2016

author: Matthew Wisla


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
February 9, 2016


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How to get flu information | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Wyatt Massey
February 10, 2016
Young children can be at higher risk to contract the flu. (Photo by Devi Shastri)
As flu activity increases statewide, the City of Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) is reminding all city and county residents that information and medical advice related to the seasonal flu are just a phone call away thanks to Flu on Call, a toll-free helpline.
“With flu cases increasing statewide, we remind all area residents that getting vaccinated is the single best way to protect yourself and those around you from getting sick,” said Commissioner of Health Bevan K. Baker.
If you are experiencing flu symptoms, caring for someone who is ill or have questions related to the flu, you can call the hotline at 1-855-435-8722.
The hotline is open Mondays through Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. as part of a pilot project in two cities. Callers can receive support from trained information specialists and medical experts.
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The flu is among the most common respiratory illnesses. The virus is spread through the air when someone who is sick coughs, sneezes or speaks. Symptoms of seasonal flu include fever, cough, sore throat, stuffy nose, muscle or body aches and fatigue.
The flu can be serious, leading to hospitalization and sometimes death. Those especially at risk for complications from the flu include people with certain medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes and lung disease, as well as the elderly, pregnant women and young children. A vaccination is recommended for those over six months old.
Along with vaccination, antiviral medications can be highly effective in reducing the severity and duration of illness. Frequent hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes with your elbow can reduce the spread of the flu and other viruses common during the winter months.

author: Wyatt Massey


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Announcing 2016 Community Connections Small Grants Program | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Northwestern Mutual Foundation, Zilber Family Foundation
February 11, 2016
Interested in receiving a grant of up to $750 to improve your neighborhood?
Attend one of the following TWO information sessions to learn about the new guidelines and find out how to apply for a grant for resident-led neighborhood projects:
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Monday, February 22, 2016
5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Capitol Library
3969 N. 74th St.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Washington Park Library
2121 N. Sherman Blvd.
Projects should benefit a specific neighborhood and be planned and led by a group of at least three people. At least two group members need to live in the neighborhood where the project will take place. Before applying, at least two group members must attend an application information session. Complete applications are due by April 11, 2016.
Resident-led groups living and working in the following neighborhoods should apply: Amani, Baran Park, Capitol Heights, Century City, Clarke Square, Concordia, Harambee, Havenwoods, Johnsons Park, Layton Boulevard West, Lincoln Village, Lindsay Heights, Martin Drive, Metcalfe Park, Muskego Way, Riverwest, Sherman Park, Silver Spring, Thurston Woods, Tower Hill, Waukesha, Old North Milwaukee, Washington Park, and Woodlands.
Visit www.ccsmallgrants.org to apply online and to learn about previously funded projects.
Funded By: Northwestern Mutual, Greater Milwaukee Foundation, and Zilber Family Foundation

