text:
Crisis hotline now serves homeless men seeking emergency shelter | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Brendan O’Brien
May 6, 2015
Homeless men mingle outside of The Gathering, a daily meal program held at St. James Episcopal Church, 833 W. Wisconsin Ave. (Photo by Brendan O’Brien)
Homeless men in Milwaukee, until recently, needed to navigate a complicated network of homeless shelters with different schedules and requirements to get a bed each night.
“If you have not been through it, you’re going to catch hell because you really don’t know where to go for help,” said Benny Barnes, a 64-year-old homeless man, as he mingled with friends outside of The Gathering, a daily meal program held at St. James Episcopal Church, 833 W. Wisconsin Ave.
“You had to know when to get there for the night. If you weren’t on time, you were just out of luck.”
The process of getting a place to stay and much-needed services was streamlined recently when IMPACT 211, the area’s crisis hotline, expanded to include single homeless men and the shelters that serve them, such as Hope House, Guest House and the Salvation Army Emergency Lodge.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Benny Barnes, a 64-year-old homeless man, stands outside of The Gathering, a daily meal program held at St. James Episcopal Church, 833 W. Wisconsin Ave. (Photo by Brendan O’Brien)
Before the change, homeless men such as Barnes would have to learn the bureaucracy of the homeless shelters, such as what time of day is best to call each shelter to reserve a bed. For instance, individuals have to physically show up to the Guest House to get a bed, while other shelters required a phone call each day within a 15-minute window, according to Audra O’Connell, coordinated entry program director at IMPACT 211.
“It was very onerous for people with very limited resources to try to navigate the system, because it didn’t really work as a system,” she said. “Now, it’s ‘One call, that’s all.’”
Before the change, 211 operators could only give homeless men the phone numbers of homeless shelters without gathering any type of data from them. Now by simply dialing 211 or texting their zip code to 898-211, a homeless man is connected to a resource specialist who gathers demographic information and asks about their needs and their current living situation.
“It real simplifies things for people. There’s one place and one number and it’s prioritized…which is how it should have always worked probably,” said Wendy Weckler, executive director of Hope House.
With the information, the specialist assesses the individual’s situation and places the homeless man into a shelter or refers them to other services.
“We prioritize them based on need and we place the neediest people first,” O’Connell said.
The new system will be helpful, said Norvell Ireland, a 51-year-old unemployed cook, outside of St. James Episcopal Church after The Gathering morning meal.
“Single homeless men in Milwaukee need more resources as far as housing and jobs, but a homeless man also needs to want to help himself,” he said.
Another benefit of the 211 service expansion is that data will be collected on homeless men when they call searching for services. This information is valuable for shelters and advocates who want to better understand the homeless population and its needs instead of using anecdotal evidence, O’Connell said.
“We will be even more sophisticated at prioritizing people and determining which program would best suit them,” O’Connell said. “For years, we were placing people and we weren’t giving them a lot of choice and we should because it’s their lives.”
Weckler said although homeless shelters and other agencies in Milwaukee have always worked well together, the expansion of the 211 system will create even more cooperation and collaboration.
The coordinated entry system was made available to families in October 2013 and single women in January 2014. By the end of 2015, all of the city’s supportive and transitional housing, including those that specifically serve homeless veterans and unaccompanied youth, will run through the 211 system, O’Connell said.
“The system ensures that the person who really needs that bed gets it and just isn’t the one lucky enough to call at the right time,” Weckler said.

author: Brendan O’Brien


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 5, 2015

source: news-milwaukeenns

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

author: Adam Carr


text:
Mayor Barrett announces 2014 infant mortality data, decreases seen in all categories | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
City of Milwaukee
May 6, 2015
Today, Mayor Tom Barrett announced the City of Milwaukee 2014 infant mortality data. Preliminary data from the City of Milwaukee Health Department indicates that in 2014, 84 infants died in Milwaukee prior to their first birthdays, the lowest number in recent history. Using three-year rolling averages, which are statistically more reliable than single-year data, the overall infant mortality rate for the city of Milwaukee from 2012-2014 decreased to 9.9 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births from a rate of 10.2 in 2011-2013.
“We are encouraged to see infant mortality rates once again trend downward,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “However, the racial disparity in birth outcomes remains unacceptable and the rate of improvement remains inadequate, particularly for African-American babies. We must continue to do more to bring down these rates.”
The 2012-2014 three-year rolling average rates decreased in each racial and ethnic group, with the Hispanic rate dropping to an all-time low of 4.0 per 1,000 live births in 2012-2014 from a previous rate of 5.3 per 1,000 live births. The rate for non-Hispanic white infants decreased slightly to 5.2 per 1,000 live births in 2012-2014 from a rate of 5.5 per 1,000 live births. And the African-American rate decreased slightly to 15.3 per 1,000 live births in 2012-2014 from a rate of 15.6 per 1,000 live births.
“The specific causes of death for each of these 84 babies have not yet been fully analyzed, but we know from prior experience that the leading cause by far is complications of preterm birth,” said Bevan K. Baker, Commissioner of Health for the City of Milwaukee Health Department. “While improving access to health care and reducing individual behaviors such as smoking are important, we must address this issue more effectively by focusing on the biggest driver of preterm birth: chronic, unmitigated stress, particularly chronic stress from poverty, racism and other sources.”
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Health officials say the trend indicates that Milwaukee is on-track to reach Mayor Barrett’s goal of reducing the overall infant mortality rate to 9.4 per 1,000 live births by 2017, but is not on-track to reach the simultaneous goal of reducing the African-American infant mortality rate to 12.0 by 2017. Black infants remain nearly three times more likely to die than white infants.
To address this disparity, Mayor Barrett is calling for a redoubling of community-wide efforts to address the root causes of infant mortality, with a particular emphasis on reducing premature births overall and within the African-American community. To do so, Mayor Barrett serves as co-chair of the Milwaukee Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families, a communitywide collaborative led by United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County, focused on reducing Milwaukee’s racial disparities in birth outcomes. The initiative is funded by the UW School of Medicine and Public Health from the Wisconsin Partnership Program.
“While we are pleased at these recent improvements, the racial disparity remains unacceptable,” said Mary Lou Young, president and CEO of United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County. “Our vision is to eliminate the racial disparity in birth outcomes, ensuring every baby reaches their first birthday. Our greatest opportunity to improve birth outcomes is to focus on preventing prematurity and on addressing the conditions that lead to premature births. All partners within the Milwaukee LIHF Collaborative will continue our efforts, with particular attention on driving improvements for African-American babies, who continue to die at a rate nearly three times that of white infants.”

author: City of Milwaukee


text:
Mentor2.0 takes student-mentor relationship to the next level | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Alhaji Camara
May 6, 2015
Veritas High School students enrolled in the Mentor2.0 program and their mentors recently gathered at the high school for a celebration. Big Brothers Big Sister’s Mentor2.0 model is designed to serve high school students with long-term, high-impact mentoring relationships that support students through high school graduation, college readiness and into college. Students are paired with a mentor who has completed college and holds a position in the student’s desired career. This is Veritas High School’s first year in the program.

author: Alhaji Camara


text:
First national report on Hispanic health a mix of good and bad news | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 7, 2015
cnn.com

author: Andrea Waxman


text:
Kaufmann shifts focus to Lindsay Heights | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 7, 2015
BizTimes.com


text:
Local Mothers March In Washington For Justice | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 7, 2015
Wisconsin Public Radio


text:
Nonprofit teaching dance in public schools | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 7, 2015
88NINE Radio Milwaukee


text:
On the Block: Growing pains | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jabril Faraj
May 7, 2015
Milwaukee Stories link: http://milwaukeestories.org/2015/05/06/what-any-man-wants/

author: Jabril Faraj


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 6, 2015


text:
Thank you, Matt Schumwinger! | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 7, 2015
Matt Schumwinger, the founder of Big Lake Data, contributed $250 to Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service’s campaign to purchase four cameras for community members to tell their stories and document their lives.
Schumwinger’s consultancy helps nonprofit and public sector clients make data-driven decisions and effectively communicate their data stories. Big Lake Data specializes in data visualization, web maps and custom analytic tools.
A longtime Milwaukee resident, Schumwinger grew up in Iowa and studied labor relations and economics at Cornell University. He devoted his early career to organizing low-wage workers across the U.S.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Schumwinger believes in the value of storytelling. “Stories matter,” he said. “They frame the context in which we live and work. They affect our decisions. I have come to know and love my city all the more because of NNS.”

