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Smoke-Free Homes & Workplace Study | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Lorraine Lathen, WAATPN
September 10, 2012
A recent study released in The Wisconsin Medical Journal confirms that exposure to secondhand smoke has significantly declined since the 2010 Wisconsin smoke-free air law took effect. This is good news for the Wisconsin African American Tobacco Prevention Network (WAATPN), which has been working tireless to educate Wisconsin residents about the hazards of secondhand smoke to children and families.
The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Healthy conducted the study which not only shows that the percentage of smoke-free homes has increased since 2010, but also shows the percentage of people exposed to secondhand smoke at home has decreased, from 13% to 7%.
The fact that Wisconsin residents are proactively addressing the issue of secondhand smoke is especially critical in the African American community where, according to the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America, African-American children are more likely to be hospitalized due to asthma complications than Caucasian children, and are four times as likely to die from asthma.
Smoke-free air is particularly important to children because studies confirm that secondhand smoke can aggravate asthma attacks, causing the attacks to be more frequent and severe, increase respiratory problems and contribute to more frequent ear infections.
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With so many other health disparities facing the African American community, the WAATPN is pleased to acknowledge that the African American community is not only hearing the multitude of messages being communicated about the dangers of secondhand tobacco smoke, but taking positive steps to protect the health of their children.  Let us keep up the good work, while we work toward closing this and other health care disparity gaps in our community.

author: Lorraine Lathen, WAATPN


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Lorraine_Lathen | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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September 9, 2012

source: news-milwaukeenns

created: September 9, 2012

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

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Rufus King area next for SHOW researchers | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sharon McGowan
September 11, 2012
In addition to Survey Centers in Middleton and Milwaukee, SHOW operates two Mobile Survey Centers to easily reach participants from all areas of Wisconsin.
Public Health researchers are coming to the Rufus King area this month to gather information about the community’s health.
Field staff from the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin (SHOW) will visit selected households to explain the survey and enroll participants. Participation in the project is voluntary and all data collected is kept strictly confidential.
In 2012, SHOW researchers are visiting 36 neighborhoods around the state to continue building a database for researchers and community planners to use as they look for ways to combat the state’s health problems.
According to Dr. F. Javier Nieto, director of SHOW, “The information SHOW collects through the years will play an important role in monitoring the health of Wisconsin people, and in guiding community and statewide health services.”
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SHOW is a research project of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. It is funded by the National Institutes of Health’s Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the Wisconsin Partnership Program.

created: September 11, 2012

author: Sharon McGowan


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Photo_SHOW_Mobile_Survey_Center_One | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 10, 2012

created: September 10, 2012

author: Adam Carr


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Seniors get special attention at Project Focal Point | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jennifer Reinke
September 11, 2012
Hattie Mattox, 74, a resident of the Granville neighborhood, enjoys lunch at Project Focal Point. (Photo by Jennifer Reinke)
Mary Laymon, 87, said she has been participating in senior activities and lunches at Project Focal Point, located in Milwaukee’s Borchert Field neighborhood, for “too long to remember.”
“I come because I like doing arts and crafts, crossword puzzles and I like mixing with people,” said Laymon, who lives in senior housing in Milwaukee’s Lincoln Park neighborhood and learned about Project Focal Point through her church, Metropolitan Baptist. “And,” she added, “I like the food. I get somebody to wait on me. I don’t have nobody to wait on me at home.”
It’s this “specialized, individualized attention” that makes Project Focal Point unique among senior centers, said Executive Director Vicki Boston, who served on the board and retired as the first African American postmaster of Racine before leading the organization.
“They get that personal touch that they wouldn’t get somewhere else,” she said, explaining that she goes out of her way to get small Mothers’ Day gifts for the seniors and to celebrate birthdays. “Some of them said they tried going to other places but they like this better,” she said.
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Mary Laymon, 87, has been coming to Project Focal Point for many years. (Photo by Jennifer Reinke)
Project Focal Point serves a smaller group of seniors – 45 are registered to participate – than the nearby Clinton Rose Senior Center and its programming takes place in one room.
“As a frail senior, a larger place can be frightening,” explained Boston.
“We meet the needs of people who wouldn’t feel comfortable at other centers,” said Board President Ruby Jackson, 65, who has volunteered with the organization for 40 years. Clinton Rose’s seniors are often “retired professionals,” she said, while Project Focal Point hosts “common people, a lot of hard-working people, not college-degreed people.”
The organization began as a youth center in the early 1970s and opened its doors to senior citizens in the mid-to-late ’70s, when the Milwaukee County Department on Aging sought it out as a senior dining site. It was started by the American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin and three African American churches in Milwaukee: Calvary Baptist Church, Metropolitan Baptist Church and Mount Moriah Baptist Church. All still provide financial support.
“From my perspective, [we’re] here to provide the resources that the community needs to exist from day to day,” said Boston. “Sometimes people just want a comfortable, safe environment,” she said.
Although Project Focal Point is located in Milwaukee’s Borchert Field neighborhood, all seniors aged 60 and older are welcome to attend.
“Many of our seniors have been coming here for years and they don’t live in this area anymore,” said Boston.
Seniors are able to ride the Milwaukee County Transit System’s Transit Plus for free to get to and from the center, which hosts seniors from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Guest lectures are offered by representatives from Legal Action of Wisconsin’s SeniorLAW project, University of Wisconsin-Extension, American Red Cross, American Cancer Society, Alzheimer’s Association, Social Development Commission and other organizations. The seniors also get help with filing for homestead credit, energy assistance and other benefits.
But it’s not all serious business. The seniors have had their hair done by Milwaukee Area Technical College cosmetology students, and take shopping and field trips. They’ve toured the Jelly Belly factory in Kenosha with Project Focal Point’s youth program. Most recently, their Transit Plus driver suggested a fishing trip to a senior-friendly destination he knew about an hour north of the city. They were gone from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., said Boston, who hopes to take them to the Fireside Dinner Theatre for their next trip.
Project Focal Point serves approximately 20 to 25 senior lunches per day, she said. The meals cost $6 to produce, and a suggested donation of $2.50 is asked of the seniors. The donation is anonymous and the program “is not driven by money,” Boston added.
Besides the nutritious meal, said Boston, “The whole goal of the congregant meal program is to provide seniors with a place that they can go to socialize, connect and find out information.”
Hattie Mattox, 74, a resident of the Granville neighborhood, calls bingo in the mornings, eats lunch and has met nice people, she said. She began coming to Project Focal Point three years ago “to keep from sitting around the house.”

author: Jennifer Reinke


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Adam Carr
September 10, 2012


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Adam Carr
September 10, 2012


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September 10, 2012


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Vacant lot gets a makeover in Washington Park | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
September 14, 2012
The smallest residents of the 2000 block of North 41st Street in the Washington Park neighborhood recently celebrated the opening of Fox Field, a mini-football field on their block, with cupcakes, fruit, cookies, balloons, brightly painted signs, sidewalk chalk, hula hoops, pom-poms and an obstacle course.
“It gives the kids a play area. That’s what I [was] looking for. Somewhere for them to play that’s a safe zone for them, that people will respect that it’s theirs and let them play in it,” said Vicky Treadwell, a self-described “mother hen” who lives on the corner of 41st and Brown Streets, next to the field.
The transformation from a trash-filled vacant lot to a clean, freshly painted mini-football field is the result of a collaboration between the crime-fighting organization Safe & Sound, Washington Park Partners and the block’s residents.
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Treadwell and her adult children, Kentonio Morgan, and Latricia and Markevin Brown, “have been a huge asset in the project planning process,” according to Phoua Vang, an organizer for Safe & Sound. “They will help supervise the kids. They will pretty much be running the field.”
A peewee football team for 6- to 8-year-olds is forming under the direction of Milwaukee Youth Sports League coach Lazabia Scott Jackson. It will play six games during its first season, through November.
“Somebody’s got to look out for our kids,” said Jackson, who also coaches three teams that play at Custer High School, 5075 N. Sherman Blvd., and Garden Homes, 2450 W. Roosevelt Dr.
The residents have donated equipment including footballs, flags, kegs for water and money for ice from the corner store. “Everybody is participating with helping them out. We’re doing whatever we can do,” Treadwell said.
In July, Vang visited the block and noticed a memorial to a young man who had been shot and killed on the street several years ago. A conversation about that tragedy led to a discussion about what the neighbors wanted most: to clean up the garbage that littered their streets.
In just a week’s time, Vang and the residents had planned a neighborhood cleanup and with the help of Washington Park Partners, 40 neighbors participated. When they decided they wanted the vacant lot turned into a mini-football field, Vang helped them get permission from the city and from Habitat for Humanity, the owner of the lot, to use it for two years.
“It will keep the kids from roaming and doing other things. It will keep them out of trouble,” said Latricia Brown. It’s something they can do when they get out of school, enjoy themselves outside, and the parents don’t have to too much worry about where they are.”