created: February 11, 2016


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
February 11, 2016


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Golda Meir group planning Denmark trip despite MPS ban on foreign travel | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
February 12, 2016
Joshua Harwell (bottom left), and Lakeisha Bradford (bottom row, third from left) were among the inaugural group of Golda Meir students, pictured here in the Mitchell International Airport lobby, to travel to Denmark. (Photo provided by Lakeisha Bradford)
The world was a much different, much less scary place in March 1995, recalls Joshua Harwell, who at the time was among a group of excited fourth-grade students preparing to travel across the Atlantic Ocean to Copenhagen, Denmark.
He was a student in Golda Meir’s Room 23, the class that has taken a school-sponsored trip to the birthplace of LEGO for 21 uninterrupted years.
“I think our biggest fear back then was thinking about how are we going to get over the fact that we miss our parents,” Harwell said.
But times have changed, and the group’s annual pilgrimage to Denmark has been in jeopardy since December, when the Milwaukee Public School (MPS) district cancelled all foreign travel following the U.S. State Department’s issuance of a travel alert after the terror attacks in Paris.
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In addition to Denmark, trips to France, Italy, Canada and the United Kingdom were also cancelled, according to Tony Tagliavia, spokesperson for MPS.
“Our decision regarding overseas travel was made with the interest of students’ safety foremost in mind,” Tagliavia wrote in a statement to NNS. Tagliavia said the decision did not reflect a policy change for the district but rather was a result of recent overseas events.
Golda Meir, a school for gifted and talented students, is located at 1555 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
The district’s decision did not sit well with many Golda Meir parents, who decided that the trip must go on. They’ve begun raising funds to send students, adult chaperones and a Golda Meir teacher to Copenhagen in April. According to the parents, students spent months preparing for the trip by learning Danish language and literature, the metric system and other intricacies of a country with a populace smaller than that of New York City.
Golda Meir students already had raised thousands of dollars for the trip through candy sales and other fundraisers. However, the parent group does not have access to that money, which had been deposited with MPS.
The two-week trip also would provide students the opportunity to live with host families, visit historical sites and museums, attend a neighborhood school and spend a few days in Amsterdam, among other activities.
Missing out on those experiences would be unfair, said Ricky Francis, whose daughter Ariyana Gilliam-Francis, was slated to go on the trip. He described the district’s decision to cancel the trips as “horrible.”
“You’re reinforcing fear,” said Francis. “This might be the only chance for some of these kids to see the world.”
Aside from the opportunity to travel, Francis doesn’t want his daughter to miss out on the cultural learning experience. “Having an open mind and learning to be accepting of other cultures sets these kids up for success in the future,” he added.
On Friday, Feb. 19, Francis and other parents will be hosting a fundraiser at Discovery World, where they’ll auction off items including Bucks and Brewers tickets. Joining them in their efforts to raise funds for the trip, which will cost about $1,800 per person, is an unexpected group of allies: students from Room 23’s inaugural trip to Denmark.
Among them is Harwell, who started the Facebook group, “Get Room 23 to Denmark,” where alumni and parents share memories, discuss fundraising ideas and even post photos from the 1995 trip. They’ve also created a GoFundMe page, which has raised $795 towards a goal of $12,000. The trip is not sponsored by Golda Meir School, according to Tagliavia.
Lakeisha Bradford, creator of the GoFundMe page and a member of the original group, said she became involved because she knows first hand how the trip can help shape a young student’s life. She described it as her main childhood memory.
“On that trip I learned that even though people speak a different language and have a different culture, we are still the same,” Bradford said. “That’s big for a 9-year-old.”
Having alumni such as Bradford lend their support speaks volumes about the trip’s importance and potential impact, said Francis. “These are the types of thoughtful and caring adults we want our kids to grow up to be,” he added.
If fundraising is successful, Francis’s daughter, Ariyana, like Bradford, will be 9 when she embarks on her first international trip. She admits to having mixed feelings about it but said she believes that Denmark is a safer place to be than Milwaukee. Her main concern, like Harwell’s 21 years ago, is that she’ll miss her family.
As for the country she plans to visit, she said, “Denmark is a fascinating country with a happy rating of 9,000 in my book!”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated that money raised for the trip through candy sales and other fundraisers had already been deposited with a travel company and was not refunded. That is incorrect: no money had been given to the travel company. NNS apologizes for the error.

created: February 12, 2016


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
February 12, 2016


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Social Development Commission (SDC) hosting community listening sessions | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Social Development Commission
February 12, 2016
The Social Development Commission (SDC) will host a series of six listening sessions to obtain input from low-income residents of Milwaukee County. One session will be held in each of the six districts represented by a community-elected commissioner seated on the SDC Board of Commissioners. Elected commissioners represent the needs of those residing within their district. The listening sessions will provide an opportunity for those living in poverty to voice their issues and concerns and express how SDC can help. Information extracted from the sessions will provide a foundation for the agency to determine future service and program offerings. Feedback will also be incorporated into SDC’s Summit on Poverty later this year.
Listening sessions for the public will take place:
DISTRICT 4 – Monday, February 22 – 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM HeartLove Place (3229 N. Martin Luther King Drive, Milwaukee)
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DISTRICT 1 – Tuesday, February 23 – 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Silver Spring Neighborhood Center (5460 N. 64th Street, Milwaukee)
DISTRICT 2 – Thursday, February 25 – 4:00 – 7:00 PM
Parklawn Assembly of God Church (3725 N. Sherman Blvd., Milwaukee)
DISTRICT 5 – Monday, February 29 – 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM Journey House (2110 W. Scott Street, Milwaukee)
DISTRICT 3 – Tuesday, March 1 – 4:00 PM – 7:00PM Next Door (2545 N. 29th Street, Milwaukee)
DISTRICT 6 – Thursday, March 3 – 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM American Serb Hall (5101 W. Oklahoma Avenue, Milwaukee)
For more than 50 years, the Social Development Commission has operated as the Community Action Agency for Milwaukee County. SDC serves as a planner, coordinator, and provider of human service programs for low-income individuals and families residing in Milwaukee County. The agency is an intergovernmental commission and is governed by a board of 18 citizens from Milwaukee County, each of whom hold the title of “Commissioner.” For more information on SDC’s programs and services, visit cr-sdc.org. Connect with us on Facebook www.Facebook.com/SDCMilwaukee and Twitter www.twitter.com/CRSDC.


