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Post FromCommunity: JUST ANNOUNCED: Christmas in Milwaukee Begins with BLACK NATIVITY BY LANGSTON HUGHES | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andy Nelson
November 3, 2022
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
Black Arts MKE’s beloved holiday musical returns for its seventh year with its biggest and best production to date. Black Nativity by Langston Hughes runs one weekend only – December 8-11, 2022, at the Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall, Marcus Center. Set in Milwaukee rather than Bethlehem, this joyous and hopeful re-telling of Hughes’ original 1961 play incorporates poetry, music, and dance from the African diaspora with an all-black, Milwaukee area-based cast.
TEASER TRAILER: https://youtu.be/J4TTLWk3ph4
TICKETS: marcuscenter.org/show/black-nativity-langston-hughes
Directed for the second year by Dimonte Henning, this year’s production delivers a fresh and inspiring take on the original musical. Henning’s newest rendition encourages theatergoers to continue to have faith and celebrate resiliency.
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“This play is about triumph over tragedy. Black people in Milwaukee have had to overcome a lot, especially in the past two years, but we are still here and persevere because of the birth of Jesus Christ, and that is something to celebrate!” said Henning. “The message is love. Love for ourselves, for our neighbor, and for our culture. If you come this year, you’ll see that on full display through the joyful and healing power of Milwaukee’s Black art community. I’m not going to lie, you may cry some cathartic tears, but you’ll also be dancing and singing in the aisles.”
The creative team behind Black Nativity by Langston Hughes continues to elevate the production in music, dance, costuming, and set design. This year, professional dancers Dos Feurtado and Ella Lakey collaborate with returning seasoned choreographer Christopher Gilbert to create new, jaw-dropping performances. Respected music producer Antoine Reynolds returns for his sixth year with new hip-hop arrangements and a stage setup to better showcase his fellow musicians. Costume stylists Kyndal Johnson and Vato Vergara are evolving their costume design to lean more into the afro-centric diaspora. Stage design will also grow to incorporate architectural pieces representing different parts of the city,in addition to new technical elements. Lastly, well-known spoken word performer Cedric Dale Hoard will start each act with a cypher highlighting the journey of Joseph and Mary and the Black experience in Milwaukee.
The 2022 version of Black Nativity by Langston Hughes is sure to be an exhilarating and uplifting experience for everyone that attends. That is due, in part, to the environment created by Black Arts MKE. Black actors and creators participating in their productions attest to the welcoming, family-like atmosphere that allows for authentic artistic expression.
“Through my first time performing in Black Nativity, a different part of myself came out,” said Terynn Erby-Walker, actress and Golda Meir High School student, “I never really let my ‘Black self’ out completely before. Black Arts MKE helped me feel comfortable in myself. They’re like family. I can be unapologetically Black! It’s a very empowering experience.”
BLACK NATIVITY BY LANGSTON HUGHES 2022 ENSEMBLE
Erica Cherie, Cynthia Cobb, Brian Crawford, Brielle Richmond, Denzel Taylor, Brandite Reed, Jomoni Haynes, Ella Lakey, Nathan Berry, Dos Feurtado, Cedric Dale Hoard, Kobe Brown, Terynn Erby-Walker, Maya O’Day-Biddle, Nykolis Reynolds, Zoe Chamber, Jaliyah Drake, Christian Williams-Henning, Tyler Reynolds, Skie-Loe Meadows
Black Nativity by Langston Hughes is generously supported by BMO Harris Bank, Bader Philanthropies, Forest County Potawatomi Foundation, Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Herzfeld Foundation, Johnson Controls Foundation, Old National Bank, PNC Bank, We Energies Foundation, Yip Harburg Foundation, and Arts Midwest.
Community Night returns on Thursday, December 8th at 7:30 p.m. with a special evening dress rehearsal performance and discounted tickets. Youth 18 and under tickets are only $10 and adults $25 per person.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
marcuscenter.org/show/black-nativity-langston-hughes
December 8-11, 2022
$45.50 | RESERVED SEATING
Community Night $25 adults | $10 18 & Under
Marcus Center Box Office, 929 N. Water St., Milwaukee, WI, Call 414-273-7206
Groups of 10 or more should contact Group Sales at 414-273-7121, x210
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ABOUT BLACK ARTS MKE
Black Arts MKE’s mission is to increase the availability and quality of African American arts and culture. We collaborate with over 100 local artists and arts organizations annually to bring to our community renowned and original performance arts works by African American authors, playwrights, poets, musicians, and composers. Our community outreach programs serve over 15,000 underserved schools, youth and their families including Youth Performing Arts Summer Camp. Black Arts MKE’s annual signature performance – Black Nativity by Langston Hughes is a holiday musical favorite in Milwaukee featuring an all-black, Milwaukee area-based cast. We’re a recipient of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, NEA Grant for Arts Projects, The Black Seed and Theatre Group Communications (TCG) national awards. Black Arts MKE is a producing theatre with World Premier Wisconsin. We are a proud Member Group of the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF) and Resident Group at the Marcus Performing Arts Center. Black Arts MKE is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation.
MEDIA CONTACT
Andy Nelson
Nelson Consulting
@milwaukeeandy
andrewivernelson@gmail.com
262-391-3203

author: Andy Nelson


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BlackNativity_PressPhoto22.JPG | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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October 19, 2022

source: news-milwaukeenns

created: October 19, 2022

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

author: Name *


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5 things to know and do the weekend of Nov. 4 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
November 4, 2022
It’s Friday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about. If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please submit your news by clicking here at least two weeks in advance.
Latino Arts Inc. continues its Lunch and Learn series with this panel conversation on Dia de Los Muertos traditions in Mexico and Central America. The event takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4 at 1028 S. 9th St.  Tickets are $10 and include a light lunch.
Riverworks Development Corp. organized tours of Harambee on different Saturdays during November. This weekend’s tour covers Harambee’s history as told by Clayborn Benson III and Reuben Harpole, ending with spoken word performance from local artists. The tour runs from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5. The tour is free and should be done via bus or bike. Sign up to receive a map here. Once you’ve completed your registration, you will be notified via email about the logistics, such as where to meet up, parking information. If you do not use email, provide your phone number when registering.
A collaboration between Fanana Banana and Milwaukee Artist Resource Network, “Reflecting My Muslim Americanism” is a visual art exhibition that explores American identity through the Muslim perspective. The exhibition closes this weekend with a panel discussion on the exhibition’s themes. The panel discussion and closing reception takes place from 5:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5 at the MARN ART + CULTURE HUB, located at 191 N. Broadway. In case you missed it: NNS Spotlight: ‘I use my art to create a new world’: How two women created a platform for Milwaukee’s Muslim creatives
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Kamari Green teaches mixed media techniques at this event at the Milwaukee Art Therapy Collective. The workshop takes place  from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 9224 W. Burleigh St. Tickets are $35.
Urbal Tea leads this tour of the Mitchell Park Domes and the benefits of herbal tea from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 524 S. Layton Blvd. Tickets are $18 for Domes members, $22 for non-members. Ticket purchase include take-home samples.
Poets Carlos Cumpián and Angie Trudell Vasquez will be reading live at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5 at Woodland Pattern Book Center at 720 E. Locust St.

created: November 4, 2022

author: Sam Woods


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Ron Smith
November 3, 2022

created: November 3, 2022

author: Ron Smith


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5 things to know and do this week in Milwaukee: Nov. 7 to Nov. 11 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
November 7, 2022
It’s Monday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about. If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please submit your news by clicking here at least two weeks in advance.
Election Day is Tuesday and features local, statewide and national contests. (NNS file photo by Sue Vliet)
We Energies seeks to raise rates by starting in January. You can submit comments in favor or against this plan through Monday, Nov. 7. These comments will be read by the Public Service Commission, which has the power to approve or deny the rate increase. Submit comments here.
Ebony LaDelle is the author of “Love Radio,” a book celebrating “Black love, Black teenagers, Black friendship, and the Black family.” RootedMKE and Boswell Book Company are hosting an evening with LaDelle to discuss themes from the book. Child care and kids activities will be provided. The free event runs  from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 7 at The Table, located at 3970 N. 54th St.
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It’s Election Day again. See what’s on your ballot here and find your in-person polling place here. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8, but if you are in line by 8 p.m. you will still be able to vote. In case you missed it: A glaring national spotlight is on Wisconsin’s Nov. 8 election: Here’s what you need to know.
If you are unsure if you are registered to vote or if you are registered at your current address, bring a government ID such as a driver’s license or state identification card  with your current address or mail from a utility company, bank statement or one of the “Acceptable proof of residence documents” listed here. Wisconsin has same-day voter registration. Your absentee ballot must be received by your municipal clerk no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Riverworks MKE has organized monthly meetings for residents and business owners near Keefe Avenue in and around Williamsburg Heights on the topic of neighborhood safety every second Thursday. This month’s discussion takes place from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 3501 N. 6th St. More information here.
Representatives from the Bronzeville Center for the Arts and the Centre for the Less Good Idea, an arts incubator based in Johannesburg, South Africa,  discuss methods and the importance of supporting community-based arts as a tool for resisting gentrification. This free event starts at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10 at The Warehouse Art Museum, located at 1635 W. St. Paul Ave.
Ex Fabula hosts its fourth annual “Deaf Stories Project StorySlam,” a collection of true, personal stories told in American Sign Language on the theme “Explosive Encounters.” There will be spoken English translators available for those who are not fluent in American Sign Language. Doors open at 6 p.m. and stories begin at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at Anodyne Coffee in Walker’s Point, located at 224 W. Bruce St.

