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HUD Secretary Julian Castro Tours Deconstruction Site in Sherman Park - Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper
December 10, 2016
By Karen Stokes
Supervisor Nikesha Bynum, one of a few women working in construction. (Photo by Karen Stokes)
US Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) Secretary, Julian Castro, visited Milwaukee last Friday to observe how renovating homes can be a way to eliminate homelessness. While in the city, he toured an abandoned home on north 36th Street in the Sherman Park neighborhood being deconstructed through the Milwaukee Adult Build Initiative.
According to HUD, Adult Build is a program designed to address three critical fronts: foreclosed properties adding to the blight in neighborhoods, extremely high levels of unemployment and too few employment opportunities that offer transferable skills and paid training. Adult Build coordinates with existing initiatives and brings together public, private and philanthropic stakeholders to collaborate in addressing these problems.
County Executive, Chris Abele and HUD Secretary Julian Castro about to tour an abandoned house in the Sherman Park neighborhood. (Photo by Karen Stokes)
“This is exactly what we want to see,” said Castro. “This is the first time I’ve seen this type of program done with adults.”
Tony Kearney, the project director at Northcott Neighborhood House, explained that Northcott was working with the city of Milwaukee on this project.
“HUD is funding the Department of Neighborhood Services to deconstruct this house rather than bulldozing it. This can eliminate the amount of waste that goes into the landfills,” Kearney said. “There are actually 42 houses in this neighborhood that we were contracted on.”
Property to be deconstructed by crew from Milwaukee Adult Build Initiative. (Photo by Karen Stokes)
“This is a fantastic model for other communities to follow,” Castro said.
County Executive Chris Abele went to Washington D.C. and shared how Milwaukee county is ending chronic homelessness with permanent housing faster than any other metropolitan neighborhood in America.
“We said we would get to 0 percent homelessness in three years and we’re going to get there in two,” Abele said. “It was important to see what other cities were doing, to share ideas.
This country sometimes has the habit of accepting the inevitability of something and complain as if there’s nothing we can do about it. All it takes is, ‘I’m going to put a stake in the ground’ and we’re just going to do what it takes.”
“Northcott is more focused to take meaningful steps to actively empower people in the neighborhood,” said Chris Abele.
Darryl Ellis 42, a Milwaukee native, came to the program at Northcott through a referral from UMOS. In a year, he obtained his carpenter’s license, lead, asbestos supervisors hand workers license, HAZMAT and more.
Tony Kearney, program director of Northcott Neighborhood House explaining the adult construction program. (Photo by Karen Stokes
“I can use everything I’ve learned to be a journeyman, that’s my goal,” Ellis said. “I want to learn how to do it all.”
Construction is overwhelmingly a male populated career, but Nikesha Bynum is one of a few females in the field. She has been working in the construction business for two years and is now a supervisor.
“I am proud to say we have a new woman trainee on board. She’s been shadowing me and we have another lady we are trying to get groomed,” Bynum said. “It’s fun everyday working with 30 guys and being a crew leader. Any job can be challenging but I’m grateful for the program, I’m grateful for a second chance.”
Darryl Ellis, participant of the Northcott construction program. (Photo by Karen Stokes)
Bynum 31, a single parent with three children went to Northcott for the food pantry because at that time she was homeless.
“Right now, my future is to help build Northcott to become a bigger and better program to help more people in the community to help them get good jobs and to let them know that you don’t have to rob or steal. They can help build up our community,” said Bynum. “My children are proud of what I do. They like to ride by a place I’ve worked on. I tell them that mom helped work on that.”
HUD Secretary Julian Castro tours construction site in the Sherman Park neighborhood. (Photo by Karen Stokes)
“Northcott gets you trained and certified. You can make good money, even start you’re own company, the skies the limit,” Bynum said.
To get involved, you can apply at Northcott, 2460 N. 6th Street or call 414-372-3770.

created: December 10, 2016


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New York Peace Activist Inspires Milwaukeeans to “Cure Violence” - Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper
January 14, 2017
By Mrinal Gokhale
Erica Ford
With Milwaukee’s skyrocketing homicide rate, there was no better time to hear about possible strategies to reduce violence than with the start of the New Year. On Fri, Jan 7, Erica Ford, CEO of LIFE Camp, spoke about how she specializes in keeping young people, ages 16-24, out of the criminal justice system.
“I have been doing this work since 1987,” Ford said. She recalled a time in the 1980s when the cocaine epidemic took the lives of many of her loved ones in her Queens neighborhood. After being an activist against violence for so long, she eventually founded LIFE Camp, which stands for “Love Ignites Freedom Through Education.”
Alderwoman Milele Coggs, State Rep. David Crowley, the City of Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention and Lauren Group made this “after work power up” day possible.
“I believe Ms. Ford’s appearance offers a positive opportunity for us to come together to listen to her ideas and her strategies about reducing violence,” said Ald. Coggs in a press release.
Ford spoke at the space of Render, a new Milwaukee technology start up company, located at 2209 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. Starting at 4 p.m., her entire speech was streamed live on the Office of Violence Prevention’s Facebook page.
Ford described LIFE Camp’s approach to preventing and eliminating violence as “unconventional.” “Something makes people do bad things,’” Ford said. “We have to do unconventional therapy to help people move past their life traumas.”
LIFE Camp also offers legal services as well as a workforce readiness program for those ages 16-24 who are not attending school and are unemployed. After her speech, people had a chance to ask some questions.
One of the first questions she got was: “Here in Milwaukee, we have the number one incarceration rate in planet Earth. We’re number one for kicking women out of their homes… It’s frustrating when you have the power as an executive who knows what’s going on, but do nothing. How do you deal with that?”
Ford replied, “You have a choice. You can either spend your time physically, emotionally or mentally fighting them, because there’s a lot they’re not doing, or you can ask yourself what your mission and vision is.”
Martha Love, founder of Human Trafficking Task Force in Wisconsin, asked Ford how she helped youth who had been trafficked into sex slavery.
“We know there’s a lot of violence in the youth sex trafficking world. How do you handle youth practicing survivor sex and the whole issue of human trafficking in the New York area?” Love asked.
Ford agreed that sex trafficking was problematic all over the country and that those who were trafficked were usually very young.
“The men in our community have to play a role in not letting that happen to our children. There’s no other answer,” she said. She then addressed the danger of abandoned houses serving as a ground for prostitution and how “snitching” makes it hard for people to speak up.
“The dynamics of who commits these crimes have changed. It’s pastor Deacon’s grandson and Mary’s son. It goes back to the role of the community taking responsibility,” she said. “People don’t want to snitch, but if I’m a grandma seeing human trafficking going on in a home near me, it’s my duty to stop that from happening. For men in our community, it’s their duty and responsibility to protect mothers, children and their families.”
Ford’s speech was finished at about 6 p.m. The attendees had a chance to mingle while also getting the chance to buy a LIFE Camp hooded sweatshirt in bright orange, a color that represents peace to the organization.

source: news-milwaukeenns

created: January 14, 2017

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


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Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele Convenes Community Leaders on Office on African American Affairs - Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper
January 27, 2017
Chris Abele
MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele will ask community leaders for input on the efforts of the County’s Office on African American Affairs. Ralph Hollmon will spearhead the group.
Milwaukee County’s new Office on African American Affairs has the ambitious mission of recognizing and addressing the County’s racial inequities for the benefit of all of its citizenry and for the region to achieve its full potential. The City of Milwaukee has also taken on this mission by establishing its own office, with which the County looks forward to partnering.
For this key Office to stay at the forefront of the conversation, and to the ensure that the community remains aware of the Office’s mission and objectives, County Executive Abele is also launching a strategic paid advertising campaign highlighting the Office in traditional print media, a targeted social media campaign, and earned media opportunities on television, radio, and in print. The campaign will have a strong focus on talent acquisition. The county executive will be meeting with key social justice stakeholders, talking with neighborhood associations and community organizers, and soliciting input on social media.
Most critically, we are actively recruiting a leader to serve as OAAA director who will provide strategic leadership for all aspects of the Office. We are looking for disciplined, accountable, performance-minded individuals who have a proven track record of getting things done. The Director will also lead the implementation of coordinated plans in areas that include workforce development, criminal justice reform, and other strategic areas.
The group led by Mr. Hollmon will help engage the community to hear what they want to see from this Office and what kind of leader they believe can get it done. The OAAA director must understand Milwaukee and its unique history, assets, and challenges. They must also be able to unify the community, navigate internal and external politics, manage complex projects, and maintain a steadfast focus on producing quality outcomes. The job posting is available here.
“Now more than ever, this Office and its mission are my highest priority,” County Executive Chris Abele said. “The challenges facing Milwaukee County require more than talk, they require action. We’ve been talking about housing segregation for 50 years in Milwaukee – people need to know what we are going to do about it. This Office will make a meaningful investment in sustainable programs and infrastructure that can begin to address these kinds of systemic issues, and we will empower people to live better lives while continuing to build the foundation for a stronger, healthier community. So important is this mission that Ralph Hollmon has graciously decided to take some time off from his well-earned retirement to help lead our efforts to find the right director. I’m incredibly grateful for the support of leaders like Mr. Hollmon, and look forward to carrying out the mission of the Office on African American Affairs.”
“I’ve worked with, for, and on behalf of Milwaukee County residents for many years. Under County Executive Abele’s leadership, the County is now in a unique position to move the needle on eliminating racial inequities through Office on African American Affairs programs like UpLift Milwaukee and Opportunity Knocks. A strong director who will devote their full attention every day to achieving the Office’s mission is critical to success in these endeavors. I’m happy to take on a key organizing role among the leadership group that will provide input on possible OAAA director candidates,” said Ralph Hollmon.
More About the Office on American Affairs
In just a few months, and without a dedicated staff in place, the Office has had great success with two initiatives, the Opportunity Knocks program and Up- Lift MKE.
“Building a Foundation,” an Annual Report detailing the Office’s first year, is available here.
Opportunity Knocks, which launched in fall of 2016, is a novel housing model that utilizes home equity created through home renovation to fund reentry services and first-time home ownership. Opportunity Knocks takes tax-foreclosed homes in Milwaukee County suburban municipalities, renovates the homes while providing job training to nonviolent House of Correction (HOC) offenders, provides reentry services to the offenders after the renovation, and sells the house to a first time homeowner through the County’s new Section 8 Homeownership Program paired with HOME funds for down payment assistance.
This program will help expand the House of Correction’s existing reentry services and job training and placement capability, allowing us to empower more people to live a better life.
The County has helped even more people to date with UpLift MKE, a unique job training and placement program that began one year ago. Working with community partners like the Milwaukee Bucks, Milwaukee County has already placed more than 100 individuals in jobs averaging more than $15 per hour through UpLift MKE. These job training and placement efforts are targeted directly to workers, particularly those in and near the Sherman Park area, who most need support to successfully climb the ladder of opportunity.
This program has been so successful that County Executive Abele expanded it less than a year in. His 2017 budget added an extra $500,000 in funding for UpLift MKE and $165,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Milwaukee to add a Youth Career Development project manager to serve teenagers in Sherman Park and other areas. In 2015, more than 300 teenagers found employment through the efforts of the Boys and Girls Club, and this funding will expand their efforts.