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City of Milwaukee Health Department expands STI/HIV testing to Northwest Health Center | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
City of Milwaukee Health Department
February 13, 2016
Mayor Tom Barrett and Commissioner of Health Bevan K. Baker have announced that the City of Milwaukee Health Department has partnered with Diverse & Resilient to expand testing services for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV to its Northwest Health Center (7630 W. Mill Rd.).
“Diverse and Resilient is a trusted partner in the work to eliminate health disparities, and we are proud to welcome them to our Northwest Health Center,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “The expansion of screening and testing benefits residents citywide, and I encourage people of all ages to get tested and know their status.”
“Providing confidential testing and counseling services is welcome at a time when we continue to see too-high rates of STIs in our community,” said Commissioner of Health Bevan K. Baker. “Through this partnership, we will continue the work to reduce the incidence of STIs and the risk of HIV infection.”
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Free, confidential STI and HIV testing will be available weekly at Northwest Health Center during the following dates and times:
Mondays: 12:15-4 p.m.
Tuesdays: 12:15-4 p.m.
Thursdays: 3-6 p.m.
(1st, 2nd, and 4th Thursdays of the month)
The City of Milwaukee Health Department Keenan Health Center (3200 N. 36th St.) STD and HIV Clinic, which sees approximately 6,000 clients annually, will continue to offer free, confidential STI and HIV testing daily.
For more information visit www.milwaukee.gov/health.

created: February 13, 2016

author: City of Milwaukee Health Department


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Obama to visit, celebrate Milwaukee’s Obamacare enrollment spike | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
February 15, 2016
Milwaukee Business Journel

created: February 15, 2016


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Obamacare Could Get Sweeter for Wisconsin | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
February 15, 2016
UrbanMilwaukee.com