created: November 7, 2022


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Ron Smith
November 6, 2022

created: November 6, 2022


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We asked our neighbors what’s on their minds Election Day. Here’s what they told us. | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
PrincessSafiya Byers
November 8, 2022
Today is Election Day.
We interviewed residents on the North Side and South Side to find out what’s on their minds.
Here’s what they told us.
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created: November 8, 2022

author: PrincessSafiya Byers


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adrian-spencer | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
November 2, 2022

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author: Dwayne Burtin


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aliyah-winckler | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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November 2, 2022


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November 2, 2022


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November 2, 2022


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November 1, 2022

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November 2, 2022


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‘Living in the shadows of the system’: Rise in deaths of homeless people highlight gaps in services | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Devin Blake
November 9, 2022
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story listed the wrong organization for Emily Kenney and Patricia Gutierrez. They are both with IMPACT. Also, a quote attributed to Gloriceliz Hernandez should have been attributed to Gina Allende, the health promotions manager at UMOS.)
There has been a significant increase in deaths over the past several years among people who don’t have a regular place to live but fail to meet the standard definition of homelessness.
According to records requested from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office, the number of deaths of homeless people in 2018 was 21. By the end of 2021, the number reached 52, a 147% increase.
The leading cause: Substance abuse, particularly involving opioids and fentanyl.
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Street Angels Milwaukee Outreach has been doing homeless outreach throughout the city since 2015. Three times a week, its staff hands out items that meet basic needs, including sack lunches, hot meals and hygiene items. The overall goal is to build rapport with people and to begin understanding what services they need.
Two people whom Street Angels has worked with recently have died.
“We just had a gentleman murdered downtown,” said Dan Grellinger, homeless outreach specialist at Street Angels. “It shook people up.”
The Medical Examiner’s Office provided figures for January and February that indicate the county is on pace to match or exceed the number of homeless deaths in 2021. The office did not respond to requests for data for subsequent months of 2022.
The lack of standardized methods for determining who is homeless at the time of death creates challenges.
Karen Domagalski, operations manager for the Medical Examiner’s Office, suggested the data her office has at its disposal underrepresents the number of people who have died while homeless.
She said in an email that if a person “dies at a shelter, the address of the shelter is occasionally recorded as the decedent’s address so it would not be readily apparent the decedent was actually homeless.
“We had a homeless person die … in an abandoned building. He may have been an overdose or it may be hypothermia,” she said. “Family said he was homeless, but an address was provided so he will most likely not show up on any ‘list’ of homeless deaths.”
Precisely tracking this particular subsection of people also is tricky for homeless service providers. Most federal funding only goes to assist people who are either “literally” or “chronically” homeless, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD.
This identifies people who are living on the street, a “place not meant for habitation” or in a shelter on a short-term basis.
As governmental entities and nonprofits carry out the work they are funded to do, people who lack stable housing but don’t meet the technical definition of homelessness often go unseen and unserved.
HUD-funded assistance programs, for example, include four categories of homelessness: The first is for people who live in a place not meant for human habitation, in an emergency shelter, in transitional housing or who are leaving an institution where they temporarily lived; the second includes people who are losing their primary nighttime residence; the third is for families with children who face housing instability and are likely to continue in that state; and the last category includes people who are trying to leave domestic violence and have no other residence.
“There are pockets of the community who are living in the shadows of the system who are suffering,” said Eric Collins-Dyke, assistant administrator of Supportive Housing and Homeless Services at the Milwaukee County Housing Division. “We have to honor this gap in the system and this piece that we are missing. We have to look for more resources. We shouldn’t have to say that we are mandated to do something.”
Emily Kenney, director of systems change at IMPACT, the parent organization of IMPACT 211, a free helpline and online resource directory that connects residents to services, echoed this need.
“Since 2019, we have been paying more attention to those folks that are unstably housed and try to provide services beyond keeping them from coming into the homelessness systems . . .  beyond what HUD funds us to do.”
Stable housing – both shelter and permanently subsidized housing – remains one of the most effective and recognized ways of preventing deaths of people experiencing homelessness.
Without this basic need being met, “They freeze to death. They die from heat in the summer. They have multiple health conditions … . I’m not surprised,” said Sherrie Tussler, who serves as the executive director for Hunger Task Force.
Advocates and homeless services professionals say they are aware of the lack of readily accessible shelter and housing.
“There’s quite a lot of people who would go into shelter but can’t,” Grellinger said.
Stephanie Nowak, the community intervention specialist lead for the Milwaukee County Housing Division, pointed out that those with substance abuse or mental illness often feel less accommodated by shelters, further complicating efforts to get them off the street.
“We understand why oftentimes people who are street homeless don’t want to use shelter or why that is not a good or right option for them, and we acknowledge that, and we work with them for what would be a better option,” Nowak said.
Grellinger tells people who want help finding long- term housing to expect a wait.
“We have people that we support that we’ve been through a couple winters with, or three or four years. We generally tell people – best case scenario – if you get into 211 and get into a housing program and fill out an application and find a landlord, it’s six or nine months out,” he said. “It takes a long time.”
As the city grapples with its opioid crisis, residents experiencing both homelessness and addiction need both housing and accessible treatment in order to lower their risk of preventable death.
Shelly Sarasin, the co-executive director of Street Angels, reported consistent bottlenecks in connecting people to certain drug-related resources. “Fentanyl is really present in our community. Though we have a lot of harm-reduction resources, we don’t have a lot of facilities that are easy to get into.”
Gina Allende, the health promotions manager at UMOS, said a facility catering specifically to those with opioid addiction would also be important in helping those who are seeking treatment.
The one detox clinic run by the county serves people seeking services for many different types of addiction but “when people have opioid addiction, it comes right away with withdrawals … and they are concerned they won’t get medication right away and that they are going to suffer,” she said.
There are often obstacles encountered specifically by those who are experiencing homelessness that limit their ability to access the treatment that is available.
Location is one of them.
First Step Community Recovery Center, at 2835 N 32nd St., is the single county-funded facility that provides residential detox and MAT. MAT, or medication-assisted treatment, is the use of medications such as buprenorphine or methadone to help suppress withdrawals and limit craving.
First Step is in the North Side neighborhood of Sherman Park, so patients who live in the South Side often “don’t feel comfortable” when they find out where the facility is located, Allende said. “It would be a lot easier if people could just walk over there.”
Patricia Gutierrez, alcohol and drug abuse services director at IMPACT, said she understands this obstacle.
“When someone calls us, we usually ask them ‘is there someone we can call for you, is there a family member, a friend we can call for you,’” she said. “If it’s serious and life-threatening, we’re going to call an ambulance or police to see if they can take you down there. We just want to make sure the client gets there, and we use whatever avenue we can to get them there.”
Both UMOS and Street Angels regularly collaborate with the Milwaukee Fire Department via its Milwaukee Overdose Response Initiative project, or MORI, to help bridge this transportation gap. When UMOS or Street Angels staff encounter someone who wants treatment, they will call MORI to help arrange a ride.
Despite challenges, advocates and homeless services professionals said there are two reasons to be hopeful.
The first is the $400 million in opioid settlement money Wisconsin will be receiving over the next 18 years. This money has been earmarked for prevention programs, residential treatment and MAT, among others.
The settlement money will also go toward harm reduction/overdose prevention resources, including naloxone and fentanyl test strips. And it is the growing availability of this type of resource that serves as the second source of hope for people working in the field.
Harm reduction refers to a set of practices that aim to limit the dangers involved in behaviors that pose risks to one’s health, such as drug use or sex work, rather than zero-tolerance policies. Much current work in the field of addiction has adopted such  practices.
Both fentanyl test strips and naloxone are life-saving resources, and both are distributed by UMOS, Street Angels and MORI.
Milwaukee Fire Department Capt. David Polachowski, who oversees MORI, helped develop its “hope kits,” which include naloxone, CPR face shields, fentanyl testing strips, a card for Narcotics Anonymous and numbers for MORI and UMOS.
Polachowski said items like these are key in making progress.
“Our success is — are these people still alive? Because then there’s the potential for us, or anybody, to assist. That’s a win.”