created: September 14, 2012

author: Andrea Waxman


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7984446919_585e92156c_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 14, 2012


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Adam Carr
September 14, 2012


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Fox field | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 14, 2012


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NNS to benefit from Public Policy Forum fellowships | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 17, 2012
Edgar Mendez
A fellowship program to increase news coverage of public policy issues in Milwaukee has been launched by the Public Policy Forum and Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University.
The program will provide a stipend to two graduate student fellows each semester to work for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, an award-winning online professional news source that covers central city communities in Milwaukee.
Edgar Mendez, a Milwaukee native and south side resident, has been named the first Public Policy Forum fellow. A second fellow will begin in the spring. Each will spend two semesters working for NNS on pieces related to public policy issues.
Mendez has worked for NNS since its launch in March 2011. Prior to joining NNS he was a feature writer for El Conquistador newspaper in Milwaukee. A graduate student at Marquette, he earned his undergraduate degree from UW-Milwaukee with a double major in Journalism and Media Communications and Sociology. Mendez, who is bilingual, has reported and written many articles for NNS on issues of particular concern to the Latino community.
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“We are excited to partner with Diederich and NNS on this new effort to enhance both the quality and quantity of local government reporting in Milwaukee,” said Public Policy Forum President Rob Henken.
“By giving budding reporters the opportunity to work in the halls of government under the tutelage of professional journalists and policy researchers, we hope not only to augment their training, but also to produce high-quality news coverage of local government issues that might otherwise go uncovered,” Henken added.
“The fellowship program will allow NNS to cover public policy issues that are important to central city communities in much greater depth. It is a perfect match for Edgar’s skills and interests,” said Sharon McGowan, NNS editor and project director.
NNS is a project of United Neighborhood Centers of Milwaukee and is funded by the Zilber Family Foundation, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, with in-kind support from Marquette’s Diederich College of Communication. The Public Policy Forum fellowship is funded by the Argosy Foundation.

created: September 17, 2012


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edgarmendez | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 17, 2012


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Mexican Independence Day marked with parade and festival | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
September 20, 2012
For the 41 straight year, the UMOS Mexican Independence Day parade, featuring mariachis, low-rider cars, traditional and Aztec dancers, and dignitaries including Mayor Tom Barrett, wound its way through south side streets recently.
Parade-goers and marchers were led to a festival on the grounds of the UMOS corporate headquarters, 2701 S. Chase Ave.  UMOS, a non-profit that serves area Latinos, along with almost two-dozen local businesses, sponsored the celebration of Mexican independence.
Thousands partook in the festivities, which included music, carnival rides and games, food and numerous community resource booths.
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The highlight of the opening ceremony was a stirring rendition of “El Grito de Dolores,” by Arnoldo Sevilla, a Milwaukee historian.
“El Grito” or “Cry” of Dolores was the Sept. 16, 1810 rallying cry by Roman Catholic Priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, sparking the Mexican War of Independence against the Spanish colonial government.
“Viva Mexico. Viva la independencia. Viva Mexico,” shouted Sevilla, as the crowd repeated his chants.

created: September 20, 2012

author: Edgar Mendez


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7994549767_380ed56188_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 19, 2012

created: September 19, 2012


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NNS awarded Knight Foundation matching grant | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sharon McGowan
September 23, 2012
The Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the Zilber Family Foundation are joining forces to match a $192,000 two-year grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the nation’s leading funder of journalism and media innovation.
Knight Foundation is providing the grant through the Knight Community Information Challenge, which engages community and place-based foundations to support news and information projects.
According to Knight, as traditional media organizations have struggled, funders have increasingly realized the importance of good information to all their areas of interest. Community and place-based foundations are uniquely positioned to play a leadership role on this issue, and close to 80 local foundations nationwide have launched projects that meet local information needs.
A project of United Neighborhood Centers of Milwaukee (UNCOM), NNS offers multimedia coverage of issues important to central city neighborhoods, including  education, public safety, economic development, health and wellness, recreation, employment, youth development, housing and the environment.
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The news service is housed at Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University, which also provides NNS with additional in-kind support, including equipment and software.
One year after its March 2011 launch, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service won a prestigious regional Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) in the “Online News Operation – Non-Broadcast Affiliated Website” category.
“This project already has helped create a more balanced perception of the city’s central city neighborhoods through professional reporting on historically under-covered communities,” said Tony Shields, executive director of UNCOM and publisher of the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service.
“We are looking forward to the ability to cover more such communities over the long term as a result of the Knight Foundation matching grant program.”

created: September 23, 2012


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Anti-drug youth group walks mayor through Washington Park | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
September 25, 2012
When 10-year-old Lue Vue took a close look at his corner of the Washington Park neighborhood recently, he saw graffiti, vandalized garages and a lot of garbage. Vue, the youngest member of the 27th Street West Drug Free Coalition’s Youth Council, had carefully examined the area as part of a special Youth Council project.
This summer, 20 council members from Hmong American Friendship Association (HAFA), 3824 West Vliet St., and Neighborhood House of Milwaukee, 2819 W. Richardson Place, learned to use the PhotoVoice process to work for change in their communities, according to Safe & Sound Executive Director Barbara Notestein. In 2011, Safe & Sound won a five-year Drug Free Communities Support grant that is funding the coalition.
The Drug Free Communities program is directed by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
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“We had talked to [the Youth Council] about what neighborhood assets are and what neighborhood liabilities are and how those affect safety. [The youth] then went out and took pictures of what they thought were the positives and negatives about the neighborhood. Now they’re going to work on what they think they can do to change some of the liabilities to turn them into assets,” Notestein said. Council members also created a photo exhibit at HAFA.
Some of the assets photographed in the blocks around HAFA and Neighborhood House include a neighborhood garden constructed on a vacant lot at 35th and Galena streets and a mural depicting a phoenix rising from ashes on North 27th Street.  Liabilities include boarded-up houses, debris-filled vacant lots and store signs promoting alcohol and tobacco use.
The young people invited Mayor Tom Barrett, County Supervisor Russell Stamper, community partners and area residents on a walking tour of the sites they photographed in Washington Park. Photos taken in the Concordia neighborhood by Neighborhood House Youth Council members also were included in the exhibit.
The Youth Council’s first project last April was to write and perform a play about the pressures teens face to drink alcohol.  Their next goal, according to coalition manager Claire Woodall of Safe & Sound, is to implement a program called Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). Council members will survey and document signage, lighting, blocked visibility for the cashier and the like, as well as product placement. Woodall plans to have the youth approach storeowners to request the changes they think should be made to reduce crime and substance abuse.
“We think it will be a lot more powerful and from what we’ve seen so far, a lot more impactful for [the young people] to make the request of the storeowners, ” Woodall said.
An additional goal of the program is to give youth from different ethnic and cultural communities opportunities to work together to reduce fear and negative stereotypes.
“Ideally we’d like to include all the youth-serving agencies in the neighborhood,” said Woodall.
Barrett said he loves the depth of the project. The photos “allow us to see the community as [the youth] see it, both from a positive standpoint and a negative standpoint. It gives us a challenge, as the leaders of the community, to do what we can to make it a better neighborhood for them to live in.”

created: September 25, 2012


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8018061551_3be58ef71c_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 24, 2012

created: September 24, 2012


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Milwaukee Succeeds shares partnership lessons at national gathering | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
September 29, 2012
Milwaukee Succeeds Director Mike Soika presents a workshop at the Strive convention. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
When corporate quality improvement professionals first started coaching groups of teachers, social workers, school administrators and health care professionals as part of Milwaukee Succeeds, differences in culture and language frustrated participants and slowed progress.
Some members of the new education initiative’s “collaborative action networks” even felt coerced into participating, according to Mike Soika, director of Milwaukee Succeeds.
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Longtime community organizer Mike Soika brings his passion for social justice and a “continuous improvement” model to his position as the first director of Milwaukee Succeeds, a year-old community partnership for education reform launched by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. Read More
But the process works, Soika told a national audience in Milwaukee, and network members now are embracing it.
“We started with people saying ‘I don’t understand this. I don’t think it will work, but I feel like I have to be here.’ Then they said, ‘I still don’t understand at all but it’s kind of interesting.’ Now they’re saying, ‘I’m beginning to understand it. It’s pretty interesting and I’m committed.’ It was messy and it was hard,” Soika said.
Soika spoke to a group of professionals from non-profit organizations at a two-day Strive gathering held at the Frontier Airline Center. GE Healthcare volunteer and Six Sigma black belt Nata Abbott co-presented the workshop, “A New Way to Support Networks: Milwaukee Succeeds’ Corporate Engagement Strategy.” Six Sigma is a business management process that seeks to improve the quality of various outcomes. It originally was applied to eliminating defects in manufacturing.
The Strive Partnership of Cincinnati initiated the model for education reform on which Milwaukee Succeeds is based. Strive describes its goal as “focus[ing] on the success of [all] children: every child, every step, from cradle to career.”
Audience members at the interactive presentation were most interested in learning how to approach and work with corporate partners.
Milwaukee Succeed’s first round of recruiting skilled corporate professionals as coaches and facilitators “was not spectacular,” Soika said. While the Greater Milwaukee Committee and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce were willing and able to give the program access to corporate executives, it took a corporate quality insider to reach, understand and communicate with those who specialize in quality improvement, Soika and Abbott explained.
“The secret is the same secret as for any good community organizer. You’ve got to knock on doors and you have to have the right person knocking on doors,” Soika said. Abbott is the “right person” for Milwaukee Succeeds, and Soika recommended that audience members make it a priority to find their own Nata Abbott.
Along with her boss from GE Healthcare, Abbott has been on Milwaukee Succeeds’ leadership council from the beginning. After countless phone calls and many face-to-face meetings with potential volunteers, Abbott recruited an initial group of about 50 quality professionals from GE and more than 20 from other large area companies.
One audience member expressed her belief that corporate volunteers need to approach the community first as listeners rather than advisors.
“Listening is part of the skill set the coaches bring to the process. They are trained to listen, and that’s very helpful,” Soika answered.
Soika said that by next month Milwaukee Succeeds will grow from six networks to nine and by spring to 15. The networks, comprising 20 to 30 education, healthcare and related service providers, are working groups in which participants break down program goals into their most basic elements and hammer out best strategies.