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Recovery district commissioner says tough decisions, more dollars needed | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jabril Faraj
February 15, 2016
Demond Means answers questions about the OSPP at a Milwaukee Press Club event in January. (Photo by Rachel Morello/WUWM)
Demond Means, who was recently appointed commissioner of the Opportunity Schools Partnership Program (OSPP), said additional financial investment in education will be necessary to move education forward in Milwaukee and the state. Although he has the authority to do so, Means has said he does not intend to take over any failing MPS schools. Instead, he will work with those schools to make sure they have the resources and support to improve educational outcomes for all students.
“We can’t continue to cut our way to excellence. And that’s what we’ve been doing in all of our school districts,” said Means at a Milwaukee Press Club event in January. “We’re going to need more revenue at some point, but that comes along with dialogue and discussion and understanding the priorities.”
Although, by law, school districts are required to provide certain services, they have been unable to do so because of insufficient funding. For example, Wisconsin law requires districts to provide “adequate instructional materials, texts and library services” as well as regular instruction in language arts, social studies, mathematics, science, health, physical education, art and music. Public schools in Milwaukee have cut art and music programs and some have a shortage of textbooks and other instructional materials.
Mary Young of Support Our Schools (SOS) Wauwatosa, a nonpartisan group of parents, teachers and residents concerned about the cuts to public education, said the group has been working with districts in northern Wisconsin that have been “hit very hard,” as well. “These are our children; these are our neighbors; this is their future,” she said. “I want to be part of a state that values education.”
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Means, the Mequon-Thiensville School District superintendent and an alumnus of MPS Riverside High School, wrote a letter to families in his district early last year warning of the harmful effect of state funding cuts to education and the elimination of Chapter 220, which allows minority students from the city to transfer to white suburban schools. That program will end as of the 2016-2017 school year.
Still, Means said he is sympathetic to some legislators’ concerns about education spending. Wisconsin spends just over 18 percent of its budget on K-12 education, more than any other individual expenditure but down as a share of the total budget since 2007.
A group of students, parents, teachers and local elected officials expressed concern about education funding at a recent meeting in the 10th Legislative District. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
Per-pupil state funding declined between the 2007-08 and 2013-14 school years. In 2007-08, MPS received $7,922 per student in funding from the state. In 2013-14 MPS received $7,806 per student. Had the amount simply kept up with the rate of inflation (12.4 percent), MPS would have received $8,900 per student—a total difference of $89 million.
Across Wisconsin, public schools received $6,018 per students from the state in 07-08. In 2013-14, they got $5,756 per student, but would have gotten $6,761 had the amount kept up with inflation—a total difference of $861 million.
Over that same period, the state budget increased 19 percent, from $46.8 billion to $55.7 billion. Public schools have also been hurt by the expansion of the voucher program statewide. MPS Board District 1 Rep. Mark Sain estimated the impact at $60 million per year in his district alone.
While state funding has declined, poverty has been increasing, statewide. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunch doubled, from 21 to 43 percent, between 2001 and 2012. To qualify, a typical 4-person family must have earned less than 43,074. In 2013-2014, 82 percent of MPS students qualified.
As a result of the funding formula for public K-12 education in Wisconsin, which includes federal, state and local aid, districts with higher rates of poverty receive less money on average.
Sain said education is getting more expensive because expenditures such as transportation, heating and maintenance continue to rise while schools are being asked to do more for students. “You have all those things that are going up, but one of the things that seems to be staying put are the salaries of the workers in the schools,” Sain said.
He added, “When you look at some of the demographics of the young people who are coming into our buildings, there’s a lot of needs that are there. And, you need to have a staff that can accommodate the needs of the students.”
Means, who froze teacher salaries as superintendent, said such measures need to be an option in the short term, but can’t be the solution. “You can’t budget and finance your school district on the back of your employees. You can’t do it forever,” Means said in an interview. “That’s wrong.”
“What I’ve learned is that, in order to move public policy, you have to continue a dialogue — you can’t just get [mired] in ideology and [partisanship]. You have to continue to talk with all parties, because the children need us to do that,” he said.
One possible solution Means mentioned is to allow local school boards to work with their communities to determine an appropriate level of funding. In 1993 the state legislature placed a uniform, statewide limit on how much school districts could raise per student through property taxes. Local aid represented 43 percent of school funding, statewide, in 2013-14.
Sain said it is absolutely necessary to address poverty and that the “core needs” of students can’t be met by simply putting a non-traditional school in a particular community and expecting academic performance to improve. “We’ve got to meet our young people where they are; we’ve got to meet their families where they are.”
“As Milwaukee goes, so goes Wisconsin,” said Means. “We have to all, collectively, across the state, make sure that the children of Milwaukee are receiving the very best educational opportunities that they can, because it will impact our economic future as a state.”
Means, who called the undertaking “personal,” plans to form an advisory committee to work on a strategic plan and provide feedback on the 55 failing schools identified by the OSPP. He expects to release the strategic plan in early April.
Marva Herndon, a member of Schools & Communities United, “a coalition to defend and improve our public schools,” said she and others met with Means and County Executive Chris Abele at the beginning of January. The group expressed a willingness to be part of the committee and a belief that traditional public school activists should be involved.
Herndon, who believes Means’ “heart is in the right place,” said only time will tell whether the OSPP will play out as Means and Abele have said. “We’re all in a waiting game, here.”


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
February 14, 2016

created: February 14, 2016


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Storytelling Group Engages Milwaukee In Conversation On Race | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
February 15, 2016
WPR Wisconsin Public Radio