created: November 9, 2022

author: Devin Blake


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Ron Smith
November 8, 2022


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Post From Community: Milwaukee Fatherhood Summit | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jeff Fleming, Communications Director, Office of Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson
November 9, 2022
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
Fathers, Grandfathers, Future Fathers and Father Figures will join Mayor Cavalier Johnson on Saturday, November 12, 2022 for the annual Milwaukee Fatherhood Summit.
This year’s event takes place at Destiny Youth Plaza, 7220 North 76th Street from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm.
The Fatherhood Summit is a one-stop shop resource fair connecting Milwaukee families with job opportunities, child support help, health education and screenings, financial empowerment, legal assistance and fatherly inspiration. New this year, the Family Outreach Resource Room will have games and activities for young people so bring your kids to have fun and learn about local mentoring opportunities.
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fatherhood-summit.jpg | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
November 9, 2022


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Post From Community: Environmental Justice Matters III – A National and Local Focus: a Sierra Club Great Waters Group panel discussion | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Karen Samelson
November 9, 2022
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
“Think Globally – Act Locally” is an activist’s mantra, so the Sierra Club Great Waters Group has invited local activists to share what other national environmental organizations are doing in the Milwaukee area regarding environmental justice. Panelists include Milton Byers III of Audubon Great Lakes – Wild Indigo, Lamont Smith of The Nature Conservancy and Deneine Powell, Fuse Corps Executive Fellow at City of Milwaukee Environmental Collaboration Office. All three have been honored as African American Environmental Pioneer Award winners, an annual Black History Month initiative sponsored by the Great Waters Group, Nearby Nature Milwaukee and others.
We’ll also provide updates on other local and state environmental justice initiatives.  The third in a series, this program follows previous GWG programs on this topic in 2018 and 2019.
The speakers include:
Milton Byers III, Audubon Great Lakes – Wild Indigo ProgramThough still young, Milton Beyers is a seasoned environmental youth educator who manages the Milwaukee part of the Audubon Great Lakes, Wild Indigo program, which focuses on building lasting relationships between urban communities of color and their local natural areas. Milton mentors a group of teen interns and offers them meaningful outdoor experiences.
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Lamont Smith, The Nature Conservancy
Milwaukee native Lamont Smith Lamont Smith, who was hired by TNC in 2021, has nearly 15 years of experience serving in key roles that convened public, private and philanthropic partners to achieve shared goals. Lamont’s energy and personal commitment to social justice, scholarship, advocating for youth, and love of the outdoors have spanned nearly his entire life.
Deneine Powell, Fuse Corps Executive Fellow at City of Milwaukee Environmental Collaboration Office
Deneine Powell’s passion for environmental justice has fueled her work in the environmental sector for years, particularly as executive director of Groundwork Milwaukee, where she shepherded the growth of initiatives for green careers, water and climate advocacy, and access to healthy food. More recently, she served as president and CEO of the African American Leadership Alliance of Milwaukee and national director of Path to Positive Communities for ecoAmerica. Her work as a Fuse Executive Fellow at the City Environmental Collaboration Office centers on climate and equity.
The program is free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged to get any program updates.
The Great Waters Group is the local group covering Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties for the Sierra Club, one of the nation’s oldest and largest environmental organizations. Learn more at www.sierraclub.org/wisconsin/great-waters.

author: Karen Samelson


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November 7, 2022


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Post From Community: First Stage celebrates the holidays with RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER™: THE MUSICAL | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Cindy Moran
November 9, 2022
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
Come celebrate the holidays this year with First Stage and the return of their heartwarming production of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER™: THE MUSICAL!, based on the 1964 television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and stage production directed and conceived by Jeff Frank and First Stage. The live, musical version of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER™ will be directed by Artistic Director Jeff Frank and features all the colorful characters audiences know and love, a thrilling adventure story combined with an unforgettable holiday musical score by Johnny Marks, including the catchy “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” theme song. From fleeing the Abominable Snow Monster to saving Christmas, join Rudolph and his friends, Hermey the Elf and Yukon Cornelius, as their adventures remind us that what makes us different can also be what makes us special. Don’t miss this wonderful holiday tradition that speaks to the little misfit in all of us! Sponsored by Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren and Associated Bank.
RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER™: THE MUSICAL runs November 25 – December 24, 2022 at the Marcus Center’s Todd Wehr Theater, located at 929 N. Water Street in downtown Milwaukee. Tickets start at $32 and can be purchased in person at the Marcus Center Box Office at 929 N. Water Street, by phone at (414) 273-7206 or online at firststage.org. Performance runtime is approximately 70 minutes, which includes a brief intermission. Suggested for families with young people ages 4+.
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Pay What You Choose Performance: Thursday, December 1, 2022 at 7:00 p.m.
Pay What You Choose tickets are available on a first come, first served basis with a minimum suggested donation of $5 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m. on the day of the performance. Patrons are encouraged to arrive early. Tickets may also be reserved in advance by phone at (414) 267-2961, weekdays 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. For more information, please visit: firststage.org/events-tickets/tickets-offers/pay-what-you-choose/
Sensory Friendly Performance: Saturday, December 10, 2022 at 3:30 p.m.
A Sensory Friendly Performance with accommodations for families with children on the autism spectrum will take place on Saturday, December 10 at 3:30 p.m. Sensory accommodations include a quiet area staffed by an experienced educator, lower sound, house lights up and more. Tickets for Sensory Friendly Performances are $10. Order online or by phone at (414) 267-2961, weekdays 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. to reserve tickets. To learn more visit: firststage.org/plan-your-visit/sensory-friendly-performances/.
Grandparent Holiday Brunch: Sunday, December 11 before the 1:00 p.m. performance of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER™: THE MUSICAL
Gather the entire family and join First Stage for a festive holiday brunch before the 1 p.m. performance of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER: THE MUSICAL on Sunday, December 11, 2022. The brunch will be held at the Marcus Performing Arts Center in the Bradley Pavilion located at 929 N. Water Street. Registration is from 11 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. The brunch will begin at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $65 for adults and $45 for children 12 and under, which includes a delicious pancake breakfast buffet, holiday-themed activities and programing for the kids, plus your ticket to the show! Already have tickets for the show, but want to attend the brunch? Tickets are $50 for adults and $30 for children 12 and under. To learn more or to register, please visit Grandparent Holiday Brunch.
ASL Interpreted Performance: Sunday, December 18, 2022 at 3:30 p.m.
This performance will be sign language interpreted for patrons who are deaf or hard of hearing. Assistive listening devices are also available at the Todd Wehr Theater. To learn more, please visit: firststage.org/plan-your-visit/accessibility/sign-language-interpreted-performances/
For more information, please visit firststage.org or call (414) 267-2961.
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Founded in 1987, First Stage is one of the nation’s leading theaters for young people and families, and a driving force behind the creation of the best and most innovative plays for family audiences, theater training programs for young people and education initiatives for its schools and community. First Stage ensures that all programming is not only accessible to its community but that it is reflective of the community it serves.
First Stage produces plays that honor the young person’s point of view, include diverse and traditionally underrepresented voices and inspire meaningful conversations. First Stage has presented more than 70 world premiere productions that address important subject matters relevant to today’s youth. The Theater Academy is one of the nation’s largest high-impact theater training programs for young people (3-18 years old). Through a challenging curriculum taught by professional teaching artists, the Academy nurtures life skills through stage skills and includes the Next Steps Program that tailors Theater Academy classes to the needs of young people on the autism spectrum and with other developmental disabilities. As Wisconsin’s leader in arts-integrated education in schools, First Stage’s dynamic Theater in Education Programs cleverly blend theater activities with standard curriculum – allowing more than 10,000 students annually to learn traditional academic subjects through creativity and self-expression.
First Stage is a member of TYA/USA, the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, the Wisconsin Alliance for Arts Education, Milwaukee Arts Partners and is a cornerstone member of the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF). firststage.org

author: Cindy Moran


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NNS-FirstStageLogo-01.png | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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November 9, 2022