author: Dwayne Burtin


text:
prezCrop2 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 7, 2015


text:
Schumwinger-profile-out | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 7, 2015


text:
Dance Fuzion performance showcases new arts program | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 8, 2015
In a break from rehearsing for an upcoming performance, Dameah Haynes, one of a group of 10- to 13-year-old dance students, explained why dance is important to her.
“I think the dance training is going to help me in life a lot because when I grow up I want to be a choreographer and have students, as well, and be successful just like (teacher Jade Robertson),” Haynes said.
The show, called “Our Lives Matter,” will be performed by Dance Fuzion students. Dance Fuzion is part of an arts education program being piloted in Milwaukee at the Don & Sallie Davis and Roger and Leona Fitzsimonds Boys & Girls Clubs. Other pilot sites are located at Boys & Girls Clubs in Green Bay and St. Cloud, Minn., said Donitha Butler, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee’s performing arts manager.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Jade Robertson, Dance Fuzion teacher at the Davis Boys & Girls Club, directs students in a rehearsal for the May 9 “Our Lives Matter” showcase. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
Dance Fuzion launched in March 2014 at the Davis club, 1975 S. 24th St., where Milwaukee native Jade Robertson instructs about 20 students in hip-hop, modern, jazz and lyrical dance after school. Besides offering two-hour classes twice a week to beginning and intermediate students, Robertson also staffs an open studio session on Fridays to give students more practice time and curious youth an opportunity to try dance before committing to a class.
Robertson, a graduate of Columbia College Chicago, teaches and performs professionally. She was the first of four teaching artists, called art mentors, to be hired for the four-year program.
Meghan Strobel, a film production graduate of UWM’s Peck School of the Arts, has been teaching filmmaking and photography at the Fitzsimonds Club, 3400 W. North Ave., since June 2014. Strobel was freelancing and wasn’t looking for a full-time job when she heard about the initiative while volunteering at a Boys & Girls Club.
“I was originally hesitant to take the position because I wanted to do my own art,” she said. But when she learned that she would be compensated and still have time for her own work, she signed on.
Strobel said that she started by working to shift her students’ ideas about what a movie is. “When we first started, the kids approached movies only as consumers. It’s been fun to show them all the different parts and pieces of how to create an image,” she said.
Artist Vedale Hill helps Adrianna Kirk clean paintbrushes in the art room at the Davis Boys & Girls Club. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
“One part is learning about the mechanics of a camera and how cameras work and how they’re different from our eyes and also how they can be the same,” Strobel explained. The class is learning about framing, focusing, composition, how to use color and light, and deconstructing all the parts that go into an image.
Last fall, Milwaukee visual artist Vedale Hill, a Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design graduate and Racine illustrator Paul Nunn were hired to teach mural art and drawing/animation at the Davis and Fitzsimonds clubs, respectively. They each offer two-hour classes twice a week and a weekly open studio.
The approach that these art mentors take is grounded in 10 principles that emerged from research conducted by the New York City-based Wallace Foundation, which focuses on offering arts education for disadvantaged children. The principles include hiring and fairly compensating committed artists who have high expectations and give young people a role in shaping programs.
Another principle is that programs culminate in high-quality public events with real audiences. Dance Fuzion’s “Our Lives Matter” was slated for Saturday, May 9, at 7 p.m. at Bay View High School, 2751 S. Lenox St. The performance is free and open to the public.


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 7, 2015


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 8, 2015


text:
Despite Improvement, Milwaukee’s Black & White Infant Mortality Gap Remains | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 11, 2015
WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio


text:
Giving the Poor Easy Access to Healthy Food Doesn’t Mean They’ll Buy It | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 11, 2015
The New York Times


text:
High school seniors commit to higher education at college signing day | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Molly Rippinger
May 11, 2015
Students hold up their college letters of intent at the second annual college signing day. (Photo by Molly Rippinger)
Nearly 90 high school seniors celebrated their academic accomplishments and looked forward to their futures at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee’s second annual college signing day.
Teachers, mentors, families and friends filled Champion’s Hall at Direct Supply, 6663 N. Industrial Road, with a festive energy. “Culturally we celebrate athletes this way, but we thought it was important to celebrate academics,” said Rebecca Ehlers, director of marketing and communications at the Boys & Girls Clubs.
Students were called up to the stage where they signed a college letter of intent, donned a ball cap from their new school and posed for pictures, all while the Paradigm Drumline kept the energy high with upbeat percussion riffs. “There was no drumline when I signed my letter. But this makes it such a fun party,” joked Ehlers.
Jesse Jones Jr., recipient of the Marquel Pollard scholarship, has been involved with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee for the past 13 years as a youth, a volunteer and an employee. (Photo by Molly Rippinger)
“It’s important to acknowledge our students,” said Andre Douglas, program manager of Graduation Plus, which focuses on college preparation and mentorship at the Boys & Girls Clubs. “We want to teach them early enough that you need to learn some accountability. College signing day allows students not just to be celebrated, but to also know ‘this is what I am signing, this is what I am agreeing to for the future.’ ”
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Jesse Jones Jr., recipient of the Marquel Pollard scholarship, was one of the students being celebrated. Jones has been involved with Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee since he was 5 years old. “I’ve been helped every step of the way,” he said.
Jones has been involved with numerous programs at the Boys & Girls Clubs over the past 13 years, but he said that the Stein Scholars College Access and Success Program, an individualized approach to academic advising and college preparations, was critical during the application process.
“They helped us with everything for college. We’ve done our letters early, we’ve gotten into college early and we’ve signed up on time,” said Jones, a student at Milwaukee Academy of Science. “We’ll all get through college with their help.” Jones will attend University of Wisconsin-Platteville in the fall.
Ehlers emphasized that the Boys & Girls Clubs staff is dedicated to seeing the students succeed through college. “We don’t just stop when they get into college,” said Ehlers. “There are a lot of possible obstacles so we don’t just say, ‘Good luck.’ No, we’re with you along the way.”
The college letter of intent includes the following terms: to enroll in six to 12 credits during the fall 2015 semester, maintain at least a 2.5 GPA, have 95 percent attendance in all courses, complete assignments by due dates, participate in student organizations and activities, remain connected to Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee through volunteering and to graduate.
Before each group of students signed their letters, they were told, “Please, proceed to your future.” Many of the seniors are first-generation college students and collectively they were offered nearly $3.3 million in scholarship funds.
Alethia Tilford, a senior at Ronald Wilson Reagan College Preparatory High School who was selected for the prestigious U.S. Presidential Scholar Program, did not take the act of signing the letter of intent lightly. “College signing day is not just signing a piece of paper, it is an agreement that we will continue to be successful for ourselves and our communities,” she said to the crowd.
Tilford was one of 141 high school seniors in the country to be recognized as a Presidential Scholar, and she will join fellow recipients in Washington, D.C. where they will be honored at the White House.
“Never forget the goals and expectations we set for ourselves,” said Tilford. “We are the example and the world is watching.”
Tilford will attend Howard University and intends to major in Spanish. Other universities where students plan to enroll included Benedictine University, MATC, numerous University of Wisconsin campuses, Cardinal Stritch University, Mount Mary University and Marquette University.
Jazzmyne Anderson and Brent Adams, both graduates of Marquette University, were at the event to support K.J. Tatum, who will attend Marquette in the fall. “Having a support base like this when going to college is great,” said Adams.
“This gets them serious and solidifies what college is about,” added Anderson. “Seeing kids like this lets you know there’s hope for our community, especially if they stay here in the greater Milwaukee area.”

author: Molly Rippinger


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 10, 2015


text:
Milwaukee may front money for first Century City building | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 11, 2015
Milwaukee Business Journal


text:
Milwaukeeans Tout Black Love as a Means to End Violence | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 11, 2015
WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio


text:
Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity kicks off 2015 Build Season | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity
May 12, 2015
A crew of more than 150 volunteers will come together in the Washington Park neighborhood this week to launch Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity’s 31st year of building homes, community and hope at the annual “Blitz Build.” During this May Build, Habitat will focus on the 2100 block of North 38th Street—adding three owner-occupied houses to a block that is already home to 15 Habitat families, and boosting the homeownership rate to nearly 90 percent.
Students from Pewaukee High School will join a group of experienced UPS volunteers serving as mentors to the students as they build together on the build site.  Students will get firsthand experience outside of the classroom in basic carpentry, framing, drywall and masonry. Students got involved with Habitat for Humanity in 2012 upon the recommendation of a UPS Employee, and long time Habitat volunteer, Dan Guendert, who envisioned a mentoring program for the students on the Habitat job sites.
The students, primarily juniors and seniors, participate in the build as part of Pewaukee High School’s “Home Construction” Class. Partnering with Habitat for Humanity allows the students to apply their curriculum, while serving the school’s mission of citizenship.
“It’s an experience these kids would have otherwise not been exposed to,” remarks Pewaukee High School principal Marty Van Hulle, “These students are given an opportunity to apply real work skills learned in the classroom, benefiting their education and the community.”
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
For the past 30 years, Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity and its corps of dedicated volunteers has partnered with low-income families to build homes and stabilize communities. In 2013, the organization launched a Neighborhood Revitalization strategy, and is now concentrating its work in Washington Park to make a significant, sustainable impact on the neighborhood’s housing conditions and property values.
Through the Neighborhood Revitalization, Milwaukee Habitat has expanded its programs beyond new construction to include affordable home repairs and rehabs, and community development projects. The goal of building community as well as homes can be seen in the projects scheduled for the Build Season:
While Milwaukee Habitat has broadened its focus to neighborhood revitalization, the organization’s core mission remains to provide affordable housing opportunities for hardworking families. In 2015, the organization will serve more than 40 families, while constructing new homes and rehabbing city-owned abandoned foreclosures.
Over 1000 individuals representing businesses and organizations will help Habitat build homes, communities and hope throughout their 2015 build season. If you would like more information about how your business/organization can support Habitat’s mission through sponsorship and volunteer opportunities, please contact:
Karen Von Rueden
Development & Marketing Director
Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity
414-316-5609
kvonrueden@milwaukeehabitat.org

author: Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity


text:
On the Block: Drug testing for food stamps? | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Brendan O’Brien
May 12, 2015