created: September 29, 2012


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8031963542_172037c965_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 29, 2012


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milwaukee-succeeds | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 29, 2012


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Vliet Street Youth Art & Coloring Contest October 1-31 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Artists Working in Education
September 30, 2012
Share your creativity by participating in the Fall 2012 Vliet Street Business Association Youth Art & Coloring Contest October 1-31, 2012 held in conjunction with National Arts & Humanities Month. We know every day that the arts are celebrated throughout our neighborhood, but October is a special month to celebrate because it is the largest annual celebration of arts and humanities in the nation! The Fall Youth Art & Coloring contest is designed to encourage active participation in the arts in our neighborhood during October. Youth ages 18 and younger are encouraged to submit a contest entry and be part of the Vliet Street celebration. All entries will be on display November 10-30 at many Vliet Street businesses.
The fall coloring contest page features an illustration from Milwaukee artist James Steeno of the Washington Park Band Shell. Youth age 9 and younger are invited to use crayons, markers, colored pencils, paint or any medium and embellishment they can think of to decorate the Band Shell coloring contest page. You may pick up a coloring sheet at any of the businesses that are also drop off locations (listed below).
Youth ages 10 to 18 are invited to create an original 2D or 3D Washington Park Band Shell using materials of their choice. The possibilities are endless – painting, sculpture, found objects, pencil, popsicle sticks – let your imagination run wild! Due to display space limitations, we ask that art contest entries do not exceed 18 inches in any direction.
Prizes will be awarded in all age categories and will be announced in early November. Additionally, the general public  has the opportunity to cast a vote for the “People’s Choice Award” during Westside Holiday Happenings weekend, November 16-17, by visiting the businesses that have entries on display and casting a vote for their favorite entry. The “People’s Choice Award” will be announced on November 19. All entries will remain on display at local businesses through November 30, 2012.
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Entries may be dropped off from October 1-31 at the participating businesses listed below. Additional coloring contest pages may be picked up during this time frame by visiting these same businesses:
Art & Soul Gallery
5706-08 W. Vliet Street
Artists Working in Education, Inc. (A.W.E.)
4315 W. Vliet Street
Rules of entry:
This contest is free and open to all individuals age 18 and younger. Please include the artist’s name, age, address, phone number, and parent’s or guardian’s email address on the back of the entry. All entrants will be notified by email of the locations entries will be on display in November. Limit one entry per individual. Age is defined as the age of the individual on October 31, 2012. All entries must be submitted by October 31, 2012. Late entries will not be accepted. Winners will be notified by telephone or email. Entries will become the property of the Vliet Street Business Association and will not be returned unless special arrangements are made.
Coloring Contest Age Categories:
Ages 4 and under
Ages 5-6
Ages 7-9
Art Contest Age Categories:
Ages 10-13
Ages 14-18
For more information and to download the coloring contest page and entry information for all ages, please visit  http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25033419/bandshell_coloring.pdf
You may also visit Art & Soul Gallery or Artists Working Education, Inc. to pick up coloring contest pages and entry information.
Good luck to all!

created: September 30, 2012

author: Artists Working in Education


text:
Coloring_Contest | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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September 28, 2012

created: September 28, 2012


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Special Report: Healing families key to saving at-risk youth | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
October 3, 2012
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For the past year, male juveniles from Milwaukee County sentenced to incarceration were sent four hours north to the Copper Lake and Lincoln Hills schools in Irma, Wis. Recent changes approved by the Milwaukee Common Council will keep some high-risk young offenders in the county, saving taxpayers money and enabling the young men to remain closer to their families and rehabilitative resources.Read More
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In the office of Curtis Woods, program manager for the First Time Juvenile Offender Program, sits a nervous 15 year-old boy.
The teen walks towards the door and Woods follows.
“You get registered for school, and then you come back here on Saturday, and I’ll help you get a job; I got you man; you ain’t alone,” Woods reassures him.
As the teen heads down the steps, Woods makes sure they have each other’s phone numbers in case the boy needs to talk. The teen walks back out to the streets, his head held a little higher than it was when he walked in.
The boy’s problems stem from the fact that both his parents have substance abuse issues.
“And he’s been left to figure it out alone at 15,” Woods says.
Woods has worked with at-risk youth for more than 10 years. He works out of the Milwaukee Christian Center, 2137 W. Greenfield Ave., in Clarke Square.
His First Time Juvenile Offender Program (FTJOP) helps youth avoid re-offending and prolonged incarceration at a secure detention facility.
Woods said that the boy’s story is nothing new to him. The biggest predictor of whether a juvenile is going to get into more trouble is whether he has any parental support, he added.
“If the kid’s parents are in trouble then the kid is going to re-offend,” Woods said.
A study released by the Public Policy Forum in July looked specifically at recidivism rates for teens in Milwaukee County.
The report used Milwaukee County Delinquency and Court Service Division (DCSD) data from a cohort of 9,106 offenders who aged out of the juvenile justice system between 2006 and 2010. The study found that 58.6 percent of the youth had no additional delinquent referrals from the police after their first one. Forty-one percent of the youth had one or more subsequent referrals. Of those who did re-offend, 56 percent did so two or more times.
The study classified 8.5 percent of those teens as chronic re-offenders, meaning they had four or more subsequent referrals. The chronic re-offenders made up almost half of all subsequent referrals.
Reviewing all of the juvenile admissions at the center (not just those who aged out), the study found that of the 14,709 total referrals to the Milwaukee County juvenile justice system from 2006 to 2010, 23.6 percent were repeat referrals.
“I see a lot of the same kids in here time after time,” said James Ross, detention center supervisor at the Vel R. Phillips Juvenile Justice Center, 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road in Wauwatosa.
The data also show that the number of referrals between 2006 and 2010 has gone down each year. This is in line with a national trend of fewer juveniles being incarcerated, said Thomas Wanta, interim administrator of the juvenile and court services for Milwaukee County.
Milwaukee’s experience also is consistent with the national trend of a small percentage of juveniles being responsible for most repeat cases, according to Vanessa Allen, a researcher at the Public Policy Forum and the study’s author. The report called for more programs aimed at chronic offenders.
To be eligible for the Milwaukee County Accountabilities Program (MCAP) at the juvenile justice center, teens must be classified as being at high risk to reoffend.
MCAP will allow for up to 40 young males a year from Milwaukee County to be placed in the secure detention facility in Wauwatosa for up to 180 days.
Since 2011, all juvenile males sentenced to incarceration were sent to the Lincoln Hills School in Irma, Wis., too far for most of their families to visit and be a part of the healing process, according to Wanta.
All juveniles in the program will receive family counseling as part of the preparation to return to their communities. “We believe we need to work with the whole family, not just the kids, and help them learn skills and how to make better opportunities,” said Wanta.
The weekly sessions, which are overseen by a professional, are focused on preparing the youth to return home or a placement into a healthier environment.
“Family counseling will allow the kids and parents to open up and those shared experiences will foster mending,” Ross said.
Ross has raised six children of his own, three of whom are in college now. Ross said that he treats each teenager as if he were going to take him or her home for the night. There are currently 107 youth housed at the facility, which is a little higher than usual, according to Ross, but not much of a difference since he began working there 15 years ago.
The facility has 132 7-by-7-foot cells. Inside, new arrivals will find the few possessions provided by the county. They include a lean brownish mattress, comb, thin blanket, small white hand towel, a few layers of toilet paper, toothbrush, shirt and a copy of the rules.
Most of the juveniles arrested on a recent day appeared to be no older than 13. The reason they were there, according to Ross, is not a blatant disregard for the law, but the result of low self-confidence caused by their painful childhoods.
“The kids you see coming in here are hurting and unfortunately they’re committing crimes while they’re hurting,” Ross said. He added that their pain stems from the home and so do their bad habits.
“If you’re living in a household with no jobs and you see that the only one that’s able to provide for the family is the one selling dope, then you’re going to want to sell dope too,” Ross said. Arrests follow and pretty soon the teen runs out of chances, ending up at a secure detention facility such as Lincoln Hills or Phillips.
But locking teenagers away is not the answer, according to Ross. “These resources, our kids, are being thrown away when they’re locked up.”
Added Ross, “They need to stay in Milwaukee and become positive contributors to our communities instead of being sent away.”