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Hurdles remain before a new youth correctional facility can be built on Northwest Side | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
November 10, 2022
Despite pushback from residents and others over the proposal to build a new youth correctional facility at 7930 W. Clinton Ave., on the city’s Northwest Side, Sen. Lena Taylor firmly believes the plan will come to fruition.
“Oh yes,” said Taylor, D-Milwaukee, when asked if she thought final approval was imminent for the $42 million project.
“We’re not just doing it because we want to do it, we’re doing it because we’re acting on legislation,” she said.
Taylor, who represents the 4 Senate District, was referring to Act 185, prompted after years of investigations and lawsuits related to allegations of abuse and excessive use of force at the Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake youth prisons. Passed unanimously by the state Legislature in 2018, Act 185 ordered the replacement of those facilities with smaller regional facilities, which would keep youths closer to home and provide more access to programming.
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Plans to build a new facility in Milwaukee County were put on hold after the state’s Joint Finance Committee cut funds for the proposed project in 2020. They were revived last year when officials proposed using the  Felmers O. Chaney Correctional Center, 2825 N. 30th St., as a site. The center offers work release and other programs to people who have been convicted of a crime.
Taylor, along with others, including the Felmers O. Chaney Advocacy Board, advocated against tearing down and replacing Felmers Chaney with a youth facility but supported using the Clinton Avenue site.
Taylor hosted a public meeting last month at Abundant Faith Church of Integrity, 7830 W. Good Hope Road, to discuss the plan with residents. Most of the feedback that day came from individuals who opposed the proposal.
“When we dug down into why, the sentiment was ‘not in my backyard,’” she said.
Wendy Volz Daniels, chair of the Felmers O. Chaney Advocacy Board, said she’s also made efforts to talk with concerned residents and others and explain to them that a new facility wouldn’t negatively impact neighborhood safety. She’s also asking seniors to consider working with the youths who would be housed there.
“You are the elders. You have a lot of wisdom to share with these young people,” she said she tells them.
As work continues to ease concerns and gain support from residents and others in the area, several other hurdles remain before ground can be broken on a new facility.
The first is approval to rezone the proposed property by the Common Council, which has expressed support for the site.
According to Ald. Michael Murphy, before the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee and, ultimately, the full Common Council can complete that process, the proposal needs to be reviewed by the City Plan Commission.
Although the City Plan Commission is a recommending body and doesn’t have the last say on whether or not a facility can be built there, it is influential in these matters.
Jonathan Fera, communications and marketing officer for the Department of City Development, said the file was just introduced to the Common Council, and staff has yet to determine a date for a City Plan Commission hearing. In addition, he said, the commission does not have exhibits from the project team yet.
“The City Plan Commission members have not seen anything regarding this proposal, other than what’s been previously shared with the public,” Fera wrote in an email to NNS.
After city approval is secured, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections must host a public listening session regarding the project. Once a site is selected and the design is at or near completion, the plan will then go to the State Building Commission for approval and to request authority to construct.
Next, the state’s Department of Administration and Department of Corrections will work together to finalize the details and put out a formal bid to seek contractors for the project. Finally, once a contractor has been selected and contracts finalized, the state can begin construction of a new youth correctional facility in Milwaukee.
It will likely be years before a new facility opens, Taylor acknowledged. But she said it is one of several things that need to be done to help improve outcomes for local youths involved in the justice system.
“I want us to invest appropriately and create an environment for people to succeed,” she said. “We need to be able to provide them with cultural programming close to home and help provide a better environment for them when they get out.”

created: November 10, 2022

author: Edgar Mendez


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52454189125_dca1926ec0_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ron Smith
November 9, 2022


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5 things to know and do the weekend of Nov. 11 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
November 11, 2022
It’s Friday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about. If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please submit your news by clicking here at least two weeks in advance.
We Energies seeks to raise rates starting in January. You can submit comments in favor or against this plan through Monday, Nov. 14. These comments will be read by the Public Service Commission, which has the power to approve or deny the rate increase. Submit comments here.
Meet the new class of Public Allies, who are placed in nonprofit roles throughout Milwaukee, and talk with them about what they’re doing. Past alumni of the Public Allies program include County Executive David Crowley, entrepreneur Tonda Thompson and artist and educator LaShawndra Vernon. The event takes place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11 at Oak Barrel Public House, located at 1033 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Drive.
Riverworks MKE and partners are hosting this financial fair to support their goal of assisting 700 new BIPOC homeowners in 2023. The fair will have resources for aspiring homeowners, current homeowners and those looking for a career in the mortgage or real estate industry. The event takes place  from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12 at Evolve Church, 6550 N. 76th St.
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An open mic for music, dance, poetry and more. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12 at the LBJ Club, located at 2302 W. State St.
Learn about scholarship and internship opportunities for students at this forum, hosted by Mexican Fiesta. There will be help available for the FAFSA (free application for federal student aid), a laptop raffle and scholarship lotteries for college and high school students. The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12  at Flores Hall, 2997 S. 20th St.

created: November 11, 2022


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17822210978_ff95edfbb8_k-2 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ron Smith
November 10, 2022


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5 things to know and do this week in Milwaukee: Nov. 14 to Nov. 18 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
November 14, 2022
It’s Monday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about. If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please submit your news by clicking here at least two weeks in advance.
Health Connections Inc. has organized several events as part of “Wakanda Wellness Week.” These events include a conversation about the movie “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” karaoke, a conversation on Black family wellness and more. Events began on Saturday and will continue through Saturday, Nov. 19 at locations throughout the city. See a full list of events here.
This discussion on image in the workplace will expand on topics explored in the TV series “The Hair Tales.” The discussion will take place in person and virtually, running from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at Tru Image Design Studio, located at 3025 N. 35th St. Click here to reserve a spot.
Learn more about how the state evaluates schools at this event organized by City Forward Collective. The event takes place from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17 at  the Tannery Building, 700 W. Virginia St., Suite 610. You must register by Tuesday and can do so by clicking here.
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The Guest House of Milwaukee is hosting a job fair for those interested in joining its team. The job fair takes place  from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 1216 N. 13th St.
Organized by Radio Milwaukee and MKE Black, this event includes a presentation from Baird with tips for small businesses on items such as employee retirement plans and securing capital, followed by a panel discussion with local business leaders. The event takes place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at Radio Milwaukee, located at 220 E. Pittsburgh Ave.

created: November 14, 2022


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15130423069_d9d4f8eca8_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ron Smith
November 13, 2022

created: November 13, 2022


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NNS Spotlight: La Familia de Arte makes artists out of everyday South Siders | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
November 15, 2022
La Familia de Arte recently celebrated the installation of public art memorializing lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as memorials to First Nations and immigrant groups who have made Milwaukee home.
The Oct. 13 installations are part of an effort to create public art in the community and to make public artists out of residents who might not think they are.
This fall brought 16 new bollards to South Cesar Chavez Drive between West Washington Street and West National Avenue in addition to the 12 bollards that the organization installed in the area during fall 2021.
The bollards, which are sturdy cement cubes with ceramic designs glued on all sides, were made by residents of the near South Side. They were designed and created by local artists and self-described non-artists alike who range in age from grade-schoolers to retirees.
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The eight bollards installed on the west side of the street make up a cohesive project called “2022 Pandemic Reflections.” These bollards are based on what community members said they learned during the pandemic.  The answers they provided include savoring virtual visits with friends, taking more time to read, spending more time with pets and rediscovering their artistic side.
It is a continuation of last year’s installation that honored those lost to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021 and recognized everyday neighborhood heroes.
Jean Behrens, a retired art teacher and nurse who serves on La Familia de Arte’s board of directors, was one of those interviewed for “2022 Pandemic Reflections.” She said she learned skills during the pandemic such as baking bread and cooking more meals as restaurants closed. But she also took away more contemplative lessons.
“I really learned how to take better care of myself and appreciate things I used to take for granted,” Behrens said. “Just looking at the world with a broader perspective.”
The eight bollards installed on the east side of the street were part of the project “Here We Make Our Home,” which honors groups who lived in or settled in Milwaukee through 1920.
These include three bollards dedicated to the 12 First Nations of Wisconsin (inscribed on the bollards as Potawatomi, Oneida, Menominee, Ho-Chunk, St. Croix Chippewa, Lac du Flambeau, Bad River, Red Cliff, Brothertown, Mole Lake, La Courte Oreilles and Stockbridge Munsee) and one each for African Americans, Germans and Polish, Irish and Italians.
AnnMarie Ruiz-Carlos, a middle school student who teaches other young artists for La Familia de Arte, said that the organizations consulted members of each community about how to respectfully depict their culture. She remembered learning from a member of the Oneida Nation in particular.
“I think it’s a good thing that we were able to learn from them, because they need more appreciation. They were here before us and they discovered this land,” Ruiz-Carlos said.
La Familia de Arte did not begin as a 501(c)3 nonprofit but as a group of neighbors dedicated to using art to help their community thrive.
Lori Gramling, who now is the organization’s executive director, said it was around 2005 that the group began meeting as volunteers and soon after were organized under the name “26th Street Project.”
The group continued for about 12 years on small grants and donations that covered the costs of their supplies, but it got a big monetary boost in 2017 from neighbors and eventually local philanthropic institutions and began hiring art teachers from the community to teach.
Gramling said a majority of the funding now goes to salaries and stipends. She said this is important because it allows local people to give their time to the organization without taking second jobs and makes it clear that the work they do at La Familia de Arte is valuable.
“Sometimes people from affluent areas have come and asked the question:  ‘Why do you pay people? Shouldn’t they want to do it themselves?’ That (question) only comes from affluent people.” Gramling said. “But there’s a real dignity to it. It makes them feel valued that someone would actually pay them to do this work.”
Four years ago, around when the group began to start hiring teachers, Gramling approached Amalia Carlos about a job with the organization. Carlos had volunteered with her two granddaughters before, was apprehensive at first but eventually accepted.
“At first my answer was no,” Carlos said through an interpreter. “I told her I didn’t know how I would be able to help. I am not an artist.”
Carlos was not the first, nor the last, to doubt her ability to serve an arts organization without being trained as an artist. Gramling said this kind of initial apprehension is common, but that ceramics-based projects like the bollards on South Cesar Chavez Drive are simple enough to show self-described non-artists that they can have a place in an arts organization.
At last month’s commemoration of the 16 new bollards, Carlos served as La Familia de Arte’s event manager, running around coordinating the distribution of tamales, organizing live music and making small talk with neighbors and leaders who came out to see what she and others had created.
“I’ve learned to draw and paint, but most importantly I’ve learned to believe in myself,” Carlos said.
Click here to check out La Familia de Arte’s website.