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St. Ann Center brings intergenerational services to North Side neighborhood | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Molly Rippinger
February 16, 2016
The recently opened 80,000-square-foot St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care brings health and social services to North Side communities. (Photo by Molly Rippinger)
Editor’s note: This article is one of an occasional series profiling the 15 finalists for the Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innovation (MANDIs). St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care-Bucyrus Campus is a finalist for the State Farm Building Blocks Award, which recognizes a real estate project that advances the community.
Nestled between 24 and 25 Streets on North Avenue, St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care appears like any other medical facility or nursing home at first glance. The two-story building boasts a stately design with a cream-colored brick façade, manicured rows of bushes and a circular drive for easy client pick up and drop off.
Yet, St. Ann’s newly opened Bucyrus Campus cannot be judged by its exterior alone. Inside, splashes of color and an African-influenced design are in marked contrast to the 80,000-square-foot facility’s outer appearance. The interior design is inspired by the work from brosa.com.au. Tin-roof awnings hang over windows, earth-red walls are textured to mimic Cameroonian clay and colorful cloths hang from the ceiling. The bright décor exudes enthusiasm, optimism and hospitality — all of which reflect St. Ann Center’s approach to intergenerational care.
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Sister Edna Lonergan, a member of the order of St. Francis of Assisi, founded the St. Ann Center in 1983 after she witnessed the mutual benefits of interaction between children and elderly or disabled adults.
Diane Beckley, chief operating officer of the Bucyrus Campus, oversees daily operations at the second St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care. (Photo by Molly Rippinger)
“There was such a connection between the old and the young,” said Sister Lonergan. “The intergenerational model provides older people with a sense of purpose while the children learn trust.” In 1999 the organization built St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care-Stein Campus on Milwaukee’s South Side. Located at 2801 E. Morgan Ave., the 56,000-square-foot campus serves more than 200 children, older adults and people with disabilities each day. Three times a week there are scheduled activities for both youth and older adults, such as listening to live music or participating in low-impact exercise and arts and crafts. Clients can enroll in specific programs, such as the Buddy Program, which pairs an 11- to 15-year-old child with an elderly or disabled adult. The program’s goal is to instill compassion and eliminate generational barriers. Daily interactions occur in the atrium, a space dedicated to recreation for both age groups.
St. Ann Center’s approach was a success, winning national awards and acting as a model for intergenerational care. With the Stein Campus operating at full capacity, Sister Lonergan knew she needed to expand. “We took the best from what we’ve learned over the many years on the intergenerational design and we decided it was time to replicate,” she said.
Wanting to go where the services were needed the most, Sister Lonergan looked to the North Side. “The mission of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi is always to help the poor,” said Diane Beckley, chief operating officer of the Bucyrus Campus. “Sister Edna wanted to bring something right into the city of Milwaukee that would serve everyone within the community.”
After five years of planning, surveying neighborhood needs and fundraising, the first phase of construction on the 7.5-acre plot began in late 2014. The $21 million development was overseen by Milwaukee-based C.G. Schmidt and the design was created by Zimmerman Architectural Studios.
Doug Barnes, vice president of Zimmerman’s education and religious studio, led plans for the Bucyrus Campus. “We’ve worked with St. Ann Center for a while now,” said Barnes, who also designed the respite center on the South Side campus and sits on the St. Ann Center board of directors. Barnes worked closely with Sister Lonergan and the staff to ensure that the design would meet the needs of the neighborhood while also remaining authentic to the culture.
“I think we were successful,” said Barnes. “I’m most proud of the fact that children are in an environment that caters to their needs and provides them a safe place.”
Children play inside the expansive atrium at the St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care. (Photo by Molly Rippinger)
Daycare and afterschool programs at the Bucyrus Campus began in September, and adult programming was operational by October. About 100 children and 60 to 70 adults attend the facility each day. After the second phase of construction, the North Side facility will have the capacity to serve about 350 adults, 220 preschoolers and 90 afterschool children, with a staff of up to 220 people.
“If you come early in the morning, you can see people from the different communities walking to work and not having to have a car or bus pass,” said Beckley, who emphasized that neighborhood residents are given priority for open positions. The 53207 ZIP code, where the Bucyrus Campus is located, has a 33 percent unemployment rate, according to the 2010-2014 American Community Survey. Sister Lonergan understands that to build a strong neighborhood, there must be a stable infrastructure. “You can’t come in and build homes if the people don’t have good schools and good jobs,” she said.
The southern side of the Bucyrus Campus is dedicated to child care services with 15 completed classrooms. The child care curriculum is aligned with the National Head Start Association, an initiative to support education, health and social services for low-income children. Adult-focused facilities are on the northern half of the building and include activity and dining rooms, a chapel and wheelchair-accessible bathing facilities.
Connecting the two sections of the building is an 8,000-square-foot, indoor atrium with two-story high, vaulted ceilings. Ground-level and sky windows let natural light pour into the multipurpose space with furniture built by La Lune Collection, based in the Riverwest neighborhood.
The second phase of construction will expand the services offered at the Bucyrus Campus. Plans for an Alzheimer’s care unit have been drafted, as well as a dental clinic specializing in care for severely disabled patients. A medical clinic staffed by a nurse practitioner will be open to the general public and those with disabilities.
Other planned additions include a beauty salon, a full indoor lap and therapy pool, community gardens and a 500-seat band shell. The third phase plans include a nine-room, short-term respite unit where clients can receive overnight care. “These won’t feel like a hospital room or nursing home,” said Beckley.
The vision Sister Lonergan and her staff have for the Bucyrus Campus and the surrounding communities is ambitious, but that does not deter them. They are determined that the center be an impetus for future economic development on the North Side
“We are working hard to raise up people in the community, to find out what their … dreams are for their future and their families,” said Sister Lonergan.