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 11, 2015


text:
Students climb the tallest building to close cultural divide | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Matthew Wisla
May 12, 2015
St. Anthony students atop the U.S. Bank building downtown participate in the All-City Young Authors’ Summit sponsored by the SHARP Literacy Book Project. (Photo by Matthew Wisla)
Shouts of “Oh wow!” “Look at that!” and “Can I see my school from here?” filled the sky deck of the U.S. Bank building downtown as groups of third-grade students from five central city schools attended the All-City Young Authors’ Summit sponsored by the SHARP (Student Historical Art Resource Program) Literacy Book Project.
The half-day event marked the culmination of a seven-month program that taught students about the city’s diverse history and multicultural makeup.
The program was designed to broaden the students’ perspective of the city and their sense of exploration by teaching them about their home and school, and then about their block, neighborhood and city, according to Adam Carr, program director of the All-City Young Authors’ Summit. Students completed a course of study that included exploring their neighborhood and describing it through art projects and short reports.
Students enjoy Milwaukee’s cityscape and point out familiar features and landmarks. (Photo by Matthew Wisla)
The initiative included students from St. Anthony School of Milwaukee and Forest Home Avenue School on Milwaukee’s South Side, and the Business and Economics Academy of Milwaukee (BEAM), Richard Kluge Elementary School and Hmong American Peace Academy to the north.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
The bird’s-eye view atop Milwaukee’s tallest building set the stage for students — many of whom have limited opportunities to travel outside their own neighborhoods — to meet each other for the first time. After mingling and experiencing the view during one of the city’s rare clear, sunny days, the students moved to a conference room to get together in small groups. Every group included students from each of the five schools, who talked about their neighborhood and the people and history that make it special.
“The best part was meeting new people from different schools,” said Armando Mitchell, 9, from Forest Home Avenue School.
“I liked everything we learned,” said Sylvia Vera Villanueva, 9, from St. Anthony’s. Then she added with a smile, “It was great going to the top (of the building) and seeing everything!”
Several guest speakers addressed the students, including Mayor Tom Barrett, Lt. Ray Banks of the Milwaukee Police Department, Judge Derek Mosley and Megan McGee, executive director of Ex Fabula. The mayor shared some little-known facts about Milwaukee with the students. For example, he recounted that when city hall was built, the surrounding area was a swamp and the building’s foundation rests on 2,000 logs. Banks discussed safety and the importance of staying away from gangs, drugs and guns.
In a city known for its stark racial divides, SHARP Literacy President and CEO Lynda Kohler hopes programs such as this one can set the stage for a future with more acceptance and understanding. “Having them meeting like this to understand each other’s culture can help tear down barriers early in life,” she said.
Lessons and exercises from the program’s curriculum along with examples of student work are being assembled into a book that will be published later this year for use in third-grade classrooms. It will focus on the theme of exploring neighborhoods and the city as a way of building greater awareness of the world and enhancing cultural understanding, according to Carr.
Ashley Schultz, who teaches at St. Anthony’s, said the program made a difference for her students. “Getting them to see different things about the city is positive,” she said. “It opens their minds and makes them wonder more.”

author: Matthew Wisla


text:
2 MPS high schools among state’s 15 best in new U.S. News rankings | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Public Schools
May 13, 2015
Two Milwaukee Public Schools high schools are among the 15 best in Wisconsin, according to new rankings released Tuesday by U.S. News and World Report.
MPS’ Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School ranked 8th and MPS’ Rufus King International High School ranked 12th. Both schools, which earned silver medals from U.S. News, offer the rigorous college preparatory International Baccalaureate curriculum. MPS’ Hmong American Peace Academy earned bronze medal recognition, but did not receive a ranking. U.S. News changed its methodology this year, making more schools eligible for the recognition and creating a more crowded, competitive field both nationally and locally.
The news comes less than one month after the Washington Post named six MPS high schools among the best in the U.S. when it comes to challenging students to achieve through college-level exams.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
MPS took the state’s top two spots on that list: Carmen High School of Science and Technology-South Campus was ranked 1st, Reagan was ranked 2nd, King was ranked 6th, Milwaukee School of Languages was ranked 20th, Riverside University High School was ranked 29th and Milwaukee High School of the Arts was ranked 35th.
“We are proud that our schools are once again being recognized for their success in preparing students successfully for college and careers,” MPS Superintendent Dr. Darienne Driver said. “Our work remains ensuring that all students have access to curriculum that challenges and engages them. That’s a key part of our strategic objectives, which include rethinking high schools and redesigning curriculum. Our Commitment Schools effort to transform underperforming schools, including eight schools with high school grades, is also focused on that goal.”

author: Milwaukee Public Schools


text:
Education, transportation top state budget concerns for Milwaukeeans | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jabril Faraj
May 13, 2015
Abra Fortson testifies during Saturday’s budget listening session. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
State representatives from the Milwaukee Democratic Caucus recently held a listening session at the downtown branch of the Milwaukee Public Library to hear community concerns about Gov. Scott Walker’s latest state budget proposal.
The governor’s budget, unveiled early this year, proposes historic spending cuts to education, as well as cuts to health care spending for seniors, the state parks and Department of Natural Resources, and both statewide and local law enforcement, totaling more than $582 million over two years.
The budget also seeks to borrow more than $1.5 billion for highway expansion and a new Bucks arena. Taxpayers would see a $5 reduction on property taxes for a median-value home but veterans and unremarried, surviving spouses of veterans would lose $1.14 million in tax credits. The budget also proposes a $2 million cut to business tax credits, which incentivize job creation.
State Rep. Evan Goyke (18th Assembly District), Rep. LaTonya Johnson (17th), Rep. Mandela Barnes (11th), Rep. Daniel Riemer (7th) and Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa (8th) attended the budget session. Goyke said the goal of the session and others the representatives have hosted in their own districts is to create an alternative to the current budget “that incorporates the voice of Milwaukee residents.”
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Bill Sell (left), Joyce Ellwanger (second from left) and others look on during the budget session at Milwaukee Public Library’s Centennial Hall. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
Alderman Bob Bauman, whose 4th District encompasses most of the downtown area including the library and the proposed arena site, pitched his solution to a reported $100 million shortfall in funding for a new arena. His proposal would raise the county sales tax 1 percentage point to 6.6 percent, generating $125 million per year in revenue. The tax would also provide funding for the Milwaukee County Transit System, Milwaukee County Parks and local cultural institutions, such as the Milwaukee Public Museum, the performing arts center and Milwaukee Art Museum.
Those institutions, which Bauman called “the soul of the city and county,” have struggled over the years with stopgap funding and budget cuts because they lack a dedicated, ongoing funding source. “This is the opportunity to create that dedicated funding source once and for all,” he said.
Bauman said the proposal would also address substantial workforce needs by connecting workers to jobs outside the city. A referendum on a similar proposal passed in 2008 with 51 percent of voters in favor but was vetoed by then-County Executive Scott Walker.
About 20 people spoke at the session, some waiting more than an hour and many staying for the entire event, even after they had said their piece. Many of the attendees voiced concerns about the cuts to education spending.
“I just want to understand the logic behind a $127 million cut to public education, a $300 million cut to UW systems and support for the voucher school program,” said Jamaal Smith, education committee chair for the Milwaukee NAACP.
Walker’s budget proposes lifting the 1,000-student cap on the 25-year old Parental Choice Program and calls for more than $17 million to accommodate increased participation. The program provides private schools with public money for students in Milwaukee and Racine whose family income is less than 300 percent of the poverty line, or less than $72,696 for a family of four. Statewide, the income cutoff is $44,828 for a family of four. Students in the voucher program have consistently performed worse than students in public schools in both reading and math on state standardized tests.
“We’ve been at this for too long,” said former Milwaukee School Board District 8 Chair Meagan Holman, referring to the battle over education funding. “These cuts are absolutely beyond what MPS can take.”
Multiple people also spoke against borrowing for major highway projects while failing to expand transit options. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is currently conducting 22 major highway projects and 11 studies, which precede projects, as part of its six-year highway development program. Specifically mentioned was the proposed I-94 corridor expansion, estimated at $850 million.
According to Joyce Ellwanger, transportation chair for Milwaukee Inner-city Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH), “The new I-94 expansion isn’t addressing the issues that we raised.”
In 2014, the State of Wisconsin agreed to pay $13.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by MICAH and the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin. The groups alleged the $1.7 billion Zoo Interchange reconstruction amounted to discrimination and would “have the likely effect of exacerbating regional racial segregation” because the project did not include public transit improvements. As a result of the settlement, three new bus routes, which connect to industrial parks in New Berlin, Menomonee Falls and Germantown, were created.
Bill Sell, of the Coalition for More Responsible Transportation, supports an alternative proposal to repair the stretch while adding public transit.
“It’s a place to look for savings,” Ellwanger told the legislators, referring to the I-94 expansion. She added that local governments around the state are seeing similar proposals. “It may be [an issue] where you can build some bridges, for a change.”
Lawmakers also voted, as part of the budget proposal, to eliminate funding for the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin, whose website says it “advocates for reliable, affordable, and sound utility service.”
“Wisconsin, ain’t you tired?”
Beyond the concerns raised about particular issues, the session became a forum to vent frustrations about conditions in Milwaukee, particularly for poor and minority communities.
“Poverty is real in the city of Milwaukee,” said Abra Fortson, executive support manager of the Social Development Commission (SDC). “The people that we see are really hurting and they aren’t subject to the political dialogues … because their focus is on getting resources.”
The governor’s budget does not address the lack of education, lack of transit options and violence in 53206 — one of the most distressed ZIP codes in Wisconsin — said Cavalier Johnson, who grew up there. “For young people that stay there, for us … gunfire is what lulls us to sleep,” he said.
Responding to a change in FoodShare that would make able-bodied adults with no dependents ineligible for benefits, unless working more than 80 hours per month or engaged in the FoodShare Employment and Training Program, MacCanon Brown called for a media blitz to inform people. Authorities are planning to notify people by mail, she said.
“This is the Titanic and the lifeboats,” said Brown. “Thousands of people are going to miss those lifeboats.”
Added Terry Wiggins of the Interfaith Earth Network, “We need to show, by how we budget our money, that we Wisconsinites are people of good conscience and also conscious of people, in the variety of circumstances in which they live.”
“Those are positions that we support … but that we need to articulate in writing,” said Goyke of education, transportation and other issues that disproportionately affect the poor.
Barnes said the concerns brought up in listening sessions can be used to suggest amendments to the Joint Committee on Finance, currently holding executive sessions on the budget, or in open session.
“We want to be able to tell these stories, we want to be able to talk about real life,” Barnes said.
George Hinton, CEO of the SDC, said “we have to look deeper” than the issues at hand. He pointed to an area legislator who boasted about the state’s unemployment rate of 4.8 percent in a community “where there’s 50 percent unemployment, especially for men of color.
“Sometimes, it’s systemic,” he said. “We have systemic issues in this state and this city and in this county that need to be addressed.”
“You can’t just put Band-Aids on a bleed and think it’s going to stop.”