created: November 15, 2022


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52434787081_93f6c07f1d_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ron Smith
November 14, 2022


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OPINION: I killed a man. But is my sentence based more on revenge when it should be about redemption and rehabilitation? | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Joseph Cook
November 15, 2022
Editor’s note: Have something on your mind? “Community Voices” is the place to let Milwaukee hear what you have to say. To be considered, we need your name, email address and phone number for verification. Please email your submissions to info@milwaukeenns.org.
I recently had a conversation with a correctional officer. She asked me why I was in prison. I told her for a homicide, a robbery that went wrong and how I did plan to rob the man but didn’t plan on killing him.
Once the guy found out that a robbery was taking place, he rushed me.
I was 17. He was 32, a grown man and a bodybuilder. If he would have taken my gun or got a hold of me, I would have been dead.
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Before he made it to me, I squeezed the trigger once. To stop him, not kill him. Yet that shot was final.
It was fatal.
Instead of calling the police, or an ambulance, I left the man there to die. I left him there to choke on his own blood, the most egregious thing I have ever done.
I told the correctional officer that I didn’t value life then. Mine or anybody else’s.
The streets make people callous in that way. A form of nihilism. And also a form of fatalism.
I went on to tell her, at 17, my decision-making wasn’t the best. You know the science that says our brains aren’t developed until our mid-20s? I told her that, and it is credible.
Science and reality are a little different though.
I know grown men who act as silly and reckless as I did as a teen.
I had a gun, which some would argue meant killing was a possibility, and I was aware of that possibility. That gun for me was a way to intimidate the guy. I never planned on taking his life.
The correctional officer went on to tell me that if somebody did that to one of her relatives, she would want them to have life in prison. Then she asked me: Do I think I received enough time?
I said hell yeah. I received 25 years, in at the age of 17, plus 20 years’ probation. I went on to say I should have gotten time, but 25 years is too much.
After my first 10 years, I should have been evaluated based on my achievements while incarcerated: My adjustment; my behavior; my thought process; and whether or not I could contribute to society.
I said I know some people think that the victim in my case can’t be there for his family; he can’t contribute to society. So why should I have the freedom to do so?
At least I still get to talk to my mother, laugh with my siblings, be involved in the lives of my nieces and nephews while behind bars.
I took that away from a person and his family.
In my own family, I know people who have the same point of view toward the guys who killed my nephew.
They are real sentiments that good, decent and loving people have. It’s not a political argument for the survivors of the dead. They want to make sure that the person who killed their loved one is captured and put away.
They feel that the person who killed their loved one isn’t fit for society and don’t deserve to be free while their loved one is dead.
I told the officer I understood those sentiments. But things aren’t that black and white.
My DA, my judge, the bailiff were all white and dealt with people like me and the victim in my case only in the courts.
Outside the court, if they would have seen my victim in society, they would have rolled up their windows and locked their doors.
It might sound ironic, but I would have been more likely to have a positive human interaction with my victim in society than the people who presided over my case.
I also told her that both his family and my family are the only innocent victims. And that the younger people in my life needed me free to guide them.
I could be mentoring troubled youths. But instead, I am here. How does that benefit anybody?
In America — and it might be the human condition —revenge is tied to the healing of the victim’s family’s and finding them closure.
It has more to do with emotions than with justice.
Emotionalism is understood by the victim’s family but shouldn’t be put into policy during sentencing.
I said that our judicial system is based on revenge when it should be about redemption and rehabilitation.
All of the groups for inmates, provided by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, stress forgiveness, compassion, giving others second chances and not judging people based on the worst mistake they made.
Yet when it comes to prisoners, those same standards of value are not applied to us. They teach these beliefs to us but they don’t practice them.
The correctional officer listened to me with the same sincerity and honesty that I gave her when I listened.
She didn’t change my mind, though.
I don’t know if I changed hers. Come to think of it, we were talking for understanding more than to persuade the other.
Joseph Cook, a former Milwaukee resident, is incarcerated in the medium-security New Lisbon Correctional Institution.

author: Joseph Cook


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52439857521_447b2c6dac_o | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ron Smith
November 14, 2022


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New clinics provide urgent dental services to bridge gaps for underserved residents in Milwaukee | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Devin Blake
November 17, 2022
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly named an Ascension Seton Dental Services dentist. The correct name is Charles Kosowski.
Ascension Seton Dental Services, part of the nonprofit Ascension health care system, has opened a new urgent care location on the South Side and will be opening another one on the North Side to  provide services for children and adults who are uninsured and underinsured.
Ascension St. Francis Hospital houses the new South Side location at 3267 S. 16 St. The clinic opened on Sept. 22.
Securing these new clinic spaces is “a great opportunity for us to help those in most need … the North and South Side of the city seem to have some of the biggest discrepancies in access to care,” said Charles Kosowski, dentist at Ascension Seton Dental Services.
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In these parts of the city, “dentist offices are sparse. The purpose of our clinics is to cut that gap and try to provide access all over town,” Kosowski added.
When it comes to oral care, Milwaukee County exists in what’s known as a Health Professional Shortage Area, or HPSA, an area that has either a partial or a full shortage of specific types of providers.
Oral care in surrounding regions is similarly hard to come by.
More than 60 counties out of 72 in the state qualify as an HPSA for dental providers, said Jenna Linden, oral health program leader at Children’s Health Alliance of Wisconsin.
This shortage limits the ability for Milwaukee residents to get dental care in situations when it is urgent, which is particularly relevant in the case of young children, said Lindsay Deinhammer, project manager for the oral health initiative at Children’s Alliance.
“They don’t always verbalize right away that they’re having pain or aren’t able to verbalize that they’re having pain,” Deinhammer said. “And so it’s not until it becomes more apparent that their parents will seek care at that point.” Children’s Alliance is housed within Children’s Wisconsin and focuses on child health initiatives and partners with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
Ascension’s previous South Side location on Historic Mitchell Street faced challenges, with patients often going to some lengths to get an appointment.
“We would open doors at 7:30, and we would have people standing outside at a quarter to 7,” said Robert Ramerez, director of community clinic operations at Ascension Wisconsin.
These new locations will expand Ascension’s ability to serve these patients.
Outreach Community Health Centers now houses a mobile dental clinic at its North Side location, but a permanent clinic is expected to open later this month.
The goal of these urgent care clinics is to get patients out of a dental-related crisis.
“Pain is the number one issue,” Kosowski said.
Swelling, sores, bleeding and tooth decay are other common reasons to seek urgent care.
By addressing acute issues, Ascension’s dentists work to restore a base level of oral health so patients can then pursue more routine or preventive care at other low-cost or free clinics.
“I want their mouths to be the last thing they think about,” Kosowski said.
Taking care of one’s oral health is crucial to maintaining overall health. Adults with poor oral health are more likely to develop heart conditions, diabetes, respiratory problems and certain cancers, among other issues.
There is particular risk to pregnant mothers, who can be expected to have preterm babies or babies born with low birth weights when they experience poor oral health, Kosowski said.
Healthy development of young and school-aged children can also be impaired when they suffer from pain or swelling, which has been especially evident in Milwaukee. Untreated oral pain is the leading reason children miss school in Milwaukee Public Schools, said Kosowski.
Problems in one part of the mouth can sometimes spread to other parts of the mouth, or even other parts of the body – sometimes with tragic consequences.
Deamonte Driver was a 12-year-old boy in Maryland with a bacterial infection that started as a tooth abscess but ultimately spread to his brain, leading to his death in 2007.
Driver’s death could have been prevented with a straightforward, low-cost tooth extraction, but his family was not able to get him care because they had no insurance.
Driver’s death, in particular, has served as a grim reminder to dentists and oral health care professionals about the dire need to expand care.
“It was a really important catalyst to move a lot of this work forward and try to increase dental care access,” Linden said.
People can also learn about how to get an appointment by calling 2-1-1 or through Ascension’s website.
Calls to the clinic, Ramerez said, are always preferred, though.
The clinic at Ascension St. Francis is open Monday and Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The number to call is 414-383-3220.
The clinic at Outreach Community Health Centers, scheduled to open this month, is located at 210 W. Capitol Drive and will be open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The number to call is 414-727-6320.

created: November 17, 2022


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52440182501_0d9ec626ec_c | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ron Smith
November 16, 2022

created: November 16, 2022


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52504853856_96513f797b_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ron Smith
November 16, 2022