created: January 27, 2017


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Running Rebels Aiming for Harambee Community Center - Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper
June 10, 2017
By Dylan Deprey
Bucks mascot Bango, along with Milwaukee Bucks Foundation Executive Director, Alicia Dupies, and Bucks Vice President of Player and Organizational Development, Craig Robinson, present a $100,000 grant to the Running Rebels Community Organization (RRCO), as Clifton Phelps, Vice President of Business Development at JCP Construction and co-Chair of the RRCO Full Circle capital campaign looks on.
The Running Rebels Community Organization (RRCO) have been serving Milwaukee’s youth for over 37 years. The nonprofit community organization has been dedicated to developing the youth mentally, physically and spiritually through educational and recreational programs.
After almost four decades they have provided athletic programming, mentoring, job preparedness, higher education programs, violence-freezones and so much more.
Whether it’s nudging a teen away from drugs and gangs through basketball, or helping students prepare for college, the RRCO is ready to take on even more.
The RRCO announced the Capital Campaign toward its new Harambee community center (225 W. Capitol Dr.) on June 6, 2017. The new center will triple the RRCO operating space and include a gymnasium, cafeteria, catering kitchen, computer labs and offices for its 125-person staff.
The RRCO has Milwaukee Bucks Vice President of Player and Organizational Development Craig Robinson and Clifton Phelps, Vice President of Business Development at JCP Construction to lead its $4.1 million Full Circle capital campaign.
“The Milwaukee Bucks are huge advocates of mentoring and I’m honored to be working alongside Clifton on this important campaign,” said Robinson.
The capital campaign will support the purchase of the property, fund improvements to the original Fond du Lac Ave. community center, create a building reserve fund and provide resources to support programs for hundreds of additional youth and families each year.
The Milwaukee Bucks Foundation (MBF) awarded $100,000 towards the RRCO’s campaign during the announcement.
“Our organization has partnered with the Rebels on a wide variety of programs. When we’re with the Rebels, it’s apparent that the empowerment instilled in them is present. They show up and are fully engaged – whether for the Bucks ‘Own Your Future’ programs, ‘Take Your Mentee to Work Day,’ or ‘Mentoring Mondays’. Bucks legend Marques Johnson along with some of our current players and I have spent a good deal of time at the original location. This new facility will truly allow the Rebels to broaden and deepen their work in our community.”
Phelps was born and raised in Milwaukee, and said he was excited as an RRCO board member and longtime supporter to expand resources to Milwaukee’s youth.
“The new community center will increase the Running Rebels capacity to provide after school programs in art, music, academics and athletics,” said Phelps. “These programs empower our youth and set them up for success as adults.”


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Fighting for Justice with Music - Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper
July 8, 2017
By Nyesha Stone
Creative Development and Outreach Director of True Skool, Fidel Verdin worked with two to three other organization leaders to produce this mixtape. The process began in February/March of this year when True Skool met with Community Justice Network for Youth (CJNY) to share ideas on how to highlight the youth’s work around the justice system. That conversation lead to True Skool going to Chicago to meet with an organization similar to True Skool to talk about the similarities the two cities have in common—police issues, lead in water and more.
CJNY is a national youth program that funded the “YF4J” mixtape. They brought Detroit into the project. These three cities are all more alike than different, so it only seemed right to work together to create music that could make a difference, according to Verdin.
“It’s always time for justice,” said Verdin and this mixtape tries to prove that.
A collective of different groups came together, with the youth at the lead of the discussion, to discuss how they could all work together. The youth came up with the idea of the mixtape, and then every task and role was assigned to different people—from the artwork to the mixing and mastering, everyone had a job.
To make it on YF4J certain criteria had to be met. After constant discussions and rewording, the criteria came down to this: artist had to be 30 or under, the material had to touch on experiences related to the justice system, police contact or how to fix the problem and no explicit lyrics.
Jene Tate, program assistant and public ally fellow of True Skool and previous True Skool participant, felt it was important to create this mixtape to give the youth a voice.
“We’re all fighting for the same thing,” said Tate.
Tate wrote and recorded track #4 “Growing Pains” on YF4J. He didn’t write the song specifically for the mixtape, but once he was told what the mixtape was about he knew his song passed the criteria test.
Anyone who fit the criteria could send in their music to hopefully be selected.
In Detroit, on June 17 at the Allied Media Conference, Milwaukee, Chicago and Detroit had the YF4J’s release party. On that day, the mixtape was now available to be downloaded for free. There’s even a domain dedicated to the mixtape, and they plan on having two more release parties—one in Milwaukee and one in Chicago. Milwaukee’s release party will be sometime after True Skool’s block party on July 29. Chicago’s release party will take place sometime in fall.
These three cities plan on creating more mixtapes and getting other regions of the states’ input as well. This is only the beginning of Youth Fighting 4 Justice.


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PyraMax Bank Pledge $1 Million in Foreclosed Rehab Lending for Harambee Neighborhood - Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper
July 15, 2017
By Dylan Deprey
Mayor Tom Barrett applauds PyraMax and Harambee Neighbors for working to improve the community. (Photo courtesy Fox 6 Livestream)
While taking a drive down Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, the numerous amounts of opportunity that line the Harambee neighborhood are simply sitting behind boarded windows and chipped paint.
Whether it’s looking for a first-time home buyer or somebody searching for a fixer-upper, raising the funds to move into a foreclosed home can be extremely tough. Even for those with even a decent credit score have a slim chance, but a local community bank is stepping up to the plate.
PyraMax Bank announced it has pledged $1 Million in lending for purchase and rehab purchases in the Harambee neighborhood during a press conference on July 15, 2017.
Gary White, PryaMax Community Development manager, said that PyraMax has served Milwaukee for nearly 100 years. As he has worked throughout communities in Milwaukee, he said there was a lack of rehab lending and the arbitrary guidelines for lending that were driven heavily by peoples’ credit scores.
“What we’ve found is that rehab dimension is critical for neighborhood stabilization and family pride,” White said.
He also acknowledged that the process could not have been made possible without for-profit, non-profit and governmental entities pulling together towards the same goal.
Representatives from the City of Milwaukee, ACTS Housing, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (MGIC), Take Root Milwaukee and Milwaukee Riverworks were in attendance.
“It truly is a family affair,” White said.
Mayor Tom Barrett applauded the neighbors that have held some of the 100-year-old homes in Harambee near to their heart. He also acknowledged the great organizations, amenities and development happening in the area.
“This is a neighborhood whose roots are very deep, and the trees themselves are mature trees, again with deep roots,” Barrett said. “By having these deeps roots, you are better able to weather-the-storm, no matter if it’s an economic storm or any type of storm whatsoever.”
Dan and Holly Graves, and Jessica and Vincent Noth and their three children will soon be moving into a duplex in the Harambee Neighborhood.
“We’re super excited to move to this block because of the neighbors,” said Jessica Noth. “We’re so thankful to PyraMax Bank willing to take the risk to give us the loan to put forth rehab dollars for this property.”
Noth advised anyone, especially those who have been renting for years, to consider becoming a homeowner in Milwaukee’s ever-evolving neighborhoods.
“We would really like to see renters from the Harambee, Riverwest and surrounding areas, those renters that maybe never thought of purchasing a home before to come and join us and take advantage of this,” Noth said.