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 12, 2015


text:
Announcing the MKE Peace Project | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
City of Milwaukee
May 14, 2015
What is the MKE Peace Project?
The MKE Peace Project (MPP) challenges youth in the central city to assess the causes of violence in their neighborhoods and, subsequently, to provide solutions to the problem. The MPP goal is simple: to promote youth dialogues around violence prevention. We believe that to imagine and promote peace in Milwaukee, our youth must be actively involved. By simultaneously challenging youth to provide solutions to the problems they identify, we are asking them to envision the opposite of violence around them—we are challenging them to imagine peace.
The Challenge – Organize a team of up to three people and answer all of the following:
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Who can participate? You must be 18 years old or younger AND meet one of the following:
When are submissions due? All responses are due by 5:00 P.M. Thursday, May 21, 2015.
Where can I submit my response? Responses may be submitted at any of the following:
Winners will be announced in June. Prizes include Summerfest tickets, Brewers and Bucks game tickets with special pre-game and half-time winner announcements, and more! There will also be random prize drawings from all submissions.
Winning teams will be selected as follows:
3 teams from high schools, 3 teams from middle schools from the north side
3 teams from high schools, 3 teams from middle schools from the south side
The prizes include:
And more prizes will be announced.


text:
Assembly passes food stamp restrictions, drug testing | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 14, 2015
jsonline.com


text:
Departing LBWN executive director guided transformation of neighborhood | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
May 14, 2015
Charlotte John-Gomez speaks at the unveiling of a major initiative to renovate 24 foreclosed homes and businesses in five South Side neighborhoods in 2013. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
Back in 1999, when Charlotte John-Gomez was hired as executive director of Layton Boulevard West Neighbors (LBWN), the organization ran on a budget of about $70,000 and she had one half-time office employee.
Now, as John-Gomez prepares to transition to her new position as director of Housing and Urban Development’s Milwaukee office of Community Planning and Development, she leaves behind a staff of 13 working with an annual budget of more than $1 million.
She grew the organization, which originally was funded solely by the School Sisters of St. Francis, by cultivating a staff of qualified young professionals and keeping a strong focus on the needs and desires of the neighborhood, said Will Sebern, who will succeed John-Gomez as executive director. Her approach, said Sebern, was to engage everyone, “from the street level partners to the big philanthropic organizations.”
LBWN, which serves the Silver City, Burnham Park and Layton Park neighborhoods on the South Side, has experienced many milestones during John-Gomez’s nearly 16-year tenure, which will conclude at the end of May.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Multiple public art projects, including this mural, have been completed in Layton Boulevard West. (Photo by Teran Powell)
Among the highlights are more than $40 million in leveraged neighborhood investment, 31 new businesses and 116 new jobs created since 2005, the connection of the Menomonee Valley to Silver City and the opening of the newest branch of the Urban Ecology Center.
The major turning point in the development of the Layton Boulevard West neighborhoods, according to Gomez, was the introduction of the Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative (HNI) to Milwaukee in 2006. A program of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the city’s Neighborhood Improvement Development Corp. (NIDC), HNI focuses on neighborhood engagement, improving neighborhood appearance and homeowner investment.
“We were fully able to adopt that assets-based approach as an organization and community to make incredible changes,” John-Gomez said. LBWN remains a participant in HNI.
“More and more people are viewing the neighborhood as a great place to live, work and play,” John-Gomez said.
Another huge boon for the community came in 2010 when the Zilber Family Foundation named it as the third neighborhood to be revitalized as part of the Zilber Neighborhood Initiative. Months of one-on-one interviews, focus groups and data collection led to the creation of LBWN’s Quality of Life Plan, consisting of seven overlapping strategies, including improving neighborhood appearance, economic development, social engagement, and youth education and leadership.
According to Susan Lloyd, executive director of the Zilber Family Foundation, John-Gomez pushed along the initiative by making decisions based on hard data that she understood in the larger context of the community.
“She’s very strategic and an extraordinary leader,” Lloyd said.
John-Gomez pushed hard for increased access for neighborhood residents to the Menomonee Valley, according to Ken Leinbach, executive director of the Urban Ecology Center (UEC). Residents now have access to the Hank Aaron State Trail and Three Bridges Park in addition to the crown jewel of the area’s development, the Menomonee Valley Branch of the UEC.
Leinbach said that John-Gomez and her team at LBWN were in many ways responsible for the UEC branch opening in the neighborhood. Their role was in engaging residents and getting them excited about the opportunities that the center would bring.
“They (LBWN) knew us pretty well but many in the neighborhood didn’t and we wouldn’t go into a community that didn’t want our work,” Leinbach said.
LBWN also is dealing with the departures of Dan Adams, neighborhood plan coordinator, Jezamil Vega-Skeels, director of catalytic projects, and Natanael Martinez, economic development manager, who’ve all moved on to bigger arenas, according to John-Gomez.
But, the turnover shouldn’t pose much a problem for LBWN, according to Lloyd. She said one of John-Gomez’s greatest characteristics is her ability to build a team and develop a new generation of leaders.
“She’s leaving a very strong LBWN,” Lloyd said.
Besides, Lloyd added, she’ll now be in position to carry on community development on a larger scale for the city.
The mission at LBWN — to engage residents and work with community partners to enhance the neighborhood — will remain the same, according to Sebern, who originally joined the organization in 2011 as a community outreach manager.
Sebern has plenty of momentum to build upon. The neighborhood has changed quite a bit since John-Gomez took over the then-minuscule organization. She and her team have improved the neighborhood to the point that more and more people are looking to set down roots there, according to John-Gomez.
“When you walk around and see people fixing up their homes, picking up garbage and gardening, that’s a testament to people’s confidence in the neighborhood.”

author: Edgar Mendez


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 13, 2015


text:
Milwaukee policymakers seek youth input on ending violent crime | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 14, 2015
88NINE Radio Milwaukee


text:
On the Block: Father figures | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jabril Faraj
May 14, 2015
Milwaukee Stories link: http://milwaukeestories.org/2015/05/13/if-a-man-dont-work-hes-not-supposed-to-eat/