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Multiracial dental team with patient in dental clinic. Dental health concept. | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ron Smith
November 16, 2022


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5 things to know and do the weekend of Nov. 18 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
November 18, 2022
It’s Friday in Milwaukee and here are some things we think you should know about. If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please submit your news by clicking here at least two weeks in advance.
The ThriveOn King Collaboration is holding visioning sessions for what art should go in the ThriveOn King building. The building is under construction and will function as a community hub and apartment building. This month’s visioning session runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18 at America’s Black Holocaust Museum at 401 W. North Ave. More information on the building here. RSVP for the free event here.
Paradise Home, a project by Milwaukee-based artist Rosy Petri, is hosting an RSVP-only studio sale and open house. You can view products for sale here, and read more about Paradise Home, 2650 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive #12654, here. A 20% discount will be applied to sales finalized by the end of Friday, while a 15% discount will be applied to Saturday sales. Works are available for purchase online now, but the open house portion will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19. You must RSVP to participate in the open house, and all in-person visitors must wear a mask. You can RSVP here.
Get to know Happy Days Day Bar resident artist Sheniqua Freeman and purchase her works at this gallery night event. Dress code of “professional / after 5” is encouraged. There is no fee to attend. The event takes place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19 at Happy Days Day Bar, located in Sherman Phoenix, located at 3536 W. Fond Du Lac Ave. More information here.
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Riverworks Development Corporation has organized themed tours of Harambee through November. This weekend’s tour covers Harambee’s art and culture spaces, including existing murals, the neighborhood’s seven healing spaces and future plans for the Harambee community. Each participant will receive a gift from an artisan to commemorate the tour.
The tour runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19, beginning at St. Marcus Lutheran School, located at 2210 N. 1st St. RSVP for free here. More information here.
The Wisconsin Department of Corrections seeks input on a proposed new youth correctional facility on the Northwest Side at 7930 W. Clinton Ave. Residents are invited to review plans and provide feedback from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Nov. 19 at the Milwaukee Police Academy, located at 6680 N. Teutonia Ave.
You can read more about the plans for the facility here.
The Jackson Park winter farmers market is back with maple syrup, beer, produce and more from local farmers. The market runs from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 20 inside the boat house at Jackson Park, located at 3500 W. Forest Home Ave.
Experience a night of food from around the world and facilitated discussions around cultural history and action steps to connect people from the city and suburbs. The event runs from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18 at Medical College of Wisconsin Alumni Center, located at 8701 W. Watertown Plank Road in Wauwatosa. Tickets are $14 for adults, and $7 for children 12 and under.

created: November 18, 2022


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51322616623_1bf1f37cb4_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ron Smith
November 17, 2022


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5 things to know and do this week in Milwaukee: Nov. 21 to Nov. 25 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
November 21, 2022
It’s Monday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about. If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please submit your news by clicking here at least two weeks in advance.
Nō Studios will be screening “You Resemble Me,” the true story of Hasna Ait Boulahcen, a women who was falsely accused of being Europe’s first female suicide bomber. The screening starts at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 21 at Nō Studios, located at 1037 W. McKinley Ave. The screening is free for Nō Studios members, $10 for non-members and includes complimentary beer, popcorn and soda.
The Kujichagulia Producers Cooperative, named after the principle of self-determination celebrated on the second day of Kwanzaa, is celebrating two years in business at the Sherman Phoenix with karaoke, cake and conversation. The party runs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22 at Sherman Phoenix, located at 3536 W. Fond Du Lac Ave.
A free, low-impact workout community zumba class, hosted by Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers, is held weekly on Wednesday mornings starting at 9 a.m. at 2906 W. Scott St.
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Deneine Powell from the City of Milwaukee’s Environmental Collaboration Office and state Rep. Supreme Moore Omokunde will lead this discussion on the city’s climate and equity plan. You can read about the plan and reserve your spot here. This conversation will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at Bay View Community Center, located at 1320 E. Oklahoma Ave. There will also be a chance to participate in this discussion on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at City Hall, located at 200 E. Wells St., and at Walnut Way Innovations and Wellness Commons, located at 1609 W. North Ave.
For the third year, Comedy75 is back for Thanksgiving and Black Friday with a showcase of Milwaukee’s comedic talent. The shows run from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on both Thursday Nov. 24 and Friday, Nov. 25 at the Wisconsin African-American Women’s Center, located at 3020 W. Vliet St.  Tickets are $10 and $15.

created: November 21, 2022


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52513668655_7cea5276fc_k-1 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ron Smith
November 20, 2022

created: November 20, 2022


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Where you can find free meals in Milwaukee this week and how you can help | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
November 21, 2022
We’ve compiled a list of community meals and turkey giveaways through Thursday as well as information on getting updated food pantry hours and how you can donate your money or time to help keep people fed this holiday season.
We want to keep this list updated. If we have missed a resource, let us know by emailing your information to info@milwaukeenns.org with “meals” in the subject line.
Drive-thru turkey giveaway and hot meal: Monday, Nov. 21
Families can pick up a frozen turkey and a hot meal at this drive-thru giveaway. The hot meal can be taken home or eaten onsite. The giveaway starts at noon on Monday, Nov. 21 and continues while supplies last at the Martin Luther King Community Center, located at 1531 W. Vliet St. Limit one turkey per household. For details, call the King Center at (414) 344-5600. More information here.
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Community meal at the Milwaukee Public Library: Tuesday, Nov. 22
Join the Milwaukee Public Library for a community meal while playing trivia and games from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at the Mitchell Street Branch, located at 906 W. Historic Mitchell St. More information here. Walk-ins are welcome while spots are available, RSVP here to secure a spot.
Take-and-bake meals to feed four: Wednesday, Nov. 23
United Neighborhood Centers of Milwaukee and other community partners will distribute “take-and-bake” meals with pre-cooked turkey and sides that feed four on a first-come first-served basis. You can pick up meals from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 23 in the Social Development Commission (SDC) parking lot located at the intersection of West North Avenue and North 17th Street. More information here.
Free turkey giveaway at Sherman Phoenix: Wednesday, Nov. 23
Ald. Khalif J. Rainey and Ald. Russell W. Stamper have partnered to provide free turkeys to local families this year for Thanksgiving. In collaboration with the Hunger Task Force, the aldermen will be stationed in the parking lot of the Sherman Phoenix, 3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave., beginning at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23. There will be a limit of one turkey per family, and turkeys will be given away while supplies last.
Thanksgiving dinner giveaway: Thursday, Nov. 24
Northcott Neighborhood House will be giving away 1,000 Thanksgiving dinners that feed four people from 8 a.m. to noon on Thursday, Nov. 24 at Northcott Neighborhood House, located at 2460 N. 6th St. More information here.
Thanksgiving day afternoon feast and giveaway: Thursday, Nov. 24
Dream Team United MKE is hosting its fourth annual free Thanksgiving day feast and giveaway from noon to 3 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 24 at the intersection of North 35th Street and West Center Street. A hot traditional Thanksgiving dinner will be served along with s’mores and the giveaway includes free groceries, new winter coats and accessories for adults and youth while supplies last. For more information, contact Farina Brooks at 414-839-9481 or email dreamteammke@gmail.com
Many food pantries will still be open during the Thanksgiving week and weekend. However, their hours may change or they may stop serving food if supplies run out.
IMPACT 2-1-1 will have the latest information on what food pantries are open near you. Text your ZIP code to TXT-211 [898-211]. While IMPACT has confirmed holiday hours with the pantries in its system, it still suggests calling the pantry you plan to go to ahead of time to confirm that they are still open when you plan to go.
Northcott Neighborhood House is looking for volunteers to staff its meal giveaway on Thanksgiving day. If you are interested in volunteering, email jdavis@northcotthouse.org.
The Hunger Task Force has organized a virtual food drive where you can purchase food items to be donated. More information here.
Dream Team United MKE is looking for volunteers to help serve its Thanksgiving day meal and giveaway. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Farina Brooks at 414-839-9481 or email dreamteammke@gmail.com


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38573909861_fcc8bd303b_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ron Smith
November 20, 2022