created: October 3, 2012


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Adam Carr
October 2, 2012

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Incarcerations | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 3, 2012


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Special Report: New program to keep incarcerated juveniles close to home | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
October 3, 2012
Juveniles line up in the hallway outside of a classroom at the Vel R. Phillips Juvenile Justice Center, 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road in Wauwatosa. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
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The top predictor of whether a teen will reoffend is whether or not he has a strong support system. The new Milwaukee County Accountability Program (MCAP) is designed to help teens and their parents or guardians build that system together. Read More
For families of Milwaukee youth locked away in the side-by-side secure detention facilities of Copper Lake and Lincoln Hills schools in the unincorporated town of Irma, Wis., a visit is more like a journey. Four hours north they go, past countless barns, rolling hills and rows of hardwood trees. And that’s if they have a car and can afford the gas to get there, let alone an overnight stay at a hotel.
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After the 2011 closing of Ethan Allen School, a boys’ reformatory in southeastern Wisconsin, there was no other option but to send male juveniles to Irma, cut off from their families. But a recent policy change approved by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors has made it possible for some young men to be sentenced closer to home.
In June, at the recommendation of the Department of Health and Human Services Delinquency and Court Services Division, the council implemented a short-term placement program at the Vel R. Phillips Juvenile Justice Center, 10201 W. Watertown Plank Road, in Wauwatosa.
The policy change will affect about 40 incarcerated teenage boys a year, who will be sent to the secure detention center in Wauwatosa for up to 180 days. In 2010, 138 Milwaukee youth were placed in secure detention.
In addition to the opportunity to maintain bonds with their family, the youth will have access to community resources unavailable to them in Irma.  To be eligible a juvenile must be considered to be at a high-risk for recidivism.
The Milwaukee County Accountability Program (MCAP), created in conjunction with the adoption of the 2011-2013 State Budget Act 32, is an alternative juvenile corrections program, offering young men a chance to change their self-destructive behavior before they end up in the adult prison system. Act 32 allows juvenile courts to place youth in local secure detention facilities for up to 180 days, if approved by a county board of supervisors.
The program is structured to help participating juveniles build ties with their families as they prepare to return to troubled homes and communities. It allows teens to begin the crucial healing process. The MCAP launch is on hold while the staff is trained to implement the new program.
Curtis Woods, program manager for the First Time Juvenile Offender Program (FTJOP), said that engaging the family is key to helping young people understand the consequences of their bad choices, because negative behaviors often are rooted within the family.
“We have kids growing up in poor homes, their parents are dealing with AODA (alcohol and other drug abuse) and mental health issues, and they’re reacting to the actions of the adults they’re supposed to be guided by,” Wood said.
Weekly counseling sessions at the detention center will include parents or guardians when possible, and will focus on preparing for the youth’s eventual return home or to a foster care placement.
“It’s already been proven that sending kids away doesn’t help them make changes; being here to intervene and help stop them from going down that route will ultimately translate to safer communities,” said Dawn Barnett, co-executive director of the Running Rebels community organization. Running Rebels has been working with at-risk and youth offenders for years and already has in place a team of mentors to help monitor the MCAP youth.
Woods is a bit less optimistic than Barnett. He considers programs such as MCAP and even the First Time Juvenile Offender Program band-aids or quick fixes.
Teacher Holly Hill, who’s been teaching at the center for five years, gives reading lessons to a group of 16- and 17-year-olds. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
“They’re plugging one leak while another continues to drip; it’s the system and the families that are broken,” Woods said.
Still, he believes that MCAP has the right approach to helping troubled youth from impoverished families.
“It’s now the juvenile justice system’s job to build families and that’s not what it was designed to do, so it will take that collaborative effort with social service agencies to help these families,” Woods said.
Added Barnett, “People are notorious for doing the same thing just because that’s the way its always been done; I’m just glad to do something new that will change lives and have a positive impact in our communities.”
The one-year program includes a five-month placement in the secure detention facility in Wauwatosa, followed by a period of community aftercare in which youths will be monitored by both a probation officer and a community monitor from Running Rebels.
It also includes education, Juvenile Cognitive Intervention Programming (JCIP), substance abuse education and counseling, and a restorative justice program.
Idle minds
The Wauwatosa School District has been running a five-day a week school program, in conjunction with the Department of Public Instruction, at the Phillips Juvenile Justice Center facility since 1995. The programming will be extended to include MCAP participants, who will be taught in separate classrooms from the six already utilized at the detention center.
The mandatory classes range from civics and reading to art. According to Thomas Wanta, interim administrator of juvenile and court services for Milwaukee County, students in the program thrive.
“The youth here often increase their competence by one to two grade levels in reading during the short time they’re here,” Wanta said.
James Ross, detention center supervisor, said that is because many of the teens who end up at Phillips are not going to school on a regular basis. “An idle mind is not getting nourished; once they start learning here their shell begins to soften and learning helps them see things differently,” Ross said.
Ross added that the program has a library that allows the youths to check out books to take back to their cells and they also have some access to classroom computers and the Internet.
The MCAP program includes a school credit recovery program to help kids obtain their high school diplomas.
Changing thought processes
The Juvenile Cognitive Intervention Program is designed to help youth examine the way they think and change their thought process, resulting in better choices.
“The old-school approach doesn’t work,” according to Barnett of Running Rebels, which runs the program.
She said the old “I’m going to tell you what to do and you’re going to do it” approach is ineffective. “Young people need to see for themselves that their life isn’t going right and then (we) show them how to change it,” Barnett added.
Running Rebels will run daily groups at the center based around the concepts of choices, changes and challenges. The organization also will run a monitoring program for the teens beginning while they’re still incarcerated and continuing after they return to their community.
“That will help us build a relationship with the youth on the front end and that will continue because the trust has already been established,” Barnett said.
The Milwaukee Police Department also will be aware of juveniles participating in the MCAP program and will help monitor and mentor them in the community, according to Wanta.
Building Community
Restorative Justice groups will be formed within the program to help build a sense of community for the participants.
Professionals are brought in to help the youth examine their behavior and its impact on their victims, community, family and themselves, according to Wanta. “We have a captive audience that needs to rethink their choices and see how their behavior is having a negative impact on others as well,” he said.
Still, regardless of the programming they participate in, the young men all eventually will return to their communities and face the streets and homes they left.
Unless something at home has changed for the better, according to Woods, they’ll go right back into survival mode, adding, “We have to clean up the homes we’re sending these kids back to.”