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 14, 2015


text:
The Proposed Future of MPS Governance | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 14, 2015
UrbanMilwaukee.com


text:
Initiative to rebuild distressed city playgrounds underway | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
May 15, 2015
Ramon Rivera and Isabel Castro, students at Escuela Verde, are excited to be part of the planning process for the revitalization of Arlington Heights Park, 3429 W. Pierce St. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
With the sun peeking through the clouds on a brisk day, city and community leaders, students and residents gathered at Arlington Heights Park for the public introduction of MKE Plays, a new plan to turn 12 of the city’s most deteriorated playgrounds into innovative play spaces.
“The MKE Plays vision is one where the condition of city’s play areas is not determined by the ZIP codes or district they are located in,” said Milwaukee Common Council President Michael J. Murphy, who spearheaded the initiative.
The improved parks will help the city combat growing obesity rates and a lack of healthy and safe outdoor play options for kids, he added.
Milwaukee Common Council President Michael J. Murphy spearheaded the MKE Plays initiative. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Work on the $1.6 – $1.9 million initiative is already under way, according to Sarah Zarate, staff assistant for Murphy. Students at Escuela Verde, 126 E Mineral St., heard a presentation recently about the project. The school is in the process of moving to a building two blocks west of Arlington Heights Park in Silver City.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Presenters asked students to share their vision for the future of the park, said Zarate. A key component of MKE Plays is involving neighborhood residents and students in the planning and eventual building of the parks.
Ramon Rivera, a senior at Escuela Verde who attended the presentation, said involving students and residents in the planning process is a way to integrate the community and also to let residents know that what they want for their neighborhoods is important.
“That makes us want to strive to make this a great park,” Rivera said.
Currently, $325,000 has been raised for the project, most of which came from a $300,000 investment from the Zilber Family Foundation to fund redevelopment of two parks in the Layton Boulevard West community and the park on North 17 and West Vine Street in Lindsay Heights. Organizers are seeking to raise an additional $1 million, with the city contributing the final $500,000 to fund rebuilding of the remaining nine parks, according to Murphy.
The project is expected to be complete in 2018, he said.
Isabel Castro, a junior at Escuela Verde, said the revamped parks would do wonders for the health and well being of youth in the city, adding, “Everyone should have the chance to talk about that one park they loved growing up.”


text:
Nominees sought for 2015 Frank P. Zeidler Public Service Award | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
City of Milwaukee
May 15, 2015
Nominations for the 2015 Frank P. Zeidler Public Service Award are being accepted through June 30, 2015.
The honor is awarded annually to recognize an outstanding city resident who best exemplifies Frank P. Zeidler’s legacy of social justice and civic accomplishment. The award was established by the Common Council in 2006, and city residents who are not elected officials are eligible for consideration. Last year’s winner was Kenneth “Ken” Germanson, a longtime advocate for workers’ rights, access to health care and higher education for low-income families.
Milwaukee attorney Art Heitzer, chair of the award’s selection committee, said he is hopeful that Milwaukee individuals and organizations will once again submit an array of nominations for the award. “Service in the community is praiseworthy and highly valued, and Milwaukee is rich with individuals from diverse communities who give of themselves in remarkable ways to make our city a better place,” he said. “If you know of someone who fits that description, please nominate him or her for the Frank P. Zeidler Public Service Award by June 30th.”
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
The selection committee also includes Alderman Robert J. Bauman, activist Jack Murtaugh, historian John Gurda, lawyer Arthur Harrington of Godfrey & Kahn, civil rights activist and retired founder of the New Concept Self Development Center, Inc. — June Perry, and a representative of the Frank P. Zeidler Center for Public Discussion, Shelley Bruehling.
Nomination forms are now available on the city website or by contacting Joanna Polanco (414-286-2366 or jpolan@milwaukee.gov). Anyone can nominate themselves or others, but nominees must be city residents who are not publicly-elected officials.
Please submit six copies of the nomination letter (three pages maximum) by June 30, 2015, along with the nominee’s resume and any supporting materials that would help the committee make its selection. Send to: Ms. Joanna Polanco, City Hall Room 205, 200 E. Wells St., Milwaukee, WI 53202.


text:
Southside Organizing Committee’s 2015 Neighborhood Fair | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Alhaji Camara
May 17, 2015
Southside Organizing Committee’s Spring/Summer Neighborhood Fair sponsored 25 resource and information stations in honor of its 25th anniversary.


text:
$40 million K-12 private school with connected sports facility proposed for south side | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 18, 2015
Fox6 Now


text:
Developer scales back plans for Garfield School in Bronzeville | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Mark Doremus
May 18, 2015
The former Garfield Avenue Elementary School would be converted to apartments, and would be the new home of America’s Black Holocaust Museum, under a renovation plan advanced by Maures Development Group, LLC. (Photo by Mark Doremus)
Maures Development Group, LLC, Milwaukee’s preferred developer of the former Garfield Avenue Elementary School, has informed a city committee that it is reducing the scope of the proposed project due to unexpectedly high construction cost estimates.
In a competitive selection process, Maures and its collaborators proposed about 60 apartments in the renovated school at 2215 N. 4th St. and in a newly constructed building nearby, along with cultural and commercial space. The project would be funded in part by WHEDA affordable housing tax credits and historic renovation tax credits, in addition to conventional financing. Most of the apartments would be reserved for low-income tenants but 20 percent of the units would go at the market rate.
A new building north of the renovated school was to provide space for America’s Black Holocaust Museum, which closed its doors in 2008 due to financial difficulties. Commercial space and 30 housing units were also to be included in the new building on North Avenue.
Melissa N. Goins (second from left) and her team presented revised plans for redevelopment of the Garfield School property at a meeting of the Bronzeville Advisory Committee May 14. (Photo by Mark Doremus)
The project won the backing of the city’s Bronzeville Advisory Committee in January. The city Department of Development has also endorsed the Maures plan.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
However, at a recent meeting of the committee, Melissa N. Goins, president of Maures Development, advised the group that the project would be downsized from 60 housing units to 30 because construction estimates for the school came in at $7 million, double the expected cost, due in part to the need to preserve certain historical features of the building.
Goins said the 30 apartments in the school building would go forward, but the additional 30 units proposed for a building on North Avenue would be scrapped. Under the new plan, commercial space, but not housing units, would still be developed on North Avenue and the museum would get an alternate space in the lower level of the school, with the possibility of moving to a larger space on North Avenue at a later date.
The goal, according to Goins, is to preserve as much of the original plan for the Garfield School as possible, because it is the focal point of the project and has the greatest value to the community.
“This is a normal part of the development process,” Goins observed after the meeting. “You go in with a certain set of assumptions and then once you do your due diligence you have to take the facts and use them. In development there’s always some fluidness to the process.
“There are times like this when the numbers don’t allow us to fulfill everything we had originally envisioned. You definitely want to make people happy, but there also has to be that balance between making folks happy and financial viability for the long term.”
Maures presented its original plans to the Bronzeville Advisory Committee on Jan. 9, along with competing applicant Gorman & Company, Inc. Concept drawings presented by Maures at the time specified 29 housing units in the Garfield School building and a community arts center in an adjacent annex building to the south. The drawings also included a new building to the north of the school, with ground-level commercial space and 30-32 housing units in three floors above. The total project cost was estimated at $14.3 million, with 70 percent of the funding expected to come from tax credits, according to statements attributed to Maures in meeting minutes posted online.
Backers of Bronzeville hope that the Garfield School renovation will be a catalyst that attracts further investment in the redevelopment zone, which straddles North Avenue between Seventh Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. A project plan for the area, proposing a pedestrian-friendly arts and entertainment zone, was first unveiled by the city 10 years ago.
If all goes well, Goins has indicated that the Garfield School renovation, in its new format, could be done early in 2017.

author: Mark Doremus


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 17, 2015


text:
Energy Innovation Ignites Within Milwaukee’s Century City | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 18, 2015
WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio


text:
Is It Time To End Mass Incarceration? | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 18, 2015
Shepherd Express


text:
MATC offers free welding classes in Mequon | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 18, 2015
Milwaukee Business Journal