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A Cry for Help Means Business in the Fight Against Human Sex Trafficking - Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper
August 12, 2017
By Dylan Deprey
If Human Sex Trafficking is war, then Sen. Lena Taylor, Nasheka Secession-Bryant and the Freedom Fighters and Vaun Mayes are ready for battle. (Photo by Dylan Deprey)
On the corner of 30th and Lisbon Ave., sits an abandoned restaurant in a normal north side neighborhood. Day and night, young women addicted to heroin use the alley behind the building as a bathroom and rest area between hopping in and out of cars. The young women sell their body at the mercy of heavy handed pimps, deeply rooted trauma, drug addiction and a never-ending market that forever circles the block creating a dark carousel.
The women hide razor blades under their tongues for protection, and avoid areas like the shadowy pathway below the bridge on Lisbon to avoid violent beatings and rapes. Even with a dollar store down the way, the women are left to the same clothes day in and day out. If they do have a pimp controlling their every move, they are treated worse than dogs and fed the bare minimum along with their fix for the night.
Homer Blow talks to human sex trafficking experts Bianca Williams, Laura Johnson and Martha Love. (Photo by Dylan Deprey)
Across the street from the abandoned restaurant sits a boarded-up garage. Behind the wooden panels, bloody heroin needles, broken booze bottles, used feminine products and garbage litter the floor. Following the homeowner’s death, the vacant garage became a “prostitution drive-thru,” pushing out drugs and women faster than any fast food restaurant in the area.
“They were pimping, beating, prostituting, hooking, smoking, everything. A pimp could drop off and a trick could pick up right from that garage,” said Bianca Williams, A Cry for Help founder.
After seven weeks of making complaints to the City, she finally had the garage boarded up.
Even while helping girls on on the strip, Bianca Williams works to build a network of volunteers. (Photo by Dylan Deprey)
Williams is a veteran in the fight against human sex trafficking. She knows the strip, and she knows the abandoned garages and houses the woman sleep in. She has broken past the women’s protective shells, and built relationships with those trapped in the cycle of addiction and abuse. She invited activists, advocates, elected officials and clergyman to participate in A Cry for Help’s street ministry on Monday, Aug. 7, 2017.
Vaun Mayes, Program the Parks Initiative founder, made a call-to-action on his heavily followed Facebook page earlier in the day, and showed up to hand out water and promote awareness.
“It’s so bad that any time I see a girl walking between that block (N. 28th Street) and 33rd (Street), I think they are working,” Mayes said. “What pisses me off even more is that I’m having to swerve around these guys stopping in the middle of traffic to shout out to these girls.”
As a grassroots organizer himself, Mayes applauded Williams for her outstanding efforts on the block.
Into the Underbelly of a Traumatic Industry
“Have you been drinking water?” said Williams as she walked up to a girl in her mid-twenties. She gave her a hug and handed out a water bottle. She then pointed in the direction of some fresh clothes sitting on a car and said, “Go grab something honey.”
“Some of these girls have two or three different sexually transmitted diseases, so I have to remind them to drink water and eat because the pills are hard on their stomach,” Williams said.
Williams personally transports the women to and from the Keenan Health Center for consistent STD checkups. She also maintains relationships with the girls and regularly checks in on them to ensure they are taking their medicine.
“I’m not here 24/7, so I can leave out some water, but when they actually get some money they aren’t thinking about water,” Williams said.
Before Laura Johnson was passing out clothes, foods and water on the strip, she was a former human trafficking survivor, a crack cocaine addict and a prostitute working the exact same streets.
Johnson was trafficked from 14 to 17 years old. After making her way back to her mother’s last known address, she had found her sister addicted to crack and working the corner as a prostitute.
“I didn’t know you could stand on the corner and sell your body until after I was trafficked, and I was like, ‘You really stand on the corner?’ The first day I went out with my older sister. She would jump in, and when she got back, she got to keep the money, and that was the biggest thing,” Johnson said.
She said crack numbed the pain from the torturous years she had spent chained up, fed dog food and constantly beat. Many young girls fall into the hands of a smooth talking pimp and drug abuse following traumatic experiences or a rocky home life.
“When you get high, it takes away the pain, and it takes away the hurt and everything you don’t want to feel. So, you keep getting high so you don’t have to feel, but eventually you have to face it because either you’re going to be dead, jail or some mental institution,” Johnson said.
At 23-years-old she got pregnant and somehow found the will to turn her life around. Now, she is 31 and has her health, beauty and a drive to help others find the light at the end of the dark tunnel.
“I went through a lot, and I had to face that reality,” Johnson said. “I had to go to a therapist, and I had to tell people what happened to me, and it took a lot of courage.”
As Williams continued to work throughout the night, she said her biggest fear was for young girls and teens in the community. She said with school starting the upcoming week, girls were subject to soliciting johns and pimps.
“All these corners are school bus corners for kids, and you know 9 times out of 10 parents are running to get to work and drop the kids off at the bus stop or letting them walk to the bus stop,” Williams said.
Men Take a Stand in the Matter
Pastors, and program organizers posted up on the corner to notify the neighborhood that the glory days were over. From rust buckets to high performance racers, cars slowly circled the block, multiple times. The drivers were unfazed as they were greeted by local figures.
Homer Blow, Vaun Mayes and Gab Taylor talk about the possible opportunities the abandoned restaurant on the corner could be converted into. (Photo by Dylan Deprey)
“We have to let these pimps and everybody else understand that they can’t come over here and walk all over our people,” said Homer Blow, WNOV on-air personality.
Blow added that it was important that women like Williams and Johnson were out connecting to women in need. He said it was also the men’s responsibility to make an effort to show they were ready to protect the women in their community.
“We can’t drop the ball, and then we hear about it and say, ‘Oh that’s crazy,’” Blow said.
Organizers and community members walked around the surrounding blocks along with the Freedom Fighters, who wanted to make their presence known in the neighborhood.
Todd Halbach is a minister at Parklawn Assembly Church of God in the Sherman Park neighborhood. He said following 16-year-old Emani Robinson’s death after being struck by a stray bullet in late June, he and a group of community members have doubled down on their efforts.
“We have a heart for the streets and want to help people out,” Halbach said. “There is a lot of stuff going on in the city with people getting shot, prostitution. When we come together we can achieve, and hope to improve the city.”
A Cry for Help is a Beacon of Hope
As the sun set, even more people came out. Martha Love, Human Trafficking Taskforce founder, pulled over to share her words of encouragement. Love said awareness and mobilization wee key in a a fight she has been fighting for a very long time.
“As a founder of the Human Trafficking Taskforce, it’s good to see things like this and Bianca’s leadership because these girls need to feel loved and protected,” Love said.
Sen. Lena Taylor also showed up with food and an open ear for anybody on the block. She said as a young girl, she had witnessed a girl named Jackie being prostituted while growing up at her around her parents’ restaurant.
“I watched her over the course of years’ work that corner, and now I understand human trafficking in a different way and she could have very easily been someone,” Taylor said. “I’m out here just trying to make a difference for the Jackie’s in the world because it could have been me, and that’s the thing that I remember every day.”
From the smiles and hugs to the smirks and cussing, Williams said she will continue to instill hope in the hopeless, and never let the fire behind A Cry for Help be extinguished.
For more information visit http://cryforhelpmke.org/


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Program the Parks Initiative Gets Legit with New Building for Upcoming Winter - Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper
September 16, 2017
By Dylan Deprey
Gab Taylor puts down the paint brush and picks up the basketball to test out the new game room. (Photo by Dylan Deprey)
There is a well-known African proverb that says, “It takes a village to raise a child.”
Vaun Mayes and the Program the Parks initiative began by simply protecting a park that he had known his entire life. From putting his life on the line and breaking up mass fights in Sherman Park, to creating cultural recreational activities for the youth that call the neighborhood home, Mayes has taken the proverb and ran with it harder than ever before.
Whether it’s being a voice for the voiceless in police accountability cases, or a mentor and provider for the youth in Sherman Park, Mayes has worked with what he had along with building a network of advocates and providing maximum efforts with only community funding and donations.
The Cultural Library grows as Black literature fills the shelves. (Photo by Dylan Deprey)
As Program the Parks nears its second-year, Mayes has worked to find a spot outside of the park where the youth can expand their skills, learn about their own culture, air their grievances and simply enjoy life.
On Sept. 12, 2017, Mayes opened the doors to the community to visit the newest edition of Program the Parks and its It Takes a Village Community Empowerment and Solution Center at 606 W. Concordia Ave.
Following the Sherman Park uprising in Aug. 2016, and curfew set for the youth by former Sheriff Clarke that followed, Mayes said a lot of the youth stopped coming to the park. The gap in programming lead some youth to slip through the cracks back into what they were doing before.
Vaun Mayes showcases the space where youth’s printed t-shirts will be for sale. (Photo by Dylan Deprey)
“They need consistent and constant connection to us, so we can keep up with them in their personal life and keep them on the path that a lot of them unfortunately need a person to hold their hand per se until they figure it out themselves,” Mayes said.
As the previous location for Program the Parks winter programming had structural issues, Mayes had reached out to the community for a new space to create opportunities for the youth to flourish. He would later be contacted by someone from his past.
Mayes said that as a youth, he was kicked out of MPS and went to the Milwaukee Excel Program. Pastor Rodney Campbell of Crossing Jordan Ministries, was a security guard for the program and had known Mayes well having frequently butted heads with him.
After seeing the work Mayes had been doing in Sherman Park and the community, Campbell offered two vacant classrooms on the third floor above his church on 6th and Concordia.
Class is in Session
Program the Parks regulars break in the new foosball table. (Photo by Dylan Deprey)
Over the past week, Mayes and Gab Taylor, Program the Parks co-founder, have gotten down to business constructing, painting and preparing to open the doors for their new youth programming center.
“We’ve been coming here almost every day doing stuff, in between meetings and everything just getting it ready,” Taylor said.
In the Cultural Community Library and media room, the fresh coat of green, red and black paint bordering the rooms represents the colors of the Pan-African flag. Along the wall were books ranging from Dr. Seuss to Sesame Street, but also an area where Black literature and research text was meant to be heavily used.
“For the youth who take advantage of this area will get incentives,” Mayes said. “Kids have to keep their grades up, show their progress reports, stay out of trouble and no fights, especially at the facilities.”
Across the room sat the incentives, as there was a closet converted into a recording studio, where youth will have free studio time and hands on lessons on creating, and marketing music.
Next to the booth sat three brand new printing presses ready to print t-shirts. Mayes said the green wall above the printing presses would be used as a storefront for the youth to print their own designs and sell them to the public. Sitting Kidde corner to the presses was a table riddled with hair products ready for local barbers and beauticians to do the youths hair, as well as teach those interested in the field.
“We’re helping them learn a different set of skills, but it’s also about them finding out what they’re interested in and going with that because a lot them don’t think about a job or turning anything into a career,” Mayes said. “The focus of this is to empower them, because once you teach a person how to fish, you don’t have to give them anymore fish and that should be the point of what you’re doing, so they can sustain themselves.”
Though education and self-reflection are the focuses in the main classroom, the sounds of basketballs and foosballs chimed from the game room right next door. From board games and video games, to air hockey and pop-a-shot basketball, the game room is an escape for the youth to enjoy themselves.
The windows to the game room showcased a flat open rooftop where Mayes plans to build raised garden beds, along with possibly installing solar panels to cut on costs.
Mayes opened the doors to other community advocates and activists to check it out, and Sherwin Hughes, WNOV radio host, stopped through to check it out. Hughes has been a huge financial supporter for Program the Parks.
“Vaun has demonstrated his commitment to the community and the youth, and it’s easy to prove to us,” Hughes said. “I believe in him and I believe in the work he does, and instead of looking for other sources, I think the community should be a source of revenue when it comes to our youth and our children.”
As Program the Parks has made a jump from its roots in Sherman Park and into a new neighborhood, Mayes said he hoped to unite youth from across Milwaukee through programing. He strives to rebuild the black community by giving youth hope and a space to
“We are doing what is known as communal housing, but in program form,” Mayes said. “So, we can have all these different programs in one space in that way we can funnel our youth into all these different services, that’s not just us but people that we think are dope.”