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Partnership fills arts, humanities void for MPS students | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
October 15, 2012
Walker’s Point Center for the Arts musician “Souljah” beats the Djembe drum as young people practice African Ameri-dance. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
In an upstairs studio at Walker’s Point Center for the Arts, a drummer beats a Djembe, a skin-covered drum with origins in West Africa. Dancing to the deep, rhythmic beats are six intent youngsters, crouching, jumping and swinging their arms side to side.
The students are learning the principles of the African Ameri-dance program, which participants describe as a combination of nutritional, emotional intelligence, African dance, drumming, capoeira, modern forms of hip-hop and break-dance training.  The lessons are part of the Site-On/Hands-On (SOHO) programming at WPCA, 839 S. 5th St..
WPCA and 40 additional community-based organizations were recently awarded grants totaling more than $1.3 million as part of Milwaukee Public School’s (MPS) Partnership for the Arts and Humanities. The partnership will run programs such as SOHO during the 2012-13 academic year. After-school and summer programs will serve about 49,000 students from 88 schools, including 77 MPS schools, according to Kari Couture, MPS community-arts specialist.
The arts partnerships between the public and private entities began in 2006, with humanities programming added in 2010. This year, MPS approved eight new programs for the dollar-for-dollar matching grants. WPCA received $100,000, the maximum grant allowed this year. It’s been funded since the program began, initially at $50,000, according to Kate Bradley, education director at WPCA.
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Bradley, who graduated from Alverno College specializing in art education, art therapy and dance, has been working at WPCA for more than five years. She said WPCA artists specialize in teaching a wide range of crafts including drumming, singing, painting, mural making and ceramics.
Kate Bradley, education director at the Walker’s Point Center for the Arts (WPCA), displays a mural that will be placed in front of the building housing the Dover Street and Tippecanoe schools at 2751 S. Lennox St. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
“The arts we teach reflect the diversity of the students we serve,” Bradley said.
The wide mix of lessons extends beyond the walls of the center into the community, as WPCA’s 34 professional artists head to nearby schools to work with students, including at-risk youth. Bradley, who described the grant as a windfall for her organization, said arts programs have many benefits for students.
“Art helps them in multiple areas, visually, therapeutically, they have more energy and it helps to increase their attendance and benefits other academic areas,” she said.
It also helps to fill the void left after funding cuts in MPS arts’ programs forced many schools to eliminate full-time art teacher positions. The cuts resulted in loss of the equivalent of about 26 full-time art teachers between the 2011 and 2012 budgets, according to an MPS report.
The proposed MPS budget for 2013 includes more than $13 million in funding for art, music and physical education and an additional $581,000 specifically for the art program.
According to Couture, Peter Thomas Blewett, who sits on the MPS board of directors, and Jennifer Morales, a former board member, recognized the impact the cuts had years ago and created the partnership in response.
Bradley commented that while WPCA is eager to help because art education is a necessity, “Ultimately we want art, music and gym teachers in schools full-time.”
The arts center offers weekday on- and off-site programming, art summer camps, and additional programs during MPS breaks.
Other nonprofit organizations are helping to bolster the humanities for MPS students. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) received a grant of $10,000, down from $30,000 last year. Still, the non-partisan civil-rights organization hopes to serve about the same number of students as last year’s 2,700.
Emilio De Torre, youth and programs director for the ACLU of Wisconsin, oversees the Public Arts Student Alliance (PASA), which is funded in part by the grant. The program is run at several schools, including North Division and True Skool, and at local groups that serve youths, such as Pathfinders. It combines aspects of humanities and art to help teach young people about their civil liberties and rights in exciting new ways, according to De Torre.
“Arts combined with humanities is a very powerful way to transmit this information,” De Torre said.
Last year PASA successfully meshed the disciplines, creating a float for the Summer of Peace Parade and Rally. The float, four SUVs long, featured a representation of students going through actual pipes to jail, according to De Torre. The figurative message of pipelines to incarceration contrasted with another section of the float depicting happy children with supportive teachers choosing careers and professions.
“Creating art around an idea like a prison pipeline was a way to help the youth express an issue, better understand it and get people talking about it,” said Chloe Smith, youth and program organizer for the ACLU.
Smith, who graduated in 2003 from Riverside before heading to UW-Whitewater, said, she saw a significant drop in the availability of arts education for local students when she returned to Milwaukee.
“Art was the only way I was able to express myself as a student, so knowing that kids aren’t able to express themselves in that way makes me want to rally harder for programs like this,” Smith said.
The PASA program will run 26 workshops this year with high school students, ranging from the First Amendment to political cartooning to creating public service announcements, among other activities.
De Torre said the PASA program does more than simply fill a gap.
“The nature of these partnership programs is that they afford students the opportunity to work with talented individuals and gain experiences and values from the community and in the community that they might not get from just one art teacher.”

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Adam Carr
October 14, 2012

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Cyclocross bikers overcome obstacles in Mitchell Park | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
October 18, 2012
MWI Cross cyclists prepare for the start of the race. (Photo by Colleen Herrmann)
Cyclocross racers carry their bikes up stairs. (Photo by Colleen Herrmann)
More than 100 cyclists, from kids as young as 10 to professional cyclocross racers participated in bike races, workshops, health screenings and other outdoor activities at Mitchell Park recently.
“Cross the Domes,” a free event to promote healthy, active lifestyles, was organized by the Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative, an organization committed to improving the quality of life in the historic Clarke Square neighborhood. Part of that commitment includes promoting physical health through activity and working toward a more bike- and pedestrian-friendly community.
This was the second annual Cross the Domes event in which the Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative partnered with MWI Cross, a group of cyclocross race enthusiasts.
Unlike regular bike races, cyclocross races incorporate obstacles such as stairs, mud and rocks on the racecourse.
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“We hope that this is going to be a yearly event,” said Veronica Ortiz of the Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative. “Working hand in hand with MWI Cross makes it a great event. There is something for every member of the family.”
Last year’s event emphasized fundraising with the funds raised dedicated to adding speed bumps on streets where speeding is a problem. This year, the focus was on building the relationship with MWI Cross and promoting an active lifestyle, Ortiz said.
Ortiz noted that it is important to counter the trend of children spending so much time playing video games inside, rather than doing active things outside. “An inactive person is an unhealthy person. We don’t want to create an unhealthy America.”

created: October 18, 2012


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Adam Carr
October 17, 2012

created: October 17, 2012


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cyclecross | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 17, 2012


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Public library cuts hours despite increased attendance | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
October 23, 2012
Rafael Rodriguez visits the Forest Home Library with his daughters Lorena (left) and Stephania. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
On a pleasant 50-degree fall morning, the streets of the Historic Mitchell Street neighborhood are mostly void of pedestrians. But, within the walls of the Forest Home Library, 1432 W. Forest Home Ave., more than 50 children, parents, teenagers and adults type at keyboards, read newspapers, scan movie racks and scour bookshelves.
Through the first nine months of this year, the Milwaukee Public Library (MPL) system of 13 libraries has experienced a 14 percent increase in patronage, which translates to more than 222,000 more visitors than the same time period last year. Paula Kiely, director of the MPL, said the increase is likely a result of the economy.
“In times like these with the economy struggling, people are looking at ways to economize on their budgets,” Kiely said.
Rafael Rodriguez, who was visiting the Forest Home Library with his daughters Stephania and Lorena, 12 and 11, said the library provides resources his kids don’t have at home.
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“We don’t have the Internet, but here we find it,” said Rodriguez, adding that much of his daughters’ schoolwork is computer-based.
Computer usage at MPL has increased 17 percent from last year. The Forest Home Library has 21 desktop computers plus 40 laptops that can be rented out for three- hours blocks. Six of the desktop computers are specifically for children, according to Jennifer Hron, children’s librarian.
Kiely also credits the library’s popularity to an increase in the materials budget.
In addition to accessing computers or the free Wi-Fi, patrons are able to select from a vast and continually updated collection of books, magazines, audio books, music and DVDs, among other materials. Rodriguez said his daughters often check out movies from the library. The DVD collection includes new releases, documentaries, children’s movies and, this month, a rack of Halloween-themed films.
The Central Library, 814 W. Wisconsin Ave., will open at noon rather than 9 a.m. on Mondays in 2013. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
According to Christine Murphy, communications and marketing specialist for the MPL, all services and materials at the library are provided at no charge, with the exception of printing and late fees.
Petra Almaraz, who visits the Forest Home Library often with her two kids, said sometimes she goes there and pays to make copies, but aside from that, it’s free entertainment.
“The library is a great help for my family,” said Almaraz.
Attendance at the Forest Home Library was up 9.1 percent so far this year, compared to the same period last year. The largest increase was at Villard Square, where attendance increased 74.6 percent, followed by the Washington Park branch (up 31 percent) and the Martin Luther King branch (up 18.9 percent). Patronage at the Central Library increased 4.7 percent, and system-wide, it grew 14 percent.
The large increase at Villard Square is likely due to the opening of a new location at 5190 N. 35 St. in late 2011. The branch is part of a mixed-use development with 47 apartments on the upper floors and the library on the first floor.
Despite the increased attendance, the library, like all city departments, was asked to cut its budget next year, according to Kiely. The proposed budget for 2013 calls for a $1.02 million cut, or 4.5 percent, resulting in a total budget of 21.7 million.
The 2013 cuts will result in a minimal decrease in service, Kiely said. The Central Library at 814 W. Wisconsin Ave. will open at noon rather than 9 a.m. on Mondays, and librarians at six neighborhood branches will come in three hours later on Mondays, though those libraries still will open at 9 a.m. At the Central Library, patrons will be able to speak to librarians via phone and  utilize the drive-thru service to pick up pre-ordered books, both beginning at 9 a.m.
Some recent Monday morning visitors to the Central Library said the changes would affect them, but they would get used to them.
“A lot of people like to get up and get going early and get things done with,” said Mary Lewis, who enjoys reading sports, exercise and diet books.
Bruce Burtin, a lifelong Milwaukee resident who comes to the library three or four times a week, said that he also likes to get to the library early on Mondays. “I work third shift so getting up here early is optimal for me,” Burtin said.
Still, both said that because the hours will change only on one day, they would adjust.
Lewis said that people who are homeless would notice the difference because they often spend time at the library. “With the cold coming, the hour change will affect them more because a lot of them will be here open to close, trying to stay warm,” Lewis said.
The shortened hours will save the library system $300,000, with the bulk of the remaining cuts coming from eliminating the equivalent of five positions.
The Forest Home library will remain open the same number of hours in 2013, which is good news for the Rodriquez family.
As Stephania Rodriguez, 12, explains, “I love to read and the books are free.”