text:
Super Reader summer reading program starts today | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Public Library
May 18, 2015
Today, the Milwaukee Public Library kicks-off the annual Super Reader Summer Reading Program.  In 2015, the library plans to exceed last year’s enrollment numbers with a goal of enrolling 25,000 children and teens ages 0-18.
The Super Reader Summer Reading Program encourages children to read or be read to every day during the summer and track reading progress in a reading folder to earn reading incentives such as free food and free admission to many area attractions.
New this year, all Milwaukee school children will receive their tracking folder at school and can start reading right away.  They just need to bring the folder to a Milwaukee Public Library to complete their sign-up and collect prizes.
According to a Johns Hopkins University study, children who read over the summer maintain or even improve their reading abilities and educational outcomes.  Research also shows that children who do not read over the summer lose up to three months of the reading skills learned during the school year.  Over time this “summer slide” can compound and by fourth grade a child can be nearly two years behind his or her peers.  Living in low-income or impoverished households can widen the achievement gap even further.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
“Some researchers estimate 50 to 67 percent of the achievement gap for children living in poverty is the result of summer learning loss.  Summer reading programs can help to offset this loss because studies also indicate students who read recreationally out-perform those who don’t,” said Library Director Paula Kiely. “The entire community stands to gain by supporting and encouraging a yearlong love of reading among our children.”
“Last year nearly 21,000 children participated,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “We want more.  It’s free, it’s easy and it’s really important.  I encourage parents, grandparents, caregivers and teachers to bring the children in their lives to a Milwaukee Public Library to sign-up and to give them the support and encouragement they need to read 15 minutes a day.”
Children age 0-12 can enroll.  A library card is not required to participate; however, children completing first-grade and up are encouraged to get a free library card. Parents are encouraged to enroll children four and under and read to them daily.  The program ends August 29.
Teens age 13-18 can sign-up for the Teen Summer Reading Program “Put Your Face in a Book.” This program challenges teens to read up to ten books over the summer and complete a reading passport to earn rewards and a chance to win a Kindle Fire. Teens can sign-up online here: www.mpl.org/SummerReading.
“Some children make progress not only because they read more, but because they do more.  Life experiences that contribute to problem-solving or decoding skills help in reading comprehension. The ability to read a passage can be dependent on having some relevant background knowledge,” said Kelly Hughbanks, Coordinator of Youth Services, Milwaukee Public Library. “Such knowledge can be derived from summer experiences not available to all children – in camp, on vacation, etc. That’s one of the reasons our summer reading program includes hundreds of free, in-library events and activities.”
Among those activities, families and children are invited to Super Reader “Super Hero Academy” kick-off events through June 15 at the following locations.  At these free, family events, kids can make a super hero mask, enjoy super hero story time and participate in super hero training library style (easy and fun): break through a “brick” wall, walk over “lava” and lift “giant” barbells:
Atkinson, 1960 W. Atkinson Ave.: Monday, June 15, 5-6 p.m.
Bay View, 2566 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.: Tuesday, May 26, 6-7 p.m.
Capitol, 3969 N. 74th St.: Wednesday, May 27, 6-7 p.m.
Center Street, 2727 W. Fond du Lac Ave.: Wednesday, June 10, 6-7 p.m.
East, 2320 N. Cramer St.: Wednesday, May 20, 6-7 p.m.
Forest Home, 1432 W. Forest Home Ave.: Wednesday, June 10, 6-7 p.m.
Martin Luther King, 310 W. Locust St.: Monday, June 15, 5-6 p.m.
Mill Road, 6431 N. 76th St.: Wednesday, June 3, 6-7 p.m.
Villard Square, 5190 N. 35th St.: Tuesday, June 2, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Washington Park, 2121 N. Sherman Blvd.: Monday, June 8, 6-7 p.m.
Zablocki, 3501 W. Oklahoma Ave.: Monday, June 8, 6-7 p.m.
Visit www.mpl.org/summerreading for more information.
The Milwaukee Public Library Super Reader Program is generously supported by gifts to the Milwaukee Public Library Foundation.  Major support for the 2015 program comes from Pick ‘n Save, Northwestern Mutual Foundation, Brewers Community Foundation, We Energies Foundation, Daniel M. Soref Charitable Trust, R.A. Stevens Family Foundation, Helen Bader Foundation, Ralph Evinrude Foundation, Stella H. Jones Foundation and the Wochinske Family Foundation.

author: Milwaukee Public Library


text:
On The Block: He once was lost | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
May 19, 2015


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 18, 2015


text:
Voter ID education seeks to avoid disenfranchisement | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jabril Faraj
May 19, 2015
Anita Johnson (right) takes Janice Erickson through a list of voter ID requirements, as outlined by the Milwaukee Election Commission. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
On a recent Saturday morning, John Hill opened Hill’s Campaign Headquarters Store at 7984 W. Appleton Ave., a place people know as the “Old Obama Office,” for an information session to educate residents on Wisconsin’s voter ID requirements.
The location served as a headquarters for the highly touted grassroots campaign that catapulted the president into office in 2008. “It was nonstop; people were here every day,” said Hill.
The night of the election, Hill said, about 75 people were packed into the place. Right before the polls closed, a 40-year-old woman spoke up — she had never voted before and wanted to. “So, I got in my van and took her up to over here on Silver Spring for her to vote,” said Hill.
According to Anita Johnson, a community organizer with Citizen Action of Wisconsinlast-minute voting and mobilization may be in jeopardy because of a restrictive Wisconsin Voter Photo ID law that will be in effect for next year’s spring election. A federal trial judge had previously blocked the Voter ID law, writing that it would “deter or prevent a substantial number of the 300,000-plus registered voters who lack ID from voting.”
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Hill’s Campaign Headquarters store at 7984 W. Appleton Ave. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)
“This law does target people of color,” Johnson said at an information session Saturday about the law’s requirements. “I believe that’s what it was designed for.”
The law requires voters to show a Wisconsin driver’s license, state identification card, military ID or U.S. passport at the polls. The address on the photo ID does not need to be current when voting.
In March, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a decision by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit that upheld the law as constitutional. The Voter ID law, originally passed in 2011, was temporarily blocked by the Supreme Court for last year’s November election and was not enforced in the recent April election.
A 2005 analysis by the UWM Employment and Training Institute showed that black and Hispanic adults in Wisconsin were about half as likely as white adults to have a valid driver’s license. For those ages 18 to 24 the situation was even more striking — white young adults were almost three times as likely to have a valid license than their African-American counterparts. In Milwaukee County, where much of the state’s black and Hispanic population lives, only 70 percent of voting-age adults had a valid driver’s license.
In addition, an estimated 23 percent of Wisconsin residents 65 and older — more than 175,000 people — did not have a driver’s license or photo ID. Critics have also said the law disproportionately affects poor and transient populations, students and women.
“This could change the desire to vote drastically because not everyone has an ID card; neither do they know where to go to get the information,” said Keith Bailey of Milwaukee Matters, a group formed to aid victims of violence and their families.
In addition, early voting hours have been pared down and are no longer available on weekends.
Only a couple people attended the information session, but Bailey said that shows how important it is to start the push to get information out as soon as possible. “If we wait until January, if we wait until December, if we wait until November or until the kids go back to school … we’ve waited too long,” he said.
“I’m almost overwhelmed with all the information,” said Janice Erickson, who recently retired from the Aging and Disability Resource Center in Kenosha, where she lives.
Erickson said she has a good base of knowledge about the law but attended the session so she can educate people in the Kenosha and Racine areas.
Education — for voters and poll workers — is critical between now and the next election, said Johnson. “I found in 2011 (when the law was in effect for an election) the poll workers were more confused than the voters.”
She said poll workers were looking at names on the IDs (which do not have to match the voter rolls exactly), addresses (which do not have to be current) and wouldn’t accept passports, she said. In any case, people shouldn’t be turned away from the polls, she said. “If there’s any question, then that person should be given a provisional ballot.”
There is an exception to the law. Permanent absentee voters — those indefinitely confined to their home because of age, illness or disability — will not be required to provide an ID when requesting a ballot.
Bailey also noted that the Department of Motor Vehicles is issuing free IDs as well as providing people with the resources to acquire a birth certificate, one of the documents required to get a driver’s license. Bailey thinks free IDs should be issued indefinitely. “If you take away the opportunity to get an ID, you take away that person’s vote. And, you can’t take away that person’s vote, not in America,” he said.
“If we’ve got to do this one person at a time, it’s worth it.”
Another information session will again be held at Hill’s Campaign Headquarters Store on June 3rd at 5:30 p.m.


text:
YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee appoints Vice President of Healthy Living | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee
May 19, 2015
The YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee today announced that Laura J. Rooney, Ph.D., M.S., has been named vice president of Healthy Living, a new position for the Milwaukee Y. Leading the Healthy Living team, Rooney will play a key leadership role in helping the Milwaukee Y realize its vision to create a stronger, healthier Milwaukee where families of all incomes and backgrounds truly thrive.
“Laura brings years of experience in health and wellness education, and will be a valuable asset to our team at the Milwaukee Y,” said Julie Tolan, president and chief executive officer of the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee. “The Milwaukee Y is the healthiest choice for families because of our emphasis on healthy living, which takes into account not only a person’s physical well-being, but also their social and emotional wellness. With Laura’s expertise and leadership, we will work to improve the health and wellness of our members, volunteers, employees, guests and the community at large.”
As vice president of Healthy Living, Rooney and her team will lead the Milwaukee Y’s Healthy Communities initiative, which will select strategic neighborhoods to deliver group fitness, diabetes prevention, healthy eating, weight management and other vital chronic disease prevention programs. These types of Y programming are typically held exclusively in Y centers, but the new Healthy Communities initiative will bring these programs directly to where community members live, work and play in order to teach new health and wellness habits to more people throughout the city.
Since exiting a thoughtful and deliberate restructuring process in January 2015, the Milwaukee Y is laser-focused on its strengths and areas of biggest impact – health and wellness and youth development. Fundamentally, the Milwaukee Y will be a champion for healthy living and will work to support families in their efforts to lead healthy lives through initiatives like Healthy Communities; Camp FLY, which integrates a proven summer learning loss curriculum into all Milwaukee Y day and overnight camps; Early Childhood Education, which enhance the academic achievement of Milwaukee’s children; and Milwaukee Swims, which improves water safety and swim skills to reduce preventable drowning deaths. These life-changing programs are largely dependent on philanthropic support. Since the Milwaukee Y took a proactive approach to fixing its financial situation, benefactors of the Milwaukee Y can trust that their gifts will directly support the organization’s mission, not debt reduction.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Rooney joins the Milwaukee Y from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) where she served as a health and wellness academic instructor and lecturer within the Kinesiology Department of the College of Health Sciences. In this position, Rooney developed and taught upper-level health and human behavior courses on a variety of topics, including health and fitness business management, and health and wellness program planning and evaluation. At UWM, Rooney also served as the program director for The HUB, an employee-centered health and wellness initiative.
Prior to her time at UWM, Rooney was the associate director for campus wellness at the University of South Carolina-Columbia. There, she managed staff and delivery of direct patient services in two wellness centers and implemented and evaluated evidence-based behavior change programs for a diverse, urban audience. Rooney also previously served as research assistant in the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.
Rooney earned a doctor of philosophy degree in public health, specializing in the area of health promotion, education and behavior from the University of South Carolina, and a master of science degree in exercise and wellness from Arizona State University. She received both a bachelor’s degree in business administration and master’s degree in accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