created: September 16, 2017


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Once-Homeless Veteran Uses UWM Degree to Help Others - Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper
October 28, 2017
By Zach Brooke
Kevin Evans was recently honored with the UWM Alumni Association’s Community Service Award. (UWM Photo/Troye Fox)
Near the lowest point of Kevin Evans’ life, when he was a homeless military veteran without direction, he got the lift that would make him the man he is today.
A Veterans Affairs staffer complimented Evans’ untapped capacities for leadership, perseverance and empathy. “He told me,” Evans recalls, “‘You would be a great success in social service, working with people, if you went back and got your education.’”
That put Evans on a path toward his 2011 master’s degree in social work from UWM. He couldn’t have earned it without assistance from UWM’s Veterans Upward Bound program. Since then, UWM has opened its Military and Veterans Resource Center, or MAVRC. Both initiatives offer a broad range of services for veterans.
Now, Evans uses his UWM degree to help fellow veterans stuck in ruts like those he escaped. He works for the nonprofit Center for Veterans Issues, which assists vets through a variety of programs, including counseling, housing services and job skills. In October, the UWM Alumni Association honored him with its Community Service Award.
UWM is one of the Midwest’s leading educators of veterans, with more than 1,000 enrolled annually. Its commitment to military personnel will be on full display when it hosts the fourth-annual Military and Veterans Ball. Open to all veterans, military members and community supporters, it’s set for Friday, Nov. 3, at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center. Tickets may be purchased at vetball.eventbrite.com.
Evans was discharged from the Army in 1986 after a 10-year hitch. Unable to adjust to civilian life back in Milwaukee, he struggled with substance abuse. He became estranged from his family, eventually drifting into homelessness on and off for much of a decade.
“Life wasn’t going too good,” recalls Evans, now 58 years old.
After that pivotal visit to the VA, and with encouragement from his mother, the big step came in 1997. Evans reached out to VETS Place Central, a transitional housing service run by the Center for Veterans Issues that provides temporary shelter to displaced servicemen and women.
For Evans, taking that step wasn’t easy. “It’s a pride thing.” he says. “I had to go out to VPC and humble myself, and say, ‘Hey, I need you guys to help.’”
He didn’t know then that he’d someday become one of the helpers. With CVI’s help, he enrolled in Veterans Upward Bound, a federally funded educational program that teaches core learning skills in preparation for college.
“We started doing the reading, writing and arithmetic,” he says. “Three areas that a lot of veterans are very slow in now.”
Soon, he began to collect diplomas. A few years after completing a bachelor’s in criminal justice, Evans learned of UWM’s master’s program in social work. It was the gateway to a job where Evans could help others.
“I wanted to change my whole life story,” he says. “I felt I was a menace to society and I wanted to give back.”
He enrolled at UWM, only to struggle with the advanced coursework, partly because, he later discovered, he had a learning disability. But UWM has a slew of resources designed to help veterans.
MAVRC, colloquially called “maverick,” launched at UWM in late 2012 and is a one-stop shop for veterans seeking assistance. It guides them through campus life, and connects them and their spouses to employment resources.
“We try to help them every step of the way in every place they might need it,” says Jayne Holland, interim director of MAVRC. On Friday, Nov. 10, MAVRC will host an open house to celebrate its five-year anniversary.
Although Evans was at UWM prior to MAVRC’s inception, Upward Bound introduced him to resources like the UWM Writing Center and encouraged him to speak to his professors about his learning disability. The adjustments allowed him to thrive.
His master’s degree netted a job at CVI, the same agency that helped him two decades ago. As an outreach specialist, he spends much of his time offering help to homeless vets.
“It makes me feel good when I go home at night,” Evans says, “knowing that I touched somebody else’s life.”
Advertorial

created: October 28, 2017


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Future Doctor Hails from the 53206-Zip Code, Flourishes at MCW - Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper
December 30, 2017
By Ana Martinez-Ortiz
“Scoggins chose the Medical College of Wisconsin in part due to their efforts and support of minority students.”
In 2013, he received his high school diploma from Whitefish Bay High School, in 2017, he graduated from Denison University with a degree in biology, and in 2021, he will complete medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW).
His name is Na’il Scoggins and he’s known since the sixth grade that he wanted to be a doctor. Being a doctor is a way for him to give back to his community and in his own words, “to uplift people often neglected by those in power.”
Scoggins grew up in the 53206-zip code, but attended school in Whitefish Bay thanks to the Chapter 220 program, which allows students from inner-city neighborhoods to enroll in suburban schools.
As a child turned young adult, he grew up straddling two worlds: one of privilege and one of disparity. His upbringing gave him an insight into how aspects such as race, economic status, education, safety, access to parks and healthy food options impacted one’s health.
He observed the implications of growing up in the 53206-zip code compared to the 53217-zip code and how they varied depending on these factors. Bearing this knowledge in mind, Scoggins became more determined than ever to become a doctor. He found it to be, “the perfect way to combine my inquisitiveness for medicine and the human body.”
In order to achieve his dream and follow his passion, Scoggins enrolled in a pipeline program at MCW, designed specifically for minority high school students that granted them access to a world of research and medicine.
Scoggins participated in two programs at MCW. During high school, he enrolled at ROADS (Research Opportunity for Academic Development in Science) and later during the summers, in between his terms at college, he participated in DSHREP (Diversity Summer Health- Related Research Education Program).
“In college [it] gave me access to medicine and research,” he said. “Which was fundamental in allowing me to grow as a premedicine student.”
Jean Mallett, the program manager for ROADS and DSHREP, explained that the existence of MCW’s programs began in 1989 with Apprenticeship in Medicine (AIM). Two years later in 1990, they added ROADS and DSHREP.
According to Mallett, it was a way for MCW to foster an interest in medicine and research in the youth, and specifically those who are underrepresented in medicine.
“Na’il will likely be one of the medical student mentors who teach this program during summer 2018,” said Mallett.
Participating in these programs allowed Scoggins to develop his ever-growing passion and knowledge, it also gained him access to MCW’s faculty, staff, and students.
“I gained access to like-minded, underrepresented students interested in medicine and research who have become colleagues and friends of mine,” Scoggins remarked.
Although he’s always been a hardworking and dedicated student, Scoggins said that it’s his family, friends, mentors and community that keeps him motivated and keep him encouraged along the way.
His mother is one of his biggest supporters. Scoggins and his mom share an interest as she too works in healthcare. He explained that his mom passed on her knowledge and connected him to physicians in the area.
Through these connections, enrollment in the pipeline programs and MCW, Scoggins gained the opportunity to see what he could do with his degree. Among these ventures included shadowing pediatricians and neonatologists— areas which greatly interest him.
“I like the challenges that I have seen” he said. “Like working with parents and families and being able to solve problems that the patient cannot tell the physician.”
If he chooses to study and subspecialize in neonatology then he will have to complete a three-year fellowship after he finishes a three-year residency in pediatrics.
Amidst those goals, he plans to be an advocate, “for those people who have very few advocates in power.”
“I also really hope to mentor and inspire others underrepresented in medicine and science to pursue these careers,” Scoggins said.
Although 2021 is a few years off, Scoggins has already proved himself as a strong leader in his field, and a fearless advocate among his community.