created: February 16, 2016

author: Molly Rippinger


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
February 15, 2016


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Baltimore Sun crime reporter to discuss race, police brutality | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Elisa Coghlan
February 17, 2016
Baltimore Sun crime reporter Justin George will discuss recent events involving race, police brutality and criminal justice in “Saving a City, Saving a Nation,” an event slated for Thursday, February 25, 12:00-1:00 p.m., at Marquette University’s Raynor Memorial Libraries, Beaumier Suites B/C.
George, at the Baltimore Sun since 2012, reported from inside the police department’s headquarters during the Freddie Gray investigation and subsequent riots in Baltimore last April. In this discussion, George will touch on these experiences as well as as #BlackLivesMatter and other notable incidents in Milwaukee, Cleveland, Missouri, New York and South Carolina. Herbert Lowe, journalism professional in residence in the Diederich College of Communication, will serve as moderator.
Previously a contributor to the first series of the popular podcast “Serial,” George was recently featured on the recent CNN special report “Who Killed Freddie Gray?” He is spending the academic year at Marquette as a 2015-16 O’Brien Fellow in Public Service Journalism.
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The event is sponsored by Marquette University’s Raynor Memorial Libraries, Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, and O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism.
EVENT DETAILS

created: February 17, 2016

author: Elisa Coghlan


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justin-george | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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February 17, 2016

author: Name *


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Black Voices Matter! show to support Black Holocaust Museum | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dr. Fran Kaplan
February 17, 2016
On February 27th, America’s Black Holocaust Museum (www.abhmuseum.org) will showcase performances by local African American theater artists in Black Voices Matter! An Evening of Arts & Culture. The event, which also includes the unveiling of a new museum exhibit, honors the legacy of ABHM founder, Dr. James Cameron. The show will take place in Milwaukee Public Library’s beautiful Centennial Hall, 733 N. 8th Street.
Tickets can be purchased at Coffee Makes You Black Cafe, 2803 N Teutonia Ave, and online at https://abhm-founders-day-black-voices-matter.eventbrite.com. All proceeds support the public education programs ABHM regularly provides at sites around the city and in its “virtual museum” online.
The Black Voices Matter! program features three one-act plays dramatizing the history of African American resistance and resilience in the face of anti-black violence:
• “Safe” by the Hansberry-Sands Theatre Company
• “The Survivor” by ABHM Head Griot Reggie Jackson
• “A Walk with Ida B. Wells” by Actor/Director Marti Gobel
The event also includes the release of a newly expanded and illustrated edition of Dr. Cameron’s inspiring memoir, “A Time of Terror: A Survivor’s Story” (www.atimeofterror.info). Cameron, who miraculously survived a lynching in 1930 at the age of 16, became an early civil rights pioneer, historian, writer, and educator. For his life’s work, Dr. Cameron received an honorary degree from UWM in 1999. “A Time of Terror” will be available for purchase at a discount at the event, and Cameron’s son Virgil will be on hand to sign the books.
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For more information, contact ABHM at info@abhmuseum.org.

author: Dr. Fran Kaplan


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
February 17, 2016

author: Adam Carr


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Blk Voices Historic Struggle | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Name *
February 16, 2016


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How to avoid becoming a scam victim | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Lisa Schiller, Better Business Bureau of Wisconsin
February 17, 2016
There is a science to scams, and it may surprise you to know that scammers use many of the same techniques as real sales professionals. The difference, of course, is that their “product” is illegal and could cost you a fortune.
The Better Business Bureau does not want you to lose your hard-earned money. You can protect yourself by being aware of the common techniques that scammers use.
Establishing a connection
The scammer builds rapport and a relationship with you. This is usually used face-to-face, as in home improvement scams and many investment scams, but also is used in online romance scams.
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Source credibility
Scammers use techniques to make themselves look legitimate, such as fake websites, social media posts or hacked emails that come from a friend’s account. Most email scams spoof real companies, and many scammers pretend to be a trusted business or government agency in order to add credibility.
Playing on emotions
Scammers rely on emotion to get you to make a quick decision before you have time to think about it. They usually present you with an “emergency” situation or a limited-time offer.
What you can do
Do not be pressured into making fast decisions. Instead, take time to research the organization. Never provide your personal information, such as your address, date of birth, banking information or ID numbers, to people you do not know. Do not click on links from unsolicited email or text messages.
If you are unsure about a call or email that claims to be from your bank, utility company, etc., call the business directly using the number on your bill or credit card. Never send money by wire transfer or prepaid debit card to someone you do not know or have not met in person. Never send money for an emergency situation unless you can verify the emergency.
Important websites