author: YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee


text:
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee receives $5 million to establish academic support program | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee
May 20, 2015
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee (BGCGM) today announced it has received a $5 million gift from longtime donors Keith Mardak and his wife Mary Vandenberg to establish the MarVan Scholars, an extended learning day program in partnership with Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). The gift is the largest donation in recent BGCGM history.
MarVan Scholars, which will launch in fall of 2015, is a five-year model designed to support a seamless learning day for MPS students, increase achievement through the use of online based tools and help expand collaboration between day-school and after-school staff. The program will be rolled out at four MPS pilot schools in the first year and end with 33 in the final year.
The program will be implemented under the direction of the Clubs’ first-ever chief academic officer, the newly-hired Melinda Wyant Jansen. Formerly a counsellor at Vieau School, Wyant Jansen has experience in the classroom as a teacher, as well as years in the private sector. Additional positions that will be hired as a result of this gift include an education data manager and 33 academic coaches. BGCGM will also increase the number of training and planning hours allotted to 66 academic coordinators and educational coordinators who will work with students day-to-day.
Through this extended learning day program, the goal is to set up Milwaukee’s future leaders for success through increased daily attendance and improved academic performance. MarVan Scholars’ academic improvement will be measured through the use of online learning tools and related analytics.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
In the fall, MarVan Scholars will be offered to students in grades K-8 who are members of BGCGM at four pilot MPS-based community learning centers (CLCs). In the first year, the program will focus on CLCs that are diverse in culture, have strong leadership and collaboration in place in both the day school and CLC setting and have shown progress toward closing the gap measures during the 2014-2015 school year. The MPS pilot schools include:
“We are pleased to make this gift to Boys & Girls Clubs to positively impact a significant amount of our community’s future leaders,” said Keith Mardak on behalf of himself and Mary Vandenberg. “As a graduate of Milwaukee Public Schools, we want to give kids the same tools I had to build a successful life.”
The program will serve a significant amount of BGCGM members, beginning with 539 daily at the four pilot schools and over 3,000 each day when the program is fully operational. By the 2018-2019 academic year, the program is projected to serve over 17,000 members each year. The students will participate in an expansion of the current after school homework and online tutoring time at the Clubs, as well as additional time for daily and weekly coaching sessions from on-site academic coordinators and educational coordinators who will monitor progress and results.
“We are extremely grateful for the support Keith and Mary have given, and continue to give, to our Clubs members,” said Vincent Lyles, president & CEO of BGCGM. “Our goal with this new effort is to work collaboratively with schools to increase students’ time on task. Together, we will help kids reach their goals on a path to a bright future.”
“MPS is proud to continue its collaborative partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs to further support the education of our students,” said Dr. Darienne Driver, Superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools. “This program will enable us to provide additional academic support to young people to help them improve their academic outcomes.”
This donation announcement comes on the 20th anniversary of Mardak serving on the Clubs’ board of trustees. Keith Mardak and Mary Vandenberg have long been strong supporters of BGCGM, having provided the funding for the development of the Mardak Center for Administration and Training, the Daniels-Mardak Boys & Girls Club and the Vandenberg Center for The Arts. In addition, each year, Mardak and Vandenberg also support Club operations, the James Clark scholarship for Club members attending Pius XI High School as well as partnerships that expose members to programming at First Stage Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and Junior Achievement.

author: Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee


text:
‘Dr. Carter’ still ministers to community at 83 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 20, 2015
Carter listens intently to a customer’s account of her symptoms. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
The tall man sporting a plaid bowtie and a doctor’s coat greeted customers entering the tidy Carter drugstore with a booming “the top of the afternoon to you.” Whether they were school children looking for snacks, neighbors heading for the ATM machine or adults from around the city seeking help for what ails them, pharmacist Lester Carter respectfully inquired about how he might help. And he accepted hugs from longtime patrons.
“I love him,” said neighborhood resident Nina Darty. Happy and excited to see Carter on a recent afternoon, Darty, a customer since her childhood, said she had feared Carter had passed away after he was absent from the store for a year.
Suffering several illnesses and the death of his wife in October, Carter sold his store, at 2400 W. Burleigh St., to the local Hayat chain in July 2014. The 83-year-old former owner returned to work at the store in February.
Carter has been a fixture in the community since he opened Carter Drug Store in spring 1968. The only black drugstore owner in Milwaukee, as far as he knows, Carter filled prescriptions and dispensed herbal remedies in his own store for 47 years. He also researched, developed and manufactured a line of natural “medicinals” to solve medical problems not properly addressed by the drug manufacturers, according to his product brochure. Then as now, Carter listened to his customers’ concerns, studied the health problems they presented, advised them, told them stories and let them know he really cared.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Carter leaves the store to give a speech to the Medical College of Wisconsin’s class of 2015, the evening before its commencement ceremony. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
“He’s always there for me,” said Darty, whose family patronized the drug store at 8 Street and North Avenue where Carter worked before he bought his own store. “If I can’t afford to go to the doctor, I go to him. If I’ve got something going on, I come in and ask him and he gives me his advice,” she added.
Most everyone in the city has gone to Carter for something, sometime, said Linda Caples, director of continuing and professional education at the Medical College of Wisconsin and a Carter Drug Store customer for 20 years. Caples added that she and her family and friends feel so much better after seeing him, not just because his remedies improve their health, but because he is so supportive. He sees his customers as patients and he delivers excellent patient care, Caples said. That is why they call him Dr. Carter, not because they think he is a medical doctor, several of them agreed.
Carter was recognized by the Medical College of Wisconsin with an honorary doctoral degree at its commencement ceremony on May 15. The college cited his dedication to providing personalized and compassionate health care, leadership in creating interdisciplinary and inter-professional collaborations to serve African-Americans and people of all ethnic backgrounds, and outstanding service to humanity at large as a leader and role model.
A native of Omaha, Neb., Carter credits his alma mater, Creighton University School of Pharmacy, for its high standards and broad curriculum that included botany and pharmacognosy, the study of active medicinal substances found in plants, he said. “It was rigorous — they expected perfection. The final exam included 50 pieces of paper on which branches and other plant parts were displayed. If you missed over five, you flunked,” he added.
Charles Jones said he speaks for many when he says Carter has been a father figure. Employed at Carter Drug Store for three years starting when he was a junior at North Division High School in the 1960s, Jones stayed in touch with Carter for the next 35 years and returned to work as a cashier 10 years ago.
“I just marvel at the knowledge that Mr. Carter has about everything. (His customers) trust him because everything that he has ever told anyone worked exactly like he told them it would,” Jones said.
Carter said he is interested in solving medical problems and uses his scientific training to think critically and creatively. Concerned about the side effects of pharmaceutical medicines, he works to find herbal solutions. Medical practitioners must continue educating themselves and working to solve their patients’ problems, he said.
In a speech prepared for the Medical College graduates, Carter urged the new doctors to keep an open mind and continue learning, especially about the value of herbal medicines. “There are so many changing ideas and theories in the practice of medicine,” he wrote. “It is imperative that we provide patients with the information they need and remember that the best interests of our patients are the most important thing.”
Since his return to his former store, which no longer sells prescription medicines, Carter has been working about 20 hours a week. But when he owned the store, he worked very long hours and on weekends, according to Caples.
“He is passionate about being a druggist,” she said, “and he has a genuine concern about the health of his community.”