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Harambee Hosts Seventh Annual Heal the Hood Block Party and Resource Fair - Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper
June 2, 2018
By Dylan Deprey, and Ethan Duran
Rose Park Basketball courts in full effect during Heal the Hood. (Photo by Dylan Deprey)
Excitement floated through the air, as Ajamou Butler walked along the Rose Park basketball courts prepping for the 7th Annual Heal the Hood. Wafts of barbecue and roasted corn were met by vendors putting the finishing touches on their booths along 3rd St. and Clarke St. in Milwaukee’s Harambee neighborhood.
“You know I got those pre-jitters, that little anxiety, but I’m loving what I’m seeing,” Butler said as he only had a second to chat. “Look at all the energy and excitement, and people haven’t even started showing up yet.”
Logan Scaggs wants you to be Cream City Phresh. (Photo by Ethan Duran)
Heal the Hood’s block party outreach campaign began as a way to promote community pride, while also connecting people to resources and providing entertainment. Along with local vendors and nonprofits, the event was also sponsored in part by the City of Milwaukee’s Office of Violence prevention.
“I wanted to make this as impactful as possible,” Butler said.
Though it was only May 26th, Summer had finally peaked its roaring head. But, the blazing heat did not stop crowds from pouring in to enjoy free food, entertainment, resources, services and neighborly hospitality.
B-Free laying down a flute solo. (Photo by Dylan Deprey)
Milwaukee’s own Steph Crosley hosted the event, and included live performances by: OnFyah Afrikan Drum and Dance Ensemble, Milwaukee Flyers, Hip-Hop edutainment by Gat Turner and live music by B-Free.
People traveled across the block, street and the city to check out the first of several Heal the Hood block parties and what local vendors had to offer.
From his tent, Logan Scaggs sold Milwaukee t-shirts for his company, “Cream City Phresh.” The shirts showcased different city references, including old businesses like “Capitol Courts” and the shortlived women’s basketball team, the Milwaukee Does.
Is it a really a barbecue if there isn’t roasted corn on the cob? (Photo by Dylan Deprey)
“These were shirts I didn’t see about Milwaukee,” Scaggs said. “They were underrepresented.”
Cream City Phresh also featured shirts with different street signs printed on them, like Locust, North, Center and Burleigh. Scaggs said he wanted to see people represent their streets in a positive fashion.
Across the block party, Jacarrie Carr sat behind a table loaded with shoes. He was handing them out as part of his non-profit organization, Jacarrie Kicks 4 Kids. He created Jacarrie Kicks 4 Kids to work with local entities to donate premiere shoes to underprivileged youth, so they could avoid bullying and get a chance to focus on their education.
Ajamou Butler goes from event organizer to African drum player in a matter of seconds. (Photo by Dylan Deprey)
“I want to enhance the self-esteem of less fortunate youth,” Carr said, “And let kids be less selfconscious of being underprivileged.”
Carr’s goal for the day was to give away 60 pairs of shoes. He said he expected to overreach that goal from working past events.
Other resource vendors included WestCare Wisconsin, Running Rebels and Planned Parenthood.
Alderwoman Milele Coggs was excited to host the first Heal the Hood event of the year in the 6th District.
“It’s wonderful to see all the residents come out and enjoy, not only the offering of the talent and vendors, but also each other in a positive way,” Coggs said.
Vendors, community resources and local artists closed down Clarke St. to Heal the Hood. (Photo by Ethan Duran)
She added that prior to the event, there was a lot of planning and outreach within the 6th District to really listen to community issues.
“We are looking for ways to support them even past the one-day event because the hope is that once they come together at the event, there’s a lot more of them working together afterwards,” Coggs said.
The Office of Violence Prevention found that after community events like Heal the Hood, violent crimes decreased the day of and the week following.
From bouncy houses and face painting, to hula hooping and serious hooping, youth and young adults enjoyed the summer sun safely.
Local Rapper, Josh Jenkins, of A.D.H.D., showed up to Heal the Hood to enjoy himself, but also to support Butler and the neighborhood.
“I love being around the community, and this event is growing every year.” Jenkins said. “I’m seeing inclusiveness, people having a good time, having fun, sharing values, and to see this out here is very cool.”
Alexa Biami held her tiara high and sash proudly as she was recently crowned the first Black woman to win Miss St. Francis.
“Ms. Coggs invited me to come out,” Biami said. “It’s all family out here.”
Biami got to share her story on live radio for the “Earl Ingram Show.”
“Because I was the first to do it, now I have Latina girls coming up to me saying they want to be the first Latina to win Miss St. Francis, and I want to inspire girls to be the best they can be,” Biami said.
In between taking pictures and speaking with vendors, she also checked out local artists showcasing their art.
After a violent Memorial weekend, including a fatal shooting death in the Harambee community, Heal the Hood and other block initiatives continue to work for the community.
“Guns are loud, violence is loud, so we have to do these kinds of events to be even louder and make an impact,” Butler said.
The next Heal the Hood Block Party and Resource Fair was set for Saturday, July 14th, over on N. 10th St. and W. Center St. from Noon to 6 p.m.
For more information visit, https://healthehoodmke.org/


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Larsharae Hooker Archives - Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper
January 28, 2012
Larsharae Hooker to now vie for State Title and Scholarship

She was once shy and reserved, but now Larsharae is a responsible, goal-oriented teen who was just named the 2012 Northwestern Mutual … [Read more...]

created: January 28, 2012


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The Unsung Role That Ordinary Citizens Played in the Great Crime Decline - The New York Times

Nov. 9, 2017


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Trump immigration plan to cost 4.6 million jobs, Ivy League study finds
Patrick Gillespie and Tal Kopan @CNNMoney August 10, 2017: 12:04 PM ET


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Walmart Drops $1 Million on Urban-Ag Pioneer Growing Power – Mother Jones
Tom PhilpottReporterBio | Follow
September 20, 2011

created: September 20, 2011

author: Tom PhilpottReporterBio | Follow


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Pinpointing the higher cost of a healthy diet — Harvard Gazette
Karen Feldscher
December 5, 2013
Over the course of a year, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts would increase food costs for one person by about $550 per year, according to new research from Harvard School of Public Health. “This would represent a real burden for some families,” said Professor Dariush Mozaffarian. “On the other hand, this price difference is very small in comparison to the economic costs of diet-related chronic diseases, which would be dramatically reduced by healthy diets.”
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Karen Feldscher
Harvard School of Public Health Communications
The healthiest diets cost about $1.50 more per day than the least healthy ones, according to new research from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). The finding is based on the most comprehensive examination to date comparing the prices of healthy foods and diet patterns to less healthy ones.
The study will be published online today in BMJ (British Medical Journal) Open.
“People often say that healthier foods are more expensive, and that such costs strongly limit better diet habits,” said lead author Mayuree Rao, a junior research fellow in the Department of Epidemiology at HSPH. “But, until now, the scientific evidence for this idea has not been systematically evaluated, nor have the actual differences in cost been characterized.”
The HSPH researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 27 existing studies from 10 high-income countries that included price data for individual foods and for healthier vs. less healthy diets. They evaluated the differences in prices per serving and per 200 calories for particular types of foods, and prices per day and per 2,000 calories (the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recommended average daily calorie intake for adults) for overall diet patterns. Prices were assessed per serving as well as per calorie because prices can vary depending on the unit of comparison.
The researchers found that healthier diet patterns — for example, diets rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts — cost significantly more than unhealthy diets (for example, those rich in processed foods, meats, and refined grains). On average, a day’s worth of the healthiest diet patterns cost about $1.50 more per day than the least healthy ones.
The researchers suggested that unhealthy diets may cost less because food policies have focused on the production of “inexpensive, high volume” commodities, which has led to “a complex network of farming, storage, transportation, processing, manufacturing, and marketing capabilities that favor sales of highly processed food products for maximal industry profit.” Given this reality, they said that creating a similar infrastructure to support production of healthier foods might help increase the availability — and reduce the prices — of more healthful diets.
“This research provides the most complete picture to date on true cost differences of healthy diets,” said Dariush Mozaffarian, the study’s senior author and an associate professor at HSPH and Harvard Medical School. “While healthier diets did cost more, the difference was smaller than many people might have expected. Over the course of a year, $1.50/day more for eating a healthy diet would increase food costs for one person by about $550 per year. This would represent a real burden for some families, and we need policies to help offset these costs. On the other hand, this price difference is very small in comparison to the economic costs of diet-related chronic diseases, which would be dramatically reduced by healthy diets.”
Other HSPH authors included research fellows Ashkan Afshin (Department of Epidemiology) and Gitanjali Singh (Department of Nutrition).
Funding for the study came from a Genes and the Environment Initiative grant from HSPH; a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute cardiovascular epidemiology training grant in behavior, the environment, and global health; and a National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases training grant in academic nutrition.

created: December 5, 2013

author: Karen Feldscher


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Milwaukee’s Workforce Shortage Is Really a Transit Shortage
Susan Nusser May 22, 2018
This past winter, Wisconsin launched a widely criticized million-dollar advertising campaign to lure Chicago millennials to the state, ostensibly to fill a workforce gap. On the surface, it made sense — the statewide unemployment rate is at a record low, 2.9 percent, the working-age population growth is only projected to be 0.2 percent, while the projected job growth rate is six percent. State officials believe they need to attract new talent.
But dig a little deeper, and you find that there are plenty of workers in Wisconsin who still need jobs, but they can’t get to where the state’s new jobs are increasingly located.
Only 44 percent of Milwaukee’s black men are employed, according to Univesity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Center for Economic Development. The problem for those workers, say regional workforce development providers, is that all the economic development in the region is in the suburbs, while the state has no regional transportation system connecting those jobs to where those workers live.
The recent headline deal for Taiwanese LCD screen manufacturer Foxconn is emblematic of the disconnect. The state provided $4 billion in incentives for the company to open a plant in the Milwaukee region, promising 13,000 jobs. But the plant is located in Racine County, south of Milwaukee, while most of the region’s black population is concentrated in the northern half of Milwaukee — a legacy of redlining and other discriminatory practices that made it the only part of the region that welcomed black families.
The company never considered moving into an existing unused industrial corridor that flanks the city’s poorest neighborhoods, where “tens of thousands of workers with manufacturing skills,” live, according to State Representative David Bowen, whose district includes the Milwaukee neighborhoods with the highest jobless rates.
Employers argue workers in those neighborhoods lack the necessary skills to take on modern factory jobs, using advanced technology to manufacture screens for smartphones and other modern-day products. But federally-funded workforce development agencies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in the region, including $386 million in 2017, according to the Public Policy Forum, a research organization based in Milwaukee. Around one million Wisconsinites participated in those workforce development programs in 2017, and according to a study by Public Policy Forum, adult alumni of those training programs are concentrated in the northern half of Milwaukee.
“What we’re doing is making the connection between what employers need and the people who come in looking for job training,” says Scott Jansen, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Employ Milwaukee, one of the largest workforce training contractors in the state.
Transit, on the other hand, is a real barrier. In a survey of participants in one workforce development program, the Public Policy Forum found that nearly half of all adult program participants did not have a driver’s license.
Bowen says transportation was not part of the FoxConn discussions. Giving $4 billion to a private company to create jobs without funding for people to get to those jobs was a missed opportunity, says Bowen.
“Companies aren’t locating [inside Milwaukee],” says Dorothy Walker, interim dean of the Milwaukee Area Technical College’s Applied Sciences Division.
Once the Foxconn deal was signed, says Walker, the state turned to the area technical colleges and asked what they were going to do to provide workers. The presidents of three technical colleges in the region collaborated to provide students with the programs they need, regardless of where they live. The tech colleges looped in two local universities with engineering programs to make sure that the students’ credits would be accepted as transfers. Still, transit has proven to be a barrier.
“If they would invest in the transportation system, [the workers] could at least get out to the jobs,” says Walker.
It took a lawsuit to make the state put some dollars into regional public transit options. In 2014, Milwaukee’s Black Health Coalition and Milwaukee Interfaith Congregations Allied for Hope sued the state of Wisconsin over a $418 million highway expansion project, that, they argued, exclusively benefited suburbanites. With a $13.5 million settlement from the lawsuit, the two organizations established two viable bus routes that now transport over a thousand people a day to their jobs in the suburbs.
In December, the state will reach the end of its four-year settlement commitment and will stop subsidizing the two lines, potentially leaving those workers with no way to get to the jobs that they already have.
Meanwhile, the state just approved $6.8 million to expand the campaign to attract millennials from other Midwest states.
Once a month, we’ll send you the best of Next City’s reporting on trains, buses, bikes and every other way to get around town. Get reports from Next City correspondents on the latest developments in public transportation, carsharing, bike infrastructure, and more. Subscribe now to never miss a story!
Susan Nusser writes about urban infrastructure and development and is especially interested in how cities promote equitable growth. She’s written two books about horses and lives in Milwaukee where she teaches writing at the Milwaukee Area Technical College.