created: October 23, 2012


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Adam Carr
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created: October 22, 2012


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Fair housing group files complaint against Bank of America | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sharon McGowan
October 24, 2012
This house at 202 W. Hampton Ave. in Milwaukee is cited in the National Fair Housing Alliance discrimination complaint against Bank of America. According to the NFHA, there are 10 instances of poor maintenance or marketing practices at the Hampton Ave. address. (Photo by National Fair Housing Alliance)
The Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council, along with four other fair housing groups, has filed a federal housing discrimination complaint against Bank of America Corp, citing an investigation by the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) that found unequal treatment of properties in minority neighborhoods.
According to NFHA, an investigation in 13 cities of 505 foreclosed homes owned, serviced or managed by Bank of America found that foreclosed, bank-owned homes in communities of color are in disrepair, compared to those in predominantly white communities, where properties are better maintained and marketed.
The investigation looked at 39 different maintenance or marketing deficiencies, including broken windows and doors, water damage, overgrown lawns, no “for sale” sign and trash on the property.
In Milwaukee, 87 percent of Bank of America-owned foreclosed properties were missing a “for sale” sign. Without signs, potential purchasers do not know that a property is available for sale. In addition, one-third of the properties in communities of color had “substantial amounts” of trash. In addition, 41 percent had broken locks or doors, inviting vagrants or criminal activity.
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“In many white neighborhoods, Bank of America’s foreclosed properties fit in with most other homes for sale on the block, with manicured lawns and ‘for sale’ signs,” said NFHA President and CEO Shanna L. Smith in a news release. “African-American and Latino neighborhoods deserve equal treatment.”
The complaint was filed against the US Department of Housing and Urban Development by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council; HOPE Fair Housing Center in Wheaton, Ill.; South Suburban Housing Center in Homewood, Ill.; and the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana in Indianapolis, all members of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), filed the complain
Bank of America is the nation’s leading financial institution, according to its website.
In an email quoted in the Chicago Tribune, a Bank of America spokesperson said, “We strongly deny the allegations and stand behind our property maintenance and marketing practices.”
William Tisdale, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council said that neighbors of Bank of America properties in African-American and Latino neighborhoods “often report having to mow the lawn of the bank-owned home or clean up trash that has spilled onto nearby properties.
“Without the intervention of these responsible neighbors, we can only venture to guess how much worse the bank-owned homes would look.”

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Journey House collection to brighten holiday season for the whole family | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 25, 2012
Santa visits Journey House last Christmas. (Photo courtesy of Journey House)
Journey House is looking for toy and gift card donations to help make the holidays happier for neighborhood children.
Collected donations for children will be distributed at the Winter Wonderland celebration on Saturday, Dec. 15, from 8-11 a.m. Activities at the event include a breakfast, holiday carol sing-a-long and a visit from Santa Claus.
The organization is attempting to reach a goal of at least 450 toys for children from birth to 12 years of age. Toys must be new, wrapped and labeled for the appropriate age range.
For neighborhood teens, Journey House’s goal is to collect 100 gift cards of any amount. Some suggestions for gift cards include T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, Wal-Mart, Target, Kohls, Pick ‘n’ Save, Mayfair, Southridge, or Bayshore Town Center.
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Additionally, Journey House is collecting gifts for families. A written profile and picture of each family is available upon request.
All donations can be dropped off at Journey House (2110 W. Scott St.) by Friday, Dec 7. Journey House hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. All arrangements for donations can be made with Cherise Myers at cmyers@journeyhouse.org.

created: October 25, 2012


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October 24, 2012


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Volunteer projects planned for National Make a Difference Day | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Volunteer Wisconsin
October 25, 2012
Volunteer Wisconsin, in partnership with Serve Wisconsin, local Volunteer Centers, and community nonprofits, is proud to support Make A Difference Day. In Wisconsin Make a Difference Day season is October 20 through November 10.
More than 50 volunteer service projects are planned in 22 counties throughout the state including Milwaukee. Project activities range from raking leaves and winterizing elderly and disabled resident’s homes to donation drives to programs educating teens about bullying.
For ways to get involved during the Make a Difference Day season, visit www.volunteerwisconsin.org and click “volunteer” to visit the statewide volunteer connection.
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In addition, National Make a Difference Day is being celebrated statewide by asking “How do YOU Make a Difference Wisconsin?” On October 27, tweet and update Facebook by finishing the sentence “I make a difference by…” or by using the hashtag #MakeaDifferenceWI on Twitter.
For two decades USA Weekend and HandsOn Network have joined together to sponsor Make a Difference Day, the largest national day of service. Volunteer Wisconsin is excited to provide volunteer service opportunities across Wisconsin.
Volunteer Wisconsin is a statewide initiative in collaboration with Volunteer Centers and Serve Wisconsin, to connect volunteers, promote volunteering, and support the capacity of nonprofits through volunteers. For more information visit www.volunteerwisconsin.org or call 414-344-3933.

author: Volunteer Wisconsin


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volunteercenters | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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Day of the Dead exhibit open until Nov. 17 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sue Vliet
October 30, 2012
Walker’s Point Center for the Arts is displaying work by local artists celebrating Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).
For the 20 year, Walker’s Point Center for the Arts is celebrating Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) with an exhibit of ofrendas (altars/offerings) created by local artists.
Curated by local artist and Mexico native Jose Chavez, the exhibit also includes sculptures and two-dimensional work related to the holiday. Día de los Muertos recognizes death as a celebration of life, commemorating loved ones who have died, while appreciating friends and family.
Informational tours and crafts for children are available during the exhibition, which remains open until Nov. 17.
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created: October 30, 2012

author: Sue Vliet


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8126160815_692f6ea844 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 29, 2012

created: October 29, 2012


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Green Bay Packers’ practice field soon to be laid out in Mitchell Park | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
October 31, 2012
Members of the Peewee Journey House Packers team hand out pom-poms to visitors. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Enthusiastic and seemingly unaffected by the dreary, overcast weather, residents, community leaders, elected officials, youth football players, cheerleaders and others recently gathered on a rain-soaked lot on the southeast end of Mitchell Park to celebrate the groundbreaking for the Journey House Football Field and Stadium.
The time has finally arrived for the large sections of a synthetic turf football field, donated by the Green Bay Packers to the organization in 2009 and rolled up in a storage facility since, to be unfurled onto the muddy lot.
Laying out the donated field, worth $300,000 and emblazoned with the iconic Packers’ “G” in the center and “PACKERS” in each end zone, will not begin until Dec. 1 and it won’t be ready for games until next season. Nevertheless, young football players are already imagining what it will be like to play football on a field that Packers players once trained on at the Ray Nitschke Practice Field facility in Green Bay.
Aristede Williams, who plays running back for the Peewee Journey House Packers, said he can’t wait to get on the field and show off his skills.
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“I’m one of the fastest people on the team,” Williams added.
He was there with is mother, Rebeca Areizaga, who said she appreciates the discipline and responsibility her son has learned during his three years in the league.
“I knew it was good for him so I encouraged him to join but he also joined because he wanted to play a game he loves,” said Areizaga, adding that their favorite pro player is quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Charles Brown, youth center director at Journey House, addresses members of the football program, parents and coaches. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
As of now, Journey House, the Milwaukee County Parks System and other partners have raised $8.9 of the $11 million needed to complete this and other projects, according to Barbara Klein, chairwoman of the Journey House board of directors. The organization will manage the field and stadium for the next 30 years. More than 500 youth affiliated with the football and cheerleading program will utilize what community leaders are calling an outdoor learning space.
“We’re breaking ground on an outdoor classroom that along with creating jobs in the community, will teach our youth lessons that will prepare them to be resident leaders in the future,” said Michele Bria, Journey House CEO.
The Clarke Square neighborhood where Mitchell Park is located will become the first community in the United States with an official National Football League (NFL) field with logos, Bria said, as the crowd launched into an impromptu cheer of “Go Pack Go.”
Mayor Tom Barrett and John Chisholm, Milwaukee County district attorney, both remarked that having a field and creating additional activities in the neighborhood addresses public concerns for the safety of area youngsters.
“For anybody concerned about the color the kids in the neighborhood will be wearing, well, they’ll be wearing green and yellow,” said Barrett.
Chisholm said that to give every Milwaukee youth a chance to succeed the city needs the help of organizations that keep kids off the streets.
“We need anchors like Journey House to provide services, and places like this to help kids learn lessons of life,” Chisholm said.
Charles Brown, youth center director at Journey House and commissioner of the Journey House Packers group of six football teams, said the field will do more than benefit the kids he works with; it will help transform the community.
“It’s a nice place for the kids to congregate, where they know they matter, Brown said, “but the field will also serve the larger vision of bringing our community together.” Brown added that he has dreamed of the field since the start of the football program at Journey House in 2005.
Brown envisions games as community events with scenes similar to what you see in Madison for the Badgers, and Green Bay for the Packers — but in Clarke Square.
“Imagine this: a marching band, a parade, heading down South 22 Street from Journey House to the field on game day and families tailgating in the parking lot; that’s what I see.”