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‘It’s a bittersweet feeling’: Near West Side Partners’ Keith Stanley prepares to write new chapter when he leaves Milwaukee | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
PrincessSafiya Byers
November 22, 2022
Keith Stanley has spent eight years building a foundation for Near West Side Partners by creating partnerships that close observers say have helped develop the area.
Under his leadership, the area has seen projects such as the PARC initiative, which has been credited with helping reduce crime on the Near West Side. PARC stands for Promoting Assets and Reducing Crime.
In addition, 40 news businesses have flourished in the neighborhoods since 2016.
Stanley announced earlier this month that he’ll be leaving his role as the executive director for Near West Side Partners, or NWSP, where he has worked to revitalize and sustain the Near West Side community. He has accepted a role as the president and CEO of University City Partners, a nonprofit in Charlotte, North Carolina, that works to increase the city’s economic vitality.
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Before becoming the founding executive director of Near West Side Partners, Stanley worked at Milwaukee City Hall as chief of staff to then-council President Willie Hines Jr. He also served as the director of the SOHI (SOuth of Highland) District, an organization focused on revitalizing North 27th Street south of West Highland Avenue.
When he started working on the Near West Side, his goal was to improve the quality of life for its residents. As he prepares to leave, he is reflecting on his organization’s accomplishments.
“When I called the mayor of this amazing city to tell him about the change in leadership, I was reminded that he lives in the Near West Side,” Stanley said. “That shows me that because of the work we’ve been able to do, the Near West Side is becoming a neighborhood of choice. A neighborhood our mayor chose to live in.”
Just west of downtown, the Near West Side is bound by I-43 on the east, Highway 41  on the west, Vliet Street and Highland Boulevard on the north and I-94 on the south.
It is known for its history of entrepreneurship, which Stanley had worked to revitalize since NWSP’s inception in 2014. He said he couldn’t be prouder of the improvements he’s been able to see on the Near West Side.
“From the development and advancement that has taken place over the last few years to the BIPOC and woman-owned businesses throughout the neighborhood, it’s been an honor to see how much has transpired,” Stanley said.
“It’s a bittersweet feeling,” said Stanley, who will leave at the end of the year. “I’m excited about sharing all that I’ve learned in my new position, but Milwaukee is home.”
The Milwaukee native said he will miss the city, but assed that his decision shows the power of partnership.
“As I was going through this process, several people referenced Near West Side Partners and its work,” he said. “It shows the great work of not only Near West Side Partners but the whole city, and it’s being noticed nationally.”
The Near West Side community seems to be in agreement that because of Stanley’s leadership, there is a strong foundation for whomever takes his place.
“There is an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for Keith and his leadership,” said Patrick Kennelly, the director of Marquette University’s Center for Peacemaking. “He brought partners, anchors and residents together in a way that I hadn’t seen before.”
“I’m excited for Keith,” said Tiffany Miller, a Near West Side resident. “I believe development and programming will continue because of the partnerships and community that has already been built.”
Miller said she hopes Stanley’s successor will be local and already a member of the Near West Side.
“There is plenty of talent on the Near West Side and within Near West Side Partners,” she said.
For now, Lindsey St. Arnold Bell, associate director of NWSP, will serve as interim executive director of the organization.
“Lindsey has a demonstrated track record of helping build change,” Stanley said. “I think she’ll hit a home run as executive director.”
Though Stanley is on his way out, he said he is excited about work still being done in the Near West Side.
“I am looking forward to the opening of 27th and Concordia,” he said. “I hope to be at the opening.”
Concordia 27 is a project turning a vacant property on 27th Street into a community center and affordable housing development.
According to its website, the project will also offer resources and services to residents, create new full-time job opportunities, provide new creative spaces for community engagement and support entrepreneurs and small businesses as they grow and generate additional jobs to strengthen the local, city, and statewide economy.
Stanley said he’ll miss experiencing the different corners and sectors of the city.
“There is beauty in diversity and culture, and our city has all of that,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to limit myself to one part and encourage others to take advantage of what the city has to offer.”
In case you missed it: NNS Spotlight: ‘Keeping the best interest of the community at heart’: Near West Side Partners celebrates 7 years of service

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51371238405_d0f00eb6bb_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ron Smith
November 21, 2022


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Post From Community: MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary celebrates grant from Gannett Foundation | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service staff
November 22, 2022
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
We invite everyone to join the MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary in celebrating being one of six Wisconsin nonprofits selected for a  Community Thrives grant from the Gannett Foundation.
The organization was among 60 nonprofits that shared their ideas to improve Wisconsin.
“To be chosen as one of the six recipients, and to receive this grant of $25,000 unquestionably helps us deepen our impact,” says Sister MacCanon Brown, CEO of MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary. “It encourages us as we provide crucial support to people whose homeless and at risk lives are filled with crisis, scarcity, tragedy and loss of potential. This is a moment of joy to be shared with our outreach participants, our dedicated staff and volunteers and all the people who believe in our life-giving work.”
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The Wisconsin nonprofits received a combined $235,000 worth of grants through A Community Thrives, an annual grant-making and crowdfunding program from the USA Today Network and the Gannett Foundation. Nationally, the initiative raised 3.1 million in 2022 to support local organizations that alleviate hardships residents face on a daily basis.
You can donate to the MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary by clicking here.
In case you missed it: ‘There are no throwaway people’: Sister MacCanon Brown and her mission to serve homeless residents


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Ron Smith
November 21, 2022


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Confused about health insurance? For Open Enrollment Period, you need someone like Quentella Perry in your life | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Devin Blake
November 23, 2022
When it comes to health insurance, certainty can seem in short supply.
Meet Quentella Perry, whose job with the nonprofit Covering Wisconsin involves helping people plow through the complexities. Just as accountants have their busy season during tax time, people like Perry have got their hands full helping people navigate the choices offered during the Open Enrollment Period from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15.
The Open Enrollment Period is a time during which people can change or sign up for a health insurance plan – either through their employer or the federal Health Insurance Marketplace, if they qualify for those subsidies.
Outside of this time period, people can enroll in plans only under certain circumstances, including getting a new job, getting married or having a child. If one meets the criteria, state-run Medicaid programs, like Wisconsin’s BadgerCare Plus, can be enrolled in throughout the year.
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Regardless of the source of health insurance, though, pretty much everyone is confused about it on some level.
This is where Perry and people like her come in.
Perry will resolve that confusion.
She will answer your questions.
She will walk you through the steps.
You will emerge from your meeting with an insurance plan that meets your needs.
Perry is a licensed health insurance navigator at Covering Wisconsin, a nonprofit organization based out of University of Wisconsin-Madison that educates people about health insurance and helps them choose a plan. It operates throughout the state, including in Milwaukee.
Covering Wisconsin is part of a coalition of organizations and agencies working to increase enrollment among all residents but particularly those who are not insured.
There are 55,000 uninsured people in Milwaukee County, and nearly 35,000 of them live in the city, according to data provided by the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership. The nonprofit partners with health care providers, government agencies and community organizations to serve vulnerable residents.
Other organizations that employ navigators helping Milwaukee residents include Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center, Progressive Community Health Centers  and Feeding America.
Perry, 40, was born and raised in Milwaukee. She has been a navigator for four years but was a certified application counselor, or CAC, for many years before that.
A CAC is a position staffed within a medical setting, such as a hospital, to assist patients when they apply for health insurance. CACs often transition into navigators. Navigators have more experience and can assist CACs when they encounter especially complex or challenging cases.
“This is my passion. I believe education is key. Educating individuals within the community is key. This is something I love doing, and this is why I continue to do this work,” Perry said.
“We don’t receive commissions; all the information we give is impartial. Our services are free to individuals,” she said. “A lot of the agent brokers – they work off commission – and individuals have a hard time trying to figure out if they have their best interest in mind.”
Education must always be the first goal of a navigator, said Cheryl Isabell, Milwaukee community engagement lead at Covering Wisconsin.
“To understand what a premium is … . To explain to them what a copay is. If you’ve never had insurance, or have had to pay for health insurance coverage, you don’t know,” Isabell said.
All the information and documentation can be difficult to keep track of — even for those who are fluent in the process.
“It’s very confusing,” said Winona Grieger, navigator at Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center. “Every person that you work with – it’s never the same. Everything is always different.”
After the client understands all these moving parts, “then we discuss different plans,” Isabell said.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has sent out a “call to action” to organizations like Covering Wisconsin.
The mandate is simple: Enroll, enroll, enroll.
The reason for the call to action, in addition to the number of uninsured people, is because there is additional financial assistance for health coverage that was not available in past years.
If people “have looked before and just chose not to have health insurance coverage because it wasn’t affordable for them, they should look again,” Isabell said.
Another major change is fixing what insurance professionals call the “family glitch.”
“If you’re employed, your employer may offer health insurance coverage, but it’s only affordable for the employee – the family plan may be unaffordable,” said Isabell. Up until now, those family members were not eligible for alternative assistance through the marketplace, which meant that the options to insure one’s family members were between a plan that was prohibitively expensive through the employer or a plan without financial assistance through the marketplace.
“Now that the family glitch has been fixed, the family members have the opportunity to get those tax credits (through the marketplace), so now the whole family can be insured,” Isabell said.
Another concern of particular urgency for navigators is the potential end of the federal public health emergency, which has allowed people covered by BadgerCare Plus to keep coverage regardless of changes in their income or household size. BadgerCare Plus recipients have also not been required to update their information, which is required every 12 months under normal circumstances.
When the public health emergency finally does end, recipients will need to update their information and be re-evaluated to determine if they can maintain their coverage.
Although the public health emergency has been extended 11 times since its original declaration in January 2020 and is currently extended until Jan. 11, many health care professionals anticipate its end in the coming year.
“A lot of individuals are used to having help through the state program, and with everyone going back to work and everybody becoming employed, some individuals will potentially be at a loss of their coverage, because of them being over the income limit,” Perry said.
To make an appointment with a navigator at one of a number of agencies, you can use this online tool hosted by Covering Wisconsin.