author: Susan Nusser May 22, 2018


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Small Change In Reading To Preschoolers Can Help Disadvantaged Kids Catch Up : Shots - Health News : NPR
May 29, 20122:25 PM ET
May 29, 20122:25 PM ET


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Efforts to Combat High Infant Mortality Rate Among Blacks - The New York Times

Oct. 14, 2011


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Big Study Links Good Teachers to Lasting Gain - The New York Times

Jan. 6, 2012


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Milwaukee Talks: Judge Derek Mosley

Published Dec 18, 2012 at  9:04 AM

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Menomonee Valley challenge: name that park

Published Mar 09, 2013 at  3:02 PM

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The other black radio station in town: WNOV up to the challenge

Published Mar 01, 2013 at  1:05 PM

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Growing Power  Market aims to bring fresh produce to food desert

Published Aug 02, 2012 at 12:54 PM

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Oscar's burgers are as good as promised

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Local author reads in celebration of Children's Book Week

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MHSA student named one of the best, brightest young artists in the nation

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Father Gene's Help Center provides free shoes, clothing

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Cash mobs tackle the issue of struggling local economies

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Debunking myths about central city eating habits

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OnMilwaukee
May 25

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West Side skating rink taking shape

Published Jan 08, 2015 at 11:49 AM

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Art project teaches Doerfler students about advocacy and community engagement

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White House summit brings news of $1 billion for early childhood education

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5th Street School plan shows charettes can spur quick progress

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Completion of Garfield Avenue School sale pushes Bronzeville project forward

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DCD committee reviews proposals for Garfield Avenue School

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Great Schools rankings may challenge your notions of local choices

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MPS votes on new charter proposed for Lee, but that may end up elsewhere

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Powerful Milwaukeeans help reboot MPS Foundation

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Washington High School wins app development curriculum

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Guiding You Through the Govt's Foreclosure Compensation Maze — ProPublica
Paul Kiel
June 6, 2012, 10:55 a.m. EDT

author: Paul Kiel


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Invisible Lines | Radio Milwaukee
Nate Imig
Published May 14, 2018 at 9:00 AM CDT

created: Published May 14, 2018 at 9:00 AM CDT

author: Nate Imig


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16 Highland Community School students land in China for conference | School Matters MKE

November 14, 2014
After 27 hours of travel, 16 students – age 13 to 15 – from Highland Community School arrived today at the Zhongyou Garden Hotel in China.
Highland is an MPS Montessori charter school, now located in the former MacDowell Montessori building on 17th and Highland.
The eighth and ninth grade students made the long trip across the Pacific in order to participate in China’s first-ever Montessori Model United Nations (MMUN) International Conference, located in Zhengzhou in Henan Province.
The students prepared for the conference over the course of their sixth grade year by writing resolutions, practicing speeches and learning how to debate to defend their representative country at the conference every spring. In the past five years, Highland has sent students to New York City for a similar conference, but this marks the first time the school’s delegation has gone to China.
“During my experience in New York, I learned that many countries from around the world deal with some of the same issues, and that if we just worked together, regardless of our different backgrounds, we could solve many of our world’s problems,” said N’kia Matthews, an eighth grader participating from Highland Community School.
“I’m looking forward to visiting China so I can experience a different lifestyle and see first-hand how Chinese people live.”
Over the course of the 10-day stay, the Highland students will participate in the conference alongside fellow student representatives from across the globe, as well as experience and learn about Chinese culture first-hand. Part of that experience is visiting the original Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng City.
“Highland Community School fosters the development of the whole child through various educational activities taking place in our greater community,” said Kathy Ronco, Highland’s executive director.
“From local fieldtrips and partnerships to overnight camping, New York and now China, we value the external environment as a valid real-life classroom where our children will gain the experiences needed to excel in today’s ever-expanding global community.”
The students will return from their trip to China on Monday, Nov. 24, where they will be greeted home at a welcoming event at Community Cafe at Highland Community School. Mayor Tom Barrett is expected to be in attendance, as well as other local partners key to sending the delegation to China.
To follow the students’ journey, check out the trip’s Tumblr blog.
Article tags: schools, China, Highland Community School, Montessori, MPS, Montessori Model United Nations

created: November 14, 2014


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Urban Beekeeping Playing a Vital Role in Milwaukee's Ecology - Shepherd Express
Mary Sussman
Sep. 05, 2017
4:54 p.m.

author: Mary Sussman


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Text Messages Are a Good Public Health Tool, Flu-Vaccination Edition - The Atlantic
Neil Wagner
June 1, 2012

author: Neil Wagner


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What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland's School Success - The Atlantic
Anu Partanen
December 29, 2011

created: December 29, 2011

author: Anu Partanen


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The Missing Link in School Reform: Student Motivation - The Atlantic
Emily Richmond
May 29, 2012

author: Emily Richmond


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Is This the Future of Farming?  - The Atlantic
Sarah Rich
October 26, 2011

created: October 26, 2011

author: Sarah Rich


text:
The High Cost of Anti-Immigrant Laws | The Nation
Greg Asbed and Sean Sellers
October 12, 2011

created: October 12, 2011

author: Greg Asbed and Sean Sellers


text:
Behind the scenes at ArtWorks for Milwaukee  » Urban Milwaukee
Madeline Pieschel

author: Madeline Pieschel


text:
Milwaukee Art Museum presents diverse work by 30 (African) Americans  » Urban Milwaukee
Kat Murrell

author: Kat Murrell


text:
Bronzeville: The old heart of Milwaukee’s African America could beat again  » Urban Milwaukee
Mutope Johnson

author: Mutope Johnson


text:
Theater: The Strange Life of a Runaway Slave  » Urban Milwaukee
Matthew Reddin

author: Matthew Reddin


text:
Gallery at Large  » Urban Milwaukee
Mark Metcalf

author: Mark Metcalf


text:
Quintessential Milwaukee: El Rey Super Mercado  » Urban Milwaukee
James P. Larson

author: James P. Larson


text:
Education is the key to Milwaukee’s future  » Urban Milwaukee
Patti Wenzel

author: Patti Wenzel


text:
MPS budget will alter the path of public education  » Urban Milwaukee
Patti Wenzel


text:
Bike patrols connect Milwaukee Police to community  » Urban Milwaukee
James P. Larson


text:
Walker’s expansion of school choice moves forward  » Urban Milwaukee
Patti Wenzel


text:
Know Milwaukee: Creating diverse communities with Bethany Sanchez  » Urban Milwaukee
Zach Buchheit

author: Zach Buchheit


text:
Know Milwaukee: ArtWorks – Empowering local youth  » Urban Milwaukee
Aaron Knapp

author: Aaron Knapp


text:
Know Milwaukee: COA  » Urban Milwaukee
Aaron Knapp


text:
Know Milwaukee: Spreenkler Creative  » Urban Milwaukee
Natasha Anderson

author: Natasha Anderson


text:
SDC seeks answers to Milwaukee’s “poverty problem”  » Urban Milwaukee
Dan Shafer

author: Dan Shafer


text:
‘Our Next Generation’: Bridging the gap in 53208  » Urban Milwaukee
Candace Romano

author: Candace Romano


text:
Hall: “We have to say as a community this is unacceptable”  » Urban Milwaukee
Candace Romano


text:
NAACP Milwaukee Summit: Building urgency  » Urban Milwaukee
Candace Romano


text:
PODCAST: “We don’t go past the bridge”: Part 3  » Urban Milwaukee
Mark Metcalf


text:
PODCAST: “We don’t go past the bridge”: Part 4  » Urban Milwaukee
Mark Metcalf


text:
Adrienne Danrich’s Harlem Renaissance in Milwaukee  » Urban Milwaukee
Tom Strini

author: Tom Strini


text:
MPS reacts to community violence in schools and streets  » Urban Milwaukee
Patti Wenzel


text:
This Week in History: Fighting for equality in Milwaukee  » Urban Milwaukee
Holly Nearman

author: Holly Nearman


text:
PODCAST: “We don’t go past the bridge”: Part Five  » Urban Milwaukee
Mark Metcalf


text:
PODCAST: State of education in the Walker Era: Part Four  » Urban Milwaukee
Mark Metcalf


text:
PODCAST: State of education in the Walker Era: Part Three  » Urban Milwaukee
Mark Metcalf


text:
PODCAST: State of education in the Walker Era: Part Two  » Urban Milwaukee
Mark Metcalf