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
February 16, 2016


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Sharp Literacy publishes new book inspiring children to explore Milwaukee’s diversity | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Brendan O’Brien
February 17, 2016
Author Adam Carr displays his new book, “Explore MKE,” with the Menomonee Valley in the background. (Photo by Brendan O’Brien)
Hundreds of third graders across Milwaukee will soon have a new book in their hands — not another dry math or history text — but a vivid guide that inspires them to explore their city and teaches them about the rich diversity across Milwaukee.
The book, “Explore MKE: Your Neighborhood, Our City,” is the latest work published by Sharp Literacy, a local organization that promotes reading, writing and research through interaction and the visual arts.
The 84-page book, featuring colorful drawings and photographs, “connects people to their instincts of being curious and open to the possibility of being surprised by their city,” said author Adam Carr, a life-long Milwaukeean.
“I would like the book to be a starting point for where children will go next with their exploration of Milwaukee,” he added.
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Milwaukee Brewer Ryan Braun (holding microphone) helps announce the new book at a recent Brewers On Deck event, while Doug Erlacher (left), Adam Carr, Lynda Kohler and invited children look on. (Photo courtesy of Sharp Literacy)
The backbone of the book is ongoing conversations between two fictitious children, Anya and Jayden, who share their thoughts about living in Milwaukee with each other. Anya just moved to the city because her dad, who works at Rockwell Automation, was transferred from Texas. Jayden has lived in the city his entire life.
“So far, I love Milwaukee. It feels alive. And exciting,” Anya said early on in the story, to which Jayden wrinkled his nose and replied, “I’ve lived here my whole life, and that is just not how I see it.”
The children’s diverse experiences with the city they share are a critical theme throughout the book, said Lynda Kohler, president and CEO of Sharp Literacy.
“[It] helps children gain a greater appreciation for cultural differences and encourages an atmosphere of open mindedness and acceptance,” she said.
Carr said he purposely created a dynamic dialog between the two children to resemble the narrative playing out in the city: “not to say that Milwaukee is good or bad, but to say that Milwaukee has a really rich and nuanced and complex existence.”
The book, written in both English and Spanish, also contains several “Discover Something New” sections that assign the reader tasks that involve exploring parts of Milwaukee and talking to residents. It also contains several topical sections that describe aspects of the city such as its natural surroundings, faith and food.
Some 150 students from five elementary schools across the city participated in Sharp Literacy’s Young Authors’ Workshop and helped Carr do research for the book. Throughout the 2014-15 school year, Carr regularly met with the children and gave students assignments that required them to explore their blocks, neighborhoods and the city, and submit what they found.
At the end of the school year, the children gathered with Carr at the U.S. Bank Center building, where they discussed what they learned. The diverse group of students also went to the top of the building, the tallest in Wisconsin, to view the city and to get a wide perspective of where they live in relation to the city as a whole.
“They could talk about what makes their block and city special. It made them understand that there is more to it than just what’s in their neighborhood,” Kohler said. “There’s no hiding it: we’re a segregated city and if we can tear down some of those barriers at a young age or before they even have them built, we are better off.”
The book is the 13th published by the literacy organization and will be distributed to about 600 third graders who participate in the Sharp Literacy curriculum during the 2016-17 school year and about 200 students who take part in the organization’s summer program.
The Brewers Community Foundation sponsored the book, which is an updated version of “All Around Milwaukee,” published in 2006 by Sharp Literacy, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
“From the perspective of third-grade students, it provides a fresh view of the City of Milwaukee, comparing buildings, parks and other areas in ways that I would never have thought of,” wrote Cecelia Gore, the executive director of the Brewers Community Foundation, in a letter published at the front of the book.
Editor’s note: Adam Carr works for Milwaukee Neighborhood News Center as a web/social media manager.

author: Brendan O’Brien