created: November 23, 2022


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Ron Smith
November 22, 2022


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Ron Smith
November 22, 2022


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5 things to know and do the weekend of Nov. 25 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
November 25, 2022
It’s Friday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about. If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please submit your news by clicking here at least two weeks in advance.
Get your Black Friday shopping done while supporting local businesses from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 25 at Sherman Phoenix, located at 3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
Riverworks Development Corporation has organized themed tours of Harambee through November. This weekend’s tour covers Harambee’s small businesses and will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 26.  This tour will be co-lead by the Historic King Drive Business Improvement District No. 8. and Brew City Match. Register to attend for free here. Once you’ve completed your registration, you will be notified via email about the logistics, such as where to meet up and parking information. If you do not use email, provide your phone number when registering.
Coffee Makes You Black’s monthly concert series continues this month from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 2803 N. Teutonia Ave. Tickets are $10. More information about performances and purchasing tickets can be found here.
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Milwaukee Public Library’s teen art contest is  accepting applications through Saturday, Nov. 26. Winners of the contest receive gift cards to Blick Art Materials, and all who participate will receive a free scholarship to TBEY Arts Center covering the cost of art classes at the studio, mentorship performances and more. Click here for entry form.
Shop at Black-owned businesses for holiday gifts this weekend and see a performance of “The Hip Hop Nutcracker,” a remix of the classic holiday play incorporating contemporary dance and a short set with Kurtis Blow. The afternoon Black-owned business market is free to attend and includes over 40 businesses. It takes place from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 26 at the Marcus Performing Arts Center, located at 929 N. Water St. Tickets for the show start at $45 and include one hour of private shopping at the market from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 26 at the Marcus Performing Arts Center. More information about the market here. More information about the performance here.
This event is co-organized by MKE Black. MKE Black is a business directory for Milwaukee’s Black-owned businesses. You can find a list of over 600 local Black-owned businesses organized by category here.
Start your podcast journey with a five-minute podcast episode produced by Audio Moguls Media. The event, which is free for the first 10 people to register, will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26 at Ambition Center MKE, located at 530 E. Vienna Ave.

created: November 25, 2022


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48808480916_4e243f7736_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ron Smith
November 24, 2022

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5 things to know and do this week in Milwaukee: Nov. 28 to Dec. 2 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
November 28, 2022
It’s Monday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about. If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please submit your news by clicking here at least two weeks in advance.
Current or aspiring contractors are invited to this bilingual information session assisting with obtaining permits, licenses and more. The information session is from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 28 at The MATC Education Center at Walker Square, 816 W. National Ave.
Celebrate the fourth anniversary of the opening of Sherman Phoenix, an entrepreneurial hub and marketplace located inside a former bank building that was severely damaged during the 2016 uprising following the killing of Sylville Smith by a Milwaukee police officer. The anniversary celebration takes place from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at Sherman Phoenix, located 3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
Deneine Powell from the City of Milwaukee’s Environmental Collaboration Office and state Rep. Supreme Moore Omokunde will lead this discussion on the city’s climate and equity plan. You can read about the plan and reserve your spot here. Two conversations will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 29: the first from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at City Hall, located at 200 E. Wells St.; the second is from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Innovation and Wellness Commons, located at 1609 W. North Ave. Reserve your spot for the City Hall presentation here,. Reserve your spot for the Innovation and Wellness Commons presentation here.
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There is still time to become a member of America’s Black Holocaust Museum and visit Charles Allis and Villa Terrace art museums for free on Thursday, Dec. 1.
As members of the museum, you can experience “Ghosts of Segregation” at Charles Allis, on view through Dec. 4, and “Grounded” at Villa Terrace. Click here for more information.
For 11 years, the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service has used professional journalism to paint a complete portrait of Milwaukee’s communities of color — residents who usually make the news in other outlets only when there is trauma, drama, chaos, and confusion.
As a nonprofit newsroom, we don’t publish for profit. We publish to inform and to help transform our readers and our city.
While our work is provided free, our staff of dedicated reporters and editors –your neighbors—have to be paid. Through Dec. 31, NewsMatch will match your new monthly donation 12 times or double your one-time gift, all up to $1,000. Learn more here.

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Ron Smith
November 27, 2022

created: November 27, 2022


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A kitchen fire did not stop these two organizations from serving meals to those in need | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
November 29, 2022
Two weeks before a planned Thanksgiving meal distribution, The Gathering’s Executive Director Lyn Hildenbrand got some bad news: The on-site kitchen would be out of commission for the foreseeable future.
On Nov. 3, a chemical fire at Ascension Lutheran Church left the kitchen unusable. Hildenbrand said she is still not entirely sure what happened, and forensic tests are underway to figure that out. But she does know that people will not be able to enter the kitchen anytime soon, and that all the equipment needs to be replaced.
The Gathering’s fire and its reaction – and that of another nonprofit, Street Angels – serve as a holiday tale of commitment and perseverance. They also are a reminder of the value of Giving Tuesday, which typically occurs on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. This is a day dedicated to helping nonprofits such as these and other organizations doing community work.
The fire presented a definite obstacle for The Gathering. Just not an insurmountable one. That’s because Hildenbrand knew that The Gathering would continue to serve its annual Thanksgiving dinner to meal guests at the site whether the kitchen was operational or not.
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It was a matter of keeping promises.
“We insisted we were going to be open to do Thanksgiving. We pledged to it,” Hildenbrand said. “Everybody’s committed to the fact that we’re here to feed folks.”
Sure enough, The Gathering distributed about 100 meals to guests in one hour on Nov. 19 as scheduled at Ascension Lutheran Church, located at 1236 S. Layton Blvd. Stephanie Sprewer, meal program manager at The Gathering, said that the logistics of the distribution were hectic, with shift changes for volunteers and meals needing to be transported from a different kitchen on the North Side.
Nevertheless, Sprewer was determined to make it work. She said that The Gathering has a commitment to its meal guests to feed them, most of whom they know by name.
“At the end of the day, we’re exhausted. But it’s a good exhaustion,” Sprewer said.
Volunteer Nancy Barelmann agreed that while preparing meals without an on-site kitchen can be hectic, it’s worth it when they’re able to meet the needs of their meal guests.
She said that even without the sit-down community meal setting that The Gathering had before the pandemic, there is still a community being built that makes the choice to volunteer an easy one.
“People who receive meals here are really appreciative, which means a lot and keeps us coming back,” Barelmann said.
The Gathering was not the only organization affected by the fire. Street Angels, a mobile homeless outreach organization, used the kitchen to cook around 130 meals at a time three times per week to distribute to people experiencing homelessness.
Shelly Sarasin, co-founder and director at Street Angels, said that the meals are key to its service. She said that Street Angels makes around 60 different stops at different locations on the North and South sides three times per week.
During these stops, the organization provides a hot meal, bag lunches and basic survival items while its staff works on connecting people to appropriate shelters or housing resources.
But the meals are key to this engagement.
“The meal is the number one tool we have in our bucket to gain someone’s trust visit after visit,” Sarasin said.
Sarasin said that Street Angels has found another church to cook its meals while the kitchen at Ascension Lutheran Church is repaired. However, her organization must repurchase inventory and material that was destroyed in the fire.
“We ended up losing a lot of food, so donations that people give monetarily will go toward food and supplies and containers that we lost,” Sarasin said.
You can give directly to these organization but there is also a broader effort to help nonprofits generally.
Giving Tuesday, unofficially observed on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is based on the concept of Black Friday. However, while Black Friday encourages buying items, often as holiday gifts, Giving Tuesday encourages donating to nonprofits or organizations doing community work.
While Milwaukee nonprofits may or may not be running official Giving Tuesday campaigns, you can still usually find instructions on how to donate through their websites.
To help Street Angels fill such needs, donate at its website here. Find out how to volunteer here.
To help The Gathering purchase new kitchen equipment or meet other material needs such as to-go boxes and bottled water, you can donate at its website here. Find out how to volunteer here.

created: November 29, 2022


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52514523932_344f53bcfd_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ron Smith
November 28, 2022


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Inside the NNS newsroom: On Giving Tuesday, we tell you why we are here for you | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ron Smith
November 29, 2022
It’s not for the money.
Nor is it for the fame.
But it’s all because of you.
We asked the dedicated staff of the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service why they do this meaningful work.
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What shines through is the reaffirmation that NNS is built on a calling to inform and transform our community and our staff is carrying this out every day.
We do this work because of YOU and want to hear from you!
From now through December 16th, we invite you to share a quote and a photo of yourself to spotlight what NNS means to you to be included in our growing “Why NNS” collage. Your perspective will not only help us celebrate the beautiful community we have created in the last 11 years but will also provide us with significant insight as we look to expand and grow.
Share your quote with NNS!


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nns-quotes-feature-pic | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
November 27, 2022