text:
PODCAST: State of education in the Walker Era: Part One  » Urban Milwaukee
Mark Metcalf


text:
PODCAST: State of Education in the Walker Era: Part Five  » Urban Milwaukee
Mark Metcalf


text:
PODCAST: “We don’t go past the bridge”: Part 7  » Urban Milwaukee
Mark Metcalf


text:
PODCAST: From “white power skinhead” to “Life After Hate”  » Urban Milwaukee
Mark Metcalf


text:
PODCAST: Life After Hate  » Urban Milwaukee
Mark Metcalf


text:
Susceptible to Images: “here, mothers are”  » Urban Milwaukee
Kat Murrell


text:
Selig-Joseph-Folz Amphitheater: From the ground up  » Urban Milwaukee
Howard Leu

author: Howard Leu


text:
First Stage takes a serious look at racial conflict  » Urban Milwaukee
Danielle McClune

author: Danielle McClune


text:
On board the Freedom EXPRESSions Bus Tour  » Urban Milwaukee
Carly Rubach

author: Carly Rubach


text:
Milwaukee Streetcar at Apex  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene

author: Jeramey Jannene


text:
MetroEXpress Exact Stops Now Available  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
15th Annual Mayor’s Design Award Winners Announced (Photo Gallery)  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
Urban Foodie: Myths About Organic Food  » Urban Milwaukee
Young Kim

author: Young Kim


text:
Education: The Experimental City  » Urban Milwaukee
Dave Steele

author: Dave Steele


text:
Education: The Impact of Voucher Schools  » Urban Milwaukee
Dave Steele


text:
Murphy’s Law: How State Aid to Cities Has Plummeted  » Urban Milwaukee
Bruce Murphy

author: Bruce Murphy


text:
Healing an Urban Scar  » Urban Milwaukee
Christine Pedretti

author: Christine Pedretti


text:
Education: The Long Road to Reform  » Urban Milwaukee
Dave Steele


text:
Helping Homeless Children  » Urban Milwaukee
James Gutierrez

author: James Gutierrez


text:
Facing the Foreclosure Crisis  » Urban Milwaukee
Grace Fuhr

author: Grace Fuhr


text:
Murphy’s Law: The African American Advantage  » Urban Milwaukee
Bruce Murphy


text:
City People: Melissa Goins  » Urban Milwaukee
Judith Ann Moriarty

author: Judith Ann Moriarty


text:
City People: James Phelps  » Urban Milwaukee
Judith Ann Moriarty


text:
City Business: Style’s Superior Barbershop  » Urban Milwaukee
Tony Atkins

author: Tony Atkins


text:
City People: June Perry  » Urban Milwaukee
Judith Ann Moriarty


text:
Murphy’s Law: No Country for Black Men  » Urban Milwaukee
Bruce Murphy


text:
Flynn’s Force: Many Youth Feel Harassed  » Urban Milwaukee
Mark Doremus, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: $350,000 Grant Funds Art Corridors  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
Flynn’s Force: Making Neighborhood Connections  » Urban Milwaukee
Mark Doremus, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service


text:
Pushing for New Black Businesses  » Urban Milwaukee
Tony Atkins


text:
And Justice For All?  » Urban Milwaukee
William Bott

author: William Bott


text:
Murphy’s Law: Who’s Building Milwaukee?  » Urban Milwaukee
Bruce Murphy


text:
City People: Dan Adams  » Urban Milwaukee
Tracey Pollock

author: Tracey Pollock


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Streetsblog: BBC Deplores Wisconsin’s Black Imprisonment Rate  » Urban Milwaukee
Angie Schmitt, Streetsblog

author: Angie Schmitt, Streetsblog


text:
Volunteer of the Month: Serbata Tarrer  » Urban Milwaukee
Volunteer Center of Greater Milwaukee

author: Volunteer Center of Greater Milwaukee


text:
Murphy’s Law: The New Non-Profit Kingpins  » Urban Milwaukee
Bruce Murphy


text:
Streetsblog: Transportation Policy Rarely Protects Civil Rights  » Urban Milwaukee
Angie Schmitt, Streetsblog


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Murphy’s Law: New Study Shows Milwaukee’s Income Inequality  » Urban Milwaukee
Bruce Murphy


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: Finally, Transit System Unveils Real-Time Bus Data  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
Friday Photos: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs Coming to Milwaukee  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
Stop “Terrorizing Our Community!”  » Urban Milwaukee
Tracey Pollock


text:
Mitchell Street Tells Its Story  » Urban Milwaukee
Lisa Bonvissuto

author: Lisa Bonvissuto


text:
Data Wonk: The Impact of Obamacare  » Urban Milwaukee
Bruce Thompson

author: Bruce Thompson


text:
Cruel and Unusual: State Prisons “Routinely Engage in Torture,” Group Claims  » Urban Milwaukee
Bill Lueders, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: Milwaukee’s New Bus System  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
Corridor of Dreams: The Problem of Foreclosed Homes  » Urban Milwaukee
Susan Nusser

author: Susan Nusser


text:
Corridor of Dreams: Celebrating the First Homeowner in New Program  » Urban Milwaukee
Susan Nusser


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Murphy’s Law: The Legacy of Annette Polly Williams  » Urban Milwaukee
Bruce Murphy


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: New Express Bus Routes Start in January  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
Plenty of Horne: New Forest Home Library Coming  » Urban Milwaukee
Michael Horne

author: Michael Horne


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Eyes on Milwaukee: Four New Bus Routes Start Sunday  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene

author: Jeramey Jannene


text:
Wisconsin Budget: Uneven Progress for Wisconsin Workers  » Urban Milwaukee
Jon Peacock, Wisconsin Budget Project

author: Jon Peacock, Wisconsin Budget Project


text:
Tainted Water: Action Needed on Lead in Drinking Water  » Urban Milwaukee
Dee J. Hall, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism


text:
Court Watch: Prison for Profit?  » Urban Milwaukee
Gretchen Schuldt, Wisconsin Justice Initiative


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The Story of Washington Park  » Urban Milwaukee
Virginia Small

author: Virginia Small


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Voting Wars: Why Felons Can’t Vote  » Urban Milwaukee
Kate Peifer and Rose Velazquez, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism


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Court Watch: City Could Get Tougher on Defendants  » Urban Milwaukee
Gretchen Schuldt, Wisconsin Justice Initiative


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Dining: The Sheer Joy of Amaranth Cafe  » Urban Milwaukee
Cari Taylor-Carlson

author: Cari Taylor-Carlson


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Court Watch: Municipal Judges Ignore the Law  » Urban Milwaukee
Gretchen Schuldt, Wisconsin Justice Initiative


text:
Book Club: The Cosmopolitan Canopy  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


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Court Watch: Muni Court Indigents Will Get Lawyers  » Urban Milwaukee
Gretchen Schuldt, Wisconsin Justice Initiative


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Three Pedestrian Deaths In Recent Days  » Urban Milwaukee
Tom Held, Wisconsin Bike Fed

author: Tom Held, Wisconsin Bike Fed


text:
Op-Ed: The Demoting of the Domes  » Urban Milwaukee
Virginia Small


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Eyes on Milwaukee: Unique Apartments for Clarke Square  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
Wangard Violates Residents Preference Program  » Urban Milwaukee
Graham Kilmer

author: Graham Kilmer


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Court Watch: Muni Court Debts Slam One Zip Code  » Urban Milwaukee
Gretchen Schuldt, Wisconsin Justice Initiative


text:
Court Watch: Muni Court Data Withheld From Public?  » Urban Milwaukee
Gretchen Schuldt, Wisconsin Justice Initiative


text:
5 Cities With Model Parks Systems  » Urban Milwaukee
Virginia Small


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Court Watch: Four Candidates For Muni Court Judge  » Urban Milwaukee
Gretchen Schuldt, Wisconsin Justice Initiative


text:
Tainted Water: State’s Failures On Lead Pipes  » Urban Milwaukee
Cara Lombardo and Dee J. Hall, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism


text:
Streetsblog: The Plague of Pedestrian Deaths  » Urban Milwaukee
Angie Schmitt, Streetsblog


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: The Milwaukee Streetcar is Hiring  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
Campaign Urges Breast Cancer Checkups  » Urban Milwaukee
Brandon Anderegg

author: Brandon Anderegg


text:
Data Wonk: Who Wins From Anti-Poverty Programs?  » Urban Milwaukee
Bruce Thompson


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: City To Sell Land for Adams Garden Park  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
Developers Meet Local Hiring Goals  » Urban Milwaukee
Graham Kilmer


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Court Watch: Bail Jumping Charges Need Reform?  » Urban Milwaukee
Gretchen Schuldt, Wisconsin Justice Initiative


text:
City Proposal Protects Students  » Urban Milwaukee
Graham Kilmer


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: Milwaukee County Fixes GO Pass  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: Vote Tuesday  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
City Panel Rejects Sherman Park Station  » Urban Milwaukee
Graham Kilmer


text:
Jails for the Sick and Elderly  » Urban Milwaukee
Gretchen Schuldt, Wisconsin Justice Initiative


text:
More Horrors at Juvenile Prisons?  » Urban Milwaukee
Gretchen Schuldt, Wisconsin Justice Initiative


text:
Plenty of Horne: Menomonee Valley Lacks Transit  » Urban Milwaukee
Michael Horne


text:
Wisconsin Budget: More Public School Funds for Vouchers  » Urban Milwaukee
Tamarine Cornelius, Wisconsin Budget Project


text:
NEWaukeean of the Week: Maanaan Nadeem Shakeel Sabir  » Urban Milwaukee
Newaukee

author: Newaukee


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: How to Make a Pedestrian Friendly City  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
Guide to Milwaukee Farmers’ Markets  » Urban Milwaukee
Michael Holloway

author: Michael Holloway


text:
The Legacy of Mama Freeman  » Urban Milwaukee
Brandon Anderegg


text:
Mayor’s Design Awards All Over Map  » Urban Milwaukee
Michael Horne


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: Charette to Plan Harambee’s Future  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
A School for Construction Skills  » Urban Milwaukee
Graham Kilmer


text:
Court Watch: County Tougher on Misdemeanors  » Urban Milwaukee
Gretchen Schuldt, Wisconsin Justice Initiative


text:
The State of Politics: Choice Schools Still Being Debated  » Urban Milwaukee
Steven Walters

author: Steven Walters


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: Give Your Input on BRT Project  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
MCTS One Of The Best In The U.S.  » Urban Milwaukee
Dave Fidlin

author: Dave Fidlin


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: Foreclosed Homes to Become Artist Havens  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
Friday Photos: Bronzeville Rising  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
The Legacy of Eric Von  » Urban Milwaukee
Amanda Maniscalco

author: Amanda Maniscalco


text:
Wisconsin Budget: Voters Favor Education, Health Care Spending  » Urban Milwaukee
Tamarine Cornelius, Wisconsin Budget Project


text:
Data Wonk: How Will Trumpcare Affect Wisconsin?  » Urban Milwaukee
Bruce Thompson