created: October 31, 2012


text:
8122552216_2a2ca3f27c_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 30, 2012


text:
8123089933_433db7b5df_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 30, 2012


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ACLU urges legislators to give ex-felons right to vote | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 1, 2012
Early voters wait in line to cast ballots in Milwaukee. (Photo by Adam Carr)
With the 2012 General Election quickly approaching, the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin is putting pressure on legislators to reinstate voting rights for felons who have completed their prison sentence.
Under current Wisconsin law, an estimated 62,000 people with felony convictions are unable to vote because they are incarcerated, on probation, parole or under extended supervision. Of those 62,000, 61 percent are not currently in prison; 40 percent are on probation and 21 percent are on parole.
According to “Unlock the Vote,” an ACLU report about felon disenfranchisement on a national, state and local level, 5.3 million Americans cannot vote because of criminal convictions, while nearly 4 million of those are no longer incarcerated.
In 2009, the Wisconsin State Legislature considered a bill that would have restored the right to vote for felons upon completion of their prison sentence. Twenty states have less restrictive felony disenfranchisement policies than Wisconsin, including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.
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As of 2008, approximately 10,000 people with felony convictions were under the supervision of Milwaukee County. According to a May 2009 poll cited in the report, 70 percent of Milwaukee County residents expressed support for restoring voting rights post-sentence.
Statewide, African-Americans comprise 5 percent of the voting age population, but make up 39 percent of the disenfranchised population. This is the 13highest incarceration rate of African-Americans in the country.
The issue of felon enfranchisement was in the local news after the first day of early voting, when election judges failed to cross-reference early voter registrations with a list of felons ineligible to vote. A later check found none of the 204 was ineligible.

created: November 1, 2012


text:
IMG_0841 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
October 31, 2012


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New, healthier items offered at two South Side grocery stores | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 2, 2012
El Rey will add more healthy food products, including whole-grain breads, crackers and cereals, to its wide selection of fruits and vegetables. (Photo by John Sterr)
Two large South Side grocery stores have joined with the Healthy Choices, Healthy Community Coalition to make more healthy food available to neighborhood residents. Pete’s Market and El Rey, which already stock a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, will increase their selection of whole-grain breads, crackers and cereals; whole-wheat flour, quinoa, sesame and flax seed; cage-free eggs; and baked chips.
Both stores will host food demonstrations from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on three successive Saturdays (Nov. 3, 10 and 17). Shoppers will receive samples, recipes and tips on preparing some of the new food items.
“We are extremely pleased with all the organizations that joined this community initiative and particularly grateful to the owners of Pete’s and El Rey, who offered full collaboration and support as soon as we approached them. This is an important step to have a healthier neighborhood,” said Tatiana Maida, Healthy Choices program coordinator for the Sixteenth Street Community Health Center (SSCHC).
A group of South Side residents had asked the stores to add more healthy food options following a January 2012 survey that showed gaps in the availability of some products.
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Members of the Healthy Choices, Healthy Community Coalition include Community and Regional Food System Project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Milwaukee County Cooperative Extension, SSCHC’s Healthy Choices program, Core El Centro, the Center for Urban Population Health and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.

created: November 2, 2012


text:
5943810443_b8e53f695d_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 1, 2012


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Benefit to raise money for child victims of human trafficking | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
November 6, 2012
Betty Suarez, of Milwaukee, visited Casa Mision Santa Faz Orphanage in Nicaragua in August. (Photo provided by Betty Suarez)
Betty Suarez, a native of Juigalpa, Nicaragua, visited her hometown in August. While there, she spent a few days with nine girls who live at the Casa Mision Santa Faz Orphanage. They were shy at first, according to Suarez, but after a day or so, they opened up. They talked about their goals in life; one to be a doctor, another a lawyer, Suarez said.
Suarez, 26, was amazed at how positive the girls are and how they always smiled, despite their histories. Most of the children at the orphanage are rescued victims of human trafficking.
Victims this young — their ages ranged from 2 to 17 — are not uncommon across the world. According to the Wisconsin Human Trafficking Protocol and Resource Manual, between 12 and 27 million adults and children are in forced labor, bonded labor and forced prostitution around the world. Seventy percent of the victims are female and one-third are children.
“In a country like Nicaragua, where poverty is so high, unfortunately there are parents who are willing to sell their kids, and even some kids who are willing to sell their body to help the family,” said Suarez, who helped put together a panel to discuss human trafficking at Alverno College in the spring.
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Mimi, 4 years old, has a heart murmur and lives at the orphanage. Her parents abandoned her as a baby. (Photo provided by Betty Suarez)
High poverty rates in developing countries such as Nicaragua limit those countries’ capacity to deal with the problem of human trafficking, according to Darius Alemzadeh, executive director of Trafficking Ends With Action(TEA).
This is because of “the inability to counteract the larger effects of poverty on individuals and families, or because there is a fine line between traditional cultural practices and exploitation,” explained Alemzadeh in an email.
TEA, based in Milwaukee, is an organization dedicated to ending human trafficking and modern day slavery through research, education, service and community engagement, according to its website.
Suarez, a senior at Alverno, has been working with the Global Studies Club to raise money for the orphanage since last year. The club, along with students from a fundraising and grant-writing class, will host “Hope for Nicaragua,” a fundraiser and silent auction from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Nov. 9 at the Mug Coffeehouse, located on the campus at 3400 S. 43St.
All proceeds from the event will go directly to the orphanage. Previous fundraisers have raised enough money to provide food, clothing, shoes and school supplies for the orphanage but the need is still great, according to Suarez.
Suarez said it was difficult to say goodbye to the children but she didn’t cry when she left. She felt she had to stay strong because they’d shown her so much strength. “You wouldn’t even know they had sad and dark histories, because they were always smiling,” Suarez said.
The long-term goal of the global studies group is to encourage people to continue donating while building a long-term relationship with the orphanage, and to raise awareness about human trafficking in general.
“It’s a problem everywhere, even here in Milwaukee,” Suarez said.
Alemzadeh agrees. “Human trafficking is a very real problem in the state of Wisconsin,” Alemzadeh said. He said Wisconsin is dealing with both international and domestic trafficking, although people still think of the problem as international.
For Betty, it’s both. She feels the impact all the way from her hometown in Nicaragua to her current home in Milwaukee.
And though she knows the money raised at the benefit will only go so far, it still helps improve the lives of girls who “have that strong will and power to survive,” she said. “They want to live life and to learn and go to school like other kids.”

created: November 6, 2012


text:
8145494449_335288c8df_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 5, 2012

created: November 5, 2012


text:
8145524172_027f97c7f9_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 5, 2012


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Walker’s Point Parade commemorates Day of the Dead | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sue Vliet
November 6, 2012
Painted faces, both scary and whimsical, colorful costumes, puppets and dancers marked the celebration of Día de Los Muertos in Walker’s Point.
Starting at the United Community Center, parade participants made their way to the Walker’s Point Center for the Arts and then back to the Latino Arts Auditorium at UCC, where the Mexican folk band A Flor de Piel performed.
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text:
ddlm4 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 6, 2012