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: Ice Cream Factory Will Become Apartments  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
Help Offered for South Side Prostitutes  » Urban Milwaukee
Graham Kilmer


text:
The Mystery of Immigration Controversy  » Urban Milwaukee
Dave Fidlin


text:
Wisconsin Budget: Economic Recovery Lags for Minorities  » Urban Milwaukee
Tamarine Cornelius, Wisconsin Budget Project


text:
Sargento Builds Homes in Milwaukee  » Urban Milwaukee
Graham Kilmer


text:
Council Supports Restricting Asset Forfeiture  » Urban Milwaukee
Gretchen Schuldt, Wisconsin Justice Initiative


text:
Data Wonk: Will Foxconn Deal Fight Poverty?  » Urban Milwaukee
Bruce Thompson


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: Sherman Park Project Moves Forward  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Sherman Park Has Been a Melting Pot  » Urban Milwaukee
Jill Florence Lackey, PhD, Urban Anthropology, Inc.


text:
Court Watch: Any Whites Nabbed for Pot Possession?  » Urban Milwaukee
Gretchen Schuldt, Wisconsin Justice Initiative


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: New Bublr Bus Pass Created  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
Court Watch: Bill Lets Some Criminal Records Be Expunged  » Urban Milwaukee
Gretchen Schuldt, Wisconsin Justice Initiative


text:
Wisconsin Budget: Bill Hikes Taxes on Low-Income People  » Urban Milwaukee
Jon Peacock, Wisconsin Budget Project


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: Council Passes Gettelman Deal That Will Save One Building, Demolish Others  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
Murphy’s Law: Will City Reform Municipal Court?  » Urban Milwaukee
Bruce Murphy

author: Bruce Murphy


text:
Streetsblog: The Plague of License Suspensions  » Urban Milwaukee
Angie Schmitt, Streetsblog

author: Angie Schmitt, Streetsblog


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: 190 Apartments for Sherman Park  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
The Death of Jermaine Claybrooks  » Urban Milwaukee
Isiah Holmes, Wisconsin Examiner

author: Isiah Holmes, Wisconsin Examiner


text:
Capitol Eye: Will “Riot Bill” Threaten Non-Violent Protestors?  » Urban Milwaukee
Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

author: Wisconsin Democracy Campaign


text:
Data Wonk: Who Benefits From Federal Housing Subsidies?  » Urban Milwaukee
Bruce Thompson

author: Bruce Thompson


text:
School Will Become Apartment Complex  » Urban Milwaukee
Graham Kilmer


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: Council Okays Disparity Study, More Cops  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene

author: Jeramey Jannene


text:
How Hispanics Are Changing Milwaukee  » Urban Milwaukee
Dave Fidlin


text:
A Primer On Crowded State Prisons  » Urban Milwaukee
Gretchen Schuldt, Wisconsin Justice Initiative


text:
A Primer on Overcrowded Prisons, Part II  » Urban Milwaukee
Gretchen Schuldt, Wisconsin Justice Initiative


text:
Eyes on Milwaukee: Council Delays Action On Shopping Carts  » Urban Milwaukee
Jeramey Jannene


text:
Waupun, Taycheedah at 140% of Capacity  » Urban Milwaukee
Gretchen Schuldt, Wisconsin Justice Initiative


text:
Housing stock, affordable housing get boost from Common Council  » Urban Milwaukee
Ald. Bob Bauman

author: Ald. Bob Bauman


text:
Beating Back the Risk of Diabetes - The New York Times
Jane E. Brody
September 15, 2014 10:49 am
Jane Brody on health and aging.
This year, nearly two million American adults and more than 5,000 children and adolescents will learn they have a potentially devastating, life-shortening, yet largely preventable disease: Type 2 diabetes.                                        They will join 29.1 million Americans who already have diabetes.
Diabetes and its complications are responsible for nearly 200,000 deaths a year; the fatality rate among affected adults is 50 percent higher than among similar people without diabetes. Alarmingly, recent studies even                                        have linked diabetes to an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.                                        Even people with above-average blood glucose levels, but not diabetes, have an elevated risk.
Type 2 diabetes runs in families, largely because its primary risk factor — excess weight —                                        runs in families. But you can keep it at bay by losing weight and becoming more active.
Unfortunately, as numerous studies have shown, intensive efforts to get people to lose weight, eat healthier and become moderately active fail more often than not                                        even among those who already have diabetes. It is easier (and more effective) to avoid becoming overweight in the first place.
But it is by no means impossible to lose weight, and at some point, your physical and mental well-being may depend on it. Here are some diet and exercise                                        tips that can help.
Avoid drastic measures. Crash diets and kooky eating plans are doomed to fail. It’s better to make gradual changes in what and how much you eat to give your body a chance to adjust.
The Diabetes Prevention Program study, conducted among about 3,800 people who had pre-diabetes, found that moderate weight loss — an average                                        of 12 pounds — reduced the odds of progression to diabetes by nearly 50 percent.
Although total calories must be reduced, you don’t have to count them. Rather, concentrate on your food choices and gradually reduce portion sizes. Some people find it helpful to write down everything they eat                                        and drink each day for a week or two.
An excellent discussion of what is known about the effect on diabetes of various foods and supplements appeared recently in Nutrition Action Healthletter at cspinet.org/iceberg.pdf.                                        Some highlights:
Carbohydrates — breads, grains, cereals, sugary drinks and sweets of all kinds — are most                                        problematic for people with diabetes or at risk of developing it. Carbohydrates are eventually metabolized to glucose, which raises the body’s demand for insulin. Consume less of them in general, and choose                                        whole-grain versions whenever possible.
If you must have sweet drinks, select artificially sweetened ones. In two huge studies of nurses and other health professionals who were followed for 22 years, those who drank one or more sugary soft drinks a day had                                        about a 30 percent higher risk of developing diabetes than those who rarely drank them, even after their weight was taken                                        into account.
Fruit juice is not necessarily safer than soda. All drinks with fructose (table sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, honey or agave) may increase body weight, insulin resistance and belly fat, all of which can promote diabetes.
But there’s good news about coffee. Two or three cups of coffee (but not tea) a day, with or without caffeine, have been consistently linked to a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes.                                        Consider having coffee (unsweetened or artificially sweetened) in place of soft drinks. Keep in mind that specialty coffee drinks can be loaded with sugar and calories.
For protein, limit consumption of red meat, especially processed meats like sausages, hot dogs and luncheon meats, which are linked to a higher diabetes risk. Instead, choose fish, lean poultry (skinless and not fried),                                        beans and nuts.
Low-fat dairy products, including yogurt, and even fatty ones may lower the risk of diabetes;                                        the reason is unclear.
Most protective are green, leafy vegetables — spinach, chard, kale, collards, mustard greens and even lettuce — as well as cruciferous vegetables                                        like cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. But all vegetables are good and should fill at least two-thirds of your dinner plate.
Consider dining several times a week on a big salad, adding beans, fish or chicken for protein. Use dressing sparingly.
The nutrients magnesium and vitamin D are also potentially protective. In fact, the preventive value of                                        leafy greens, whole grains, beans and nuts may lie in their high magnesium content. In a well-designed clinical trial of 32 overweight people with insulin resistance, the prelude to diabetes, blood glucose levels                                        and insulin sensitivity improved in those who took a daily magnesium supplement for six months.
Don’t go overboard: More than 350 milligrams of magnesium daily can cause diarrhea.
Vitamin D, long known to be crucial to healthy bones, may also be helpful. In one study of 92 overweight or obese adults with prediabetes, those who took a supplement of 2,000 international units of vitamin D daily                                        had better function of the pancreatic cells that produce insulin.
In studies of people who already had diabetes, however, vitamin D supplements did not seem to help, perhaps because their benefit was overwhelmed by the medications taken by participants.
Of course, how much you weigh and what you eat are not the only concerns. Regular, preferably daily, physical exercise is a vital component of any prevention and treatment program for Type 2 diabetes, or most any chronic                                        ailment. Weight loss can reduce diabetes risk by about 50 percent, but adding exercise to that can lower the odds by 70 percent, compared with people who remain overweight and inactive, according to a study that                                        followed nearly 85,000 female nurses for 16 years. Women who were active for seven or more hours weekly had half the risk of developing diabetes as did women who exercised only a half-hour a week.
It helps to live in a community where walking, the nation’s most popular form of exercise, is feasible and safe. A Canadian study of recent immigrants found a significantly higher incidence of diabetes among                                        those living in areas where it was a challenge to walk.
When communities are retrofitted, or new living and working environments are developed, creating areas conducive to exercise should always be part of the plan.
This is the second of two columns on diabetes.
A version of this article appears in print on 09/16/2014, on page D5 of the NewYork edition with the                                                headline: A Gradual Retreat From Diabetes.

author: Jane E. Brody