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November is Prematurity Awareness Month | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Tina Rivera
November 8, 2012
Did you know that one of the risks factors for mothers who deliver babies prematurely is smoking cigarettes or being exposed to cigarette smoke?  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in eight babies are born prematurely in the United States every year.  In the African American community, that number is one in six babies.
There is a reason why Wisconsin passed the smoke-free law in 2010, and it goes far beyond exposing people to second hand smoke.  The dangers of smoking cigarettes not only have a huge medical cost attached to it, but it can mean life or death of a baby to expectant mothers.  In the United States, besides the emotional toil premature deaths take on families, they cost our society more than $26 billion a year;  this includes neo-natal post-delivery care and, in some cases, life-long medical attention that the child may require as a result of being born prematurely.
Our children are precious and priceless and, the Wisconsin African American Tobacco Prevention Network (WAATPN) is asking expectant mothers to put down the cigarettes and give baby a fighting chance at living a healthy, normal life.
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Tina Rivera -Member
Wisconsin African American
Tobacco Prevention Network

created: November 8, 2012

author: Tina Rivera


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College Possible students say thank you with service | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
College Possible
November 10, 2012
Over the past two weeks College Possible students took a break from preparing for the ACT and filling out college applications to give back to their communities.
Nearly 500 students from 10 College Possible Milwaukee partner high schools engaged in community service projects to improve their schools, neighborhoods and parks. It was their way of saying thank you for the generous community support that makes their participation in the college access and success program free of charge. Each College Possible student receives a total of 320 hours of after-school curriculum during their junior and senior years of high school.
“College Possible gets a lot of donations for support,” said Pa Noua Xiong, a College Possible student and senior at Milwaukee School of Languages. “Participating in a community service project is a way for us to give back to the people who have helped us and the organization.”
College Possible makes community service a key component for students participating in the organization’s program. By encouraging students to develop an ethic of service, College Possible helps them see their own potential for making a difference in their communities while developing valuable leadership skills. Each student completes a minimum of 16 hours of community service throughout the course of the two-year program.
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Students kept busy by pulling weeds and cleaning trails with the Urban Ecology Center and making get well cards for patients at Aurora St. Luke’s Hospital. Others served their own school communities by raking leaves and cleaning the school building, painting benches, and promoting an anti-bullying campaign to their peers.
“Service is really important,” said Tamara Ellis, Vice Principal at South Division High School, a College Possible partner school. “The hope is that when I clean or pick up garbage, the staff will see it and pick something up and then the students will see that and they’ll start to clean.  It creates this ripple effect of everyone contributing.”

created: November 10, 2012

author: College Possible


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Smokers urged to join ‘Great American Smokeout’ | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Community Advocates
November 13, 2012
Smokers!  Circle this date – Thursday, Nov. 15 – in red letters on your calendar.
That’s the date of the 37th annual Great American Smokeout, organized by the American Cancer Society to encourage smokers to quit.
“Quitting smoking is hard to do, but it’s hard to think of anything that’s better for your health,” said Robert Cherry, coordinator of the Milwaukee Tobacco Free Alliance.  “Quitting smoking alone reduces your cancer risk, improves breathing, and lowers blood pressure.”
Cherry also reminded those who use other tobacco products like chewing tobacco that they pose health risks as well.  They, too, should take the plunge on the 15th and quit their tobacco use, he said.
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“We know that the only truly safe alternative to smoking is avoiding tobacco products altogether,” he said.   Chewing tobacco and other tobacco products come with their own set of very serious health consequences, including increased risk for oral cancer, mouth lesions, gum disease, and tooth decay.”
Tobacco takes nearly 8,000 lives every year in Wisconsin and costs the state as much as $4.5 billion in health care costs.  On top of that, tobacco use is also the leading cause of chronic diseases in Wisconsin such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes.  These diseases take a terrible toll on Wisconsin as they make up about two-thirds of all deaths in the state.
“Free help is available through the state’s Quit Line,” Cherry said. “I encourage smokers in Milwaukee to take that crucial first step and call today.”
The Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line is 1-800-QUIT NOW.  The Quit Line is funded by the Wisconsin Tobacco Prevention and Control Program, part of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

created: November 13, 2012

author: Community Advocates


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Forum Latino offers resources for parents of special needs students | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
November 15, 2012
Felipa Ramirez attended “Foro Latino” with her daughter Jasmine, and sons Diego and Elvin. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Mauro Calderon’s son Mario, who’s 15 and attends Rufus King International School, 1801 W. Olive St., has very special needs. He was born blind and needs help navigating to and from school, among many other daily challenges. His father knew from the beginning that Mario would need resources, made more complicated by the fact that Mauro didn’t know English.
Calderon was at South Division High School recently, attending the 10 annual “Foro” or “Forum Latino,” which provides Spanish-speaking parents and guardians of students with disabilities the chance to learn new strategies to work with their children and find resources to help them. Topics such as “Attention Deficit Disorder with and without Hyperactivity,” and “Academic and Behavioral Supports Available to Children in MPS,” were among the sessions geared toward empowering parents.
Parental involvement is one of the keys to any child’s success in school, but it’s even more crucial to bring the parents of students with special needs to the table, according to Jesse Rodriguez, regional director of school support for MPS.
For non-English speakers, this requires overcoming language and cultural barriers.
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“The services have to be provided in a language they understand or the turnout would not be the same,” said Rodriguez, motioning to the crowd of more than 400 people at the event.
Providing services in Spanish makes for more meaningful and personal communication and also prevents loss of context in translation. “Many of the parents are coming from countries where these services don’t exist or aren’t the same,” Rodriguez added.
Calderon, from Mexico, has attended the annual event, sponsored by MPS and numerous community organizations, for the past six years. He said it started small but has been growing, especially in the past two years, adding that each time he comes he walks away with new information.
“I find out about programs I didn’t know even existed; there’s a lot of help for my son at MPS.”
There is also a lot of need.
Mauro Calderon, who has come to “Foro Latino” for six consecutive years, says he learns something new every time. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
According to Tony Tagliavia, MPS media manager, there are more than 16,000 students in the district who have some type of special need. More than 77,000 students are enrolled in MPS this year, meaning that about 20 percent are classified as special needs students. Their disabilities can range from mild to severe and the variety of needs is growing, according to Jim Lawton, regional coordinator for citywide bilingual assessment and support for MPS. Along with increasing services, the district has to accommodate their language needs, said Lawton.
“It often takes the collaboration of two or more departments to meet specialized needs of students,” Lawton said. Those MPS departments could include language, occupational health and physical therapy.
There’s also a need for collaboration with community-based programs. That’s where partners such as Alianza Latina Aplicando Soluciones Inc., known as A.L.A.S., step in. Founded in 1997, A.L.A.S. began as a support group for non-English speaking mothers of children with special needs who were frustrated by the lack of services and information available in their native language, according to the A.L.A.S website.
The forum was one of the projects that originated from that need, said Gloria Gonzalez, communications coordinator and parent information specialist at A.L.A.S. In addition to helping plan the forum, the organization provides training resources, translation and interpretation and also helps parents obtain Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for their children.
An IEP is a documented plan designed to help teachers, parents, school administrators and students work together to meet the unique needs of each student to help improve educational results. Every child who receives services under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is entitled to an IEP.
Two dozen exhibitors, including Independence First, Disability Rights Wisconsin and Spina Bifida Association of Wisconsin, participated in the forum.
Rubicelia Lopez, whose 4-year-old son Roland has Down Syndrome, visited the Milwaukee County Disability Services Division (DSD) booth. She attended the event last year as her son was completing the “Birth to Three Early Intervention Program,” for children with developmental delays and disabilities. That program, along with additional services provided at Forest Home Avenue School, 1516 W. Forest Home Ave., have helped Roland immensely, according to Lopez.
“He listens and dances to music and plays with other kids at school,” she said.
In addition to Birth to Three, DSD provides family support programs and a long-term support waiver program, which allows Medicaid to pay for home-based services for children with significant disabilities. DSD also coordinates with MPS to meet immediate needs, such as a recent case in which a high school student needed a wheelchair to replace his broken chair.
“We had him measured up so that he could get one that fit his specific needs and the child got a better wheelchair,” said Lydia Roman, bilingual service coordinator for DSD.
DSD helps parents such as Lopez, who speaks little English, learn about programs that could help their children.
“They shouldn’t be afraid to just ask us and see how we can help,” said Roman, adding that DSD can provide information in any language.
Under the guidance of A.L.A.S., Lopez has gotten her son what he needs. Roland climbs up and down the stairs now. His IEP is updated regularly in meetings with teachers, occupational and physical therapists and her. Lopez’s only concern is that he doesn’t qualify for speech therapy, although he doesn’t speak. Still, she’s grateful for the help he’s gotten.
“I stay in Milwaukee because of it,” said Lopez.
MPS Superintendent Gregory E. Thornton said Foro is unique in Wisconsin, and perhaps the country, adding, “We’re 10 years and going strong and we’re committed for another 10 years.”

created: November 15, 2012


text:
8184955223_5c2fddfbc8_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 14, 2012

created: November 14, 2012


text:
8184990728_51bcee122d_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 14, 2012


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Salvation Army’s red kettles get high tech | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 16, 2012
(Photo by Adam Carr)
When you hear that ringing bell, reach for your phone.
This holiday season, the Salvation Army of Milwaukee County’s iconic red kettles will feature QR codes, allowing donations via smartphone. Last year, the Salvation Army of Milwaukee County was the first Salvation Army chapter in Wisconsin to use QR codes for its Red Kettle Campaign.
“We want to make giving as easy as possible. Eighty-four cents of every dollar donated supports critical programs and services, including emergency disaster services,” said Major Roger Ross, Salvation Army Milwaukee County commander.
The goal for the 2012 campaign is $3 million. Last year, Milwaukee County residents raised $2.9 million, surpassing a goal of $2.7 million.
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The Red Kettle Campaign kicked off on Friday, Nov. 2, and will continue through January 30, 2013.

created: November 16, 2012


text:
IMG_1591i | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
November 15, 2012