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 19, 2015


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 20, 2015


text:
MHSA vocal jazz group wins prestigious national award for 2nd straight year | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Public Schools
May 20, 2015
<rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"			xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"			xmlns:trackback="http://madskills.com/public/xml/rss/module/trackback/">		<rdf:Description rdf:about="https://milwaukeenns.org/2015/05/20/mhsa-vocal-jazz-group-wins-prestigious-national-award-for-2nd-straight-year/"    dc:identifier="https://milwaukeenns.org/2015/05/20/mhsa-vocal-jazz-group-wins-prestigious-national-award-for-2nd-straight-year/"    dc:title="MHSA vocal jazz group wins prestigious national award for 2nd straight year"    trackback:ping="https://milwaukeenns.org/2015/05/20/mhsa-vocal-jazz-group-wins-prestigious-national-award-for-2nd-straight-year/trackback/" /></rdf:RDF>
The Vocal Jazz Ensemble at Milwaukee Public Schools’ Milwaukee High School of the Arts has won DownBeat Magazine’s national Student Music Award for Outstanding Performance by a performing arts high school jazz choir for the second consecutive year.
In its 38th year and considered one of the top student music competitions in the world, DownBeat’s Student Music Awards is a national contest that offers categories for middle school, high school and university music students and bands. The judges, who are professional musicians and educators, assess entrants based on a range of criteria: musicianship, creativity, improvisation, technique, sound quality and balance, excitement and authority. The awards were announced in the magazine’s June issue.
“To put this award in perspective, it’s tantamount to Sports Illustrated selecting the nation’s best high school football team,” said Raymond Roberts, MHSA Music Department Chair and director of the ensemble.
The MHSA Vocal Jazz Ensemble recorded an audition CD this fall and submitted three songs to the student contest at DownBeat. This ensemble has garnered many awards and recently performed at the American Choral Director’s Association National Conference in Salt Lake City.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Members of this year’s ensemble are:Johnathan Adair, Jaylynn Bryant, Horace Bynum, Gregory Carson , Briana Cook, Jaelyn Crawley, Yoel Martinez, Shampriel Morrise, Kimberly Perez, Norskuski Rivers, Emmanuell Rogers, Megan Schmidt, Silas Short and Erykah Williams.
MHSA offers students the chance to select an arts-focused major (creative writing, dance, theater, music or visual art) and receive at least two class hours of instruction per day focused on that major. Students commit to one area of the arts for all four of their years at the school. In addition to its focus on the arts, MHSA also provides an academically challenging educational program that includes Advanced Placement and honors courses. Students may select from more than 12 AP courses for both high school and college credit.


text:
Screen Shot 2015-05-20 at 8.12.33 AM | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 20, 2015


text:
NNS on Lake Effect: Schrager Auction Galleries | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 20, 2015
NNS reporter Edgar Mendez goes on the air with Mitch Teich of WUWM’s Lake Effect to discuss the Schrager Auction House.


text:
17049453108_c19c5e8fe3_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 20, 2015


text:
2015 Summer Food Service Program sites | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
COA Youth & Family Centers
May 21, 2015
Stressing the importance of offering nutritious meals to children, COA Youth & Family Centers announces the sponsorship of the Summer Food Service Program at Camp Helen Brachman – Resident Camp (9341 Asbury Dr.,Almond, WI 54909); Goldin Center Day Camps & Teen Programs (2320 W. Burleigh St. Milwaukee, WI 53206); Riverwest Day Camps & Teen Programs (909 E. Garfield Ave. Milwaukee, WI 54909). Meal service will begin June 15th and continue through August 14th.
The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and is administered by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.  Meals will be available at no separate charge to enrolled children who are 18 years of age and under and to persons over 18 years of age who are determined by a state or local public educational agency to be mentally or physically disabled and are also participating in a public or private non-profit school program during the regular school year.
The amount of reimbursement received by a Summer Food Service Program sponsor is based upon the household incomes of the enrolled children.  Children who are members of households receiving Foodshare, FDPIR, W-2 (Wisconsin Works – Cash Benefits Only) benefits are automatically eligible to receive free meal benefits at eligible program sites.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!

author: COA Youth & Family Centers


text:
A father’s initiative | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 21, 2015
Washington Post


text:
County panel backs mobile market for low-income residents | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 21, 2015
jsonline.com


text:
Friendship Club provides supportive sanctuary for addicts | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Brendan O’Brien
May 21, 2015
Friendship Club members Walter White (left) and a man who goes by the name of Bobby B stand outside the organization’s headquarters at 2245 W. Fond du Lac Ave. (Photo by Brendan O’Brien)
On Jan. 21, 1989, Lawrence Harris spent the day smoking cocaine outside of the house owned by his mother, who refused to let him in because he was high again.
There he sat in his cold green ’81 Cutlass Oldsmobile, too wired to sleep, and prayed.
“That was the end,” he said behind dark sun glasses. “My whole life flashed before my eyes.”
That night, Harris made a promise to himself never to return to drugs, a vow he has kept for the last 25 years as a member of the Friendship Club, a local organization for recovering addicts.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
The organization’s headquarters is located at 2245 W. Fond du Lac Ave., where the 100 members participate in recovery meetings, take part in volunteer work and socialize with fellow addicts.
Encouraging messages are painted outside of the Friendship Club, 2245 W. Fond du Lac Ave. (Photo by Brendan O’Brien)
“Quite a few of your crimes and a lot of your disputes in the inner city are fueled by drug addiction in one form or another,” said club member Johnson Smith, who has been a recovering addict for 20 years. “If you get in here, you are not caught up in that negativity in the community any longer.”
The club began in the early 1970s when a dozen recovering alcoholics sought to meet the needs of Milwaukee’s low-income minorities who wanted to recover from alcoholism. Now, the organization serves addicts of all types and their families by providing a safe, healthy educational and social setting.
“Alcohol and drugs are only about 10 percent of our problem; the other 90 percent is our attitude and the negative stuff we learned that we have to unlearn such as how to treat women and children and how to treat ourselves,” Harris said.
The organization’s meeting hall resembles the typical neighborhood tavern in Milwaukee, without the beer taps and bottles of booze behind the bar. Patrons mingle as they drink coffee or energy drinks and play lively games of spades or chess at several card tables.
“I know what’s out there and I know that I can either get with this or I’m going to get back with that,” said Walter White, 51, who has been drug- and alcohol-free for 12 years and is now a property owner after being homeless. “My time was running out when I got here…I had nothing when I got here.”
The hall has seen its share of former drunks become business owners, former prostitutes become college-educated professionals and former drug addicts become employed homeowners.
Mothers, fathers and grandparents are encouraged to bring their children and grandchildren to the Friendship Club, which holds various family-oriented events throughout the year. “We watch over them,” Smith said, pointing to an infant resting in a baby seat on the bar as his mother chatted with other members.
For members, the hall is a safe sanctuary, away from temptations and demons that could drive them back to the alcohol, drugs, gambling and prostitution that plagued their lives. That is the reason why the front door of the hall is left wide open at all times and why photo portraits of the club’s members who have passed away line a far wall, Smith said.
“I don’t know when God is going to send someone through that door, but some of those that are on that wall were sitting here waiting on me and welcoming me in,” he said.
In addition to providing support to fellow members at the hall, Harris, Smith and other members chauffeur new members to and from recovery meetings and doctor’s appointments free of charge.
“I can’t recover without helping someone else. We have to give it away freely,” said Harris, who now is a community outreach worker at Milwaukee Health Services.
A board of directors runs the Friendship Club, which owns its building on Fond du Lac. The club is debt free and pays for overhead costs through small dues paid by members.
“So we are doing pretty good for a bunch of alcoholics,” Smith said.

author: Brendan O’Brien


text:
Milwaukee’s Uprooted Theatre To Close Its Doors | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 21, 2015
WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio


text:
On the Block: “Just surviving” | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jabril Faraj
May 21, 2015


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
May 21, 2015

author: Adam Carr


text:
PRECIOUS LIVES: Walnut Way’s Peace Project aiming to stop violence by changing lives | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
May 21, 2015
jsonline.com


text:
Proposed MPS budget absorbs potential aid cuts through continued personnel savings | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Public Policy Forum
May 21, 2015
A budget brief released today by the Milwaukee-based Public Policy Forum highlights the Milwaukee Public Schools’ ability in the 2016 proposed budget to “successfully navigate” a potential $12 million cut in state aids – and an even larger cut in federal aids – without significant impacts on existing staffing levels and services.
“While many other districts around the state have been preparing for possible state revenue reductions and identifying the kinds of programs and expenses they will have to cut in the coming year, MPS has proposed a budget with new initiatives and new positions,” says the report.
Citing a proposed 1.6% salary increase for most staff, 39 new school-based positions, increased funding for reading and math interventions and afterschool activities, and a new administrative unit for high schools, the budget brief adds that “while these do not represent the scope of investments that most school officials would desire to improve the district’s educational outcomes, they stand in stark contrast to the cuts proposed in many previous budgets.”
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
The report explains that MPS is able to temporarily meet its revenue challenges – which are likely to be ameliorated by recent amendments to the proposed state budget – by managing savings generated in the current fiscal year in a manner that provides sufficient cushion for 2016.
“The savings result from the transformation that has occurred in MPS’ finances, operations, and personnel over the past five years due to the restructuring of its fringe benefits,” says the report. “The district has reduced annual fringe benefit costs by more than $100 million since 2011, and has reaped additional financial gains from a turnover in staff from older to younger employees. Even going forward, total expenditures are not projected to rise beyond an inflationary amount despite the anticipated resumption of annual health care cost increases.”
All the news is not good for MPS on the financial front, however. The report warns that “the relatively tranquil nature of the 2016 budget should not mask the precarious nature of MPS’ overall fiscal outlook, and its continued heavy reliance on the State.” It cites MPS’ five-year forecast, which projects a deficit of $114 million in 2020 under a scenario in which current state- imposed revenue limits remain in place. This uncertainty shows that MPS officials may not have the ability to expand investments in successful programs and cushion aid cuts from other levels of government in future budgets.
“Overall, MPS’ fiscal outlook is far brighter than it has been in the past, and its ability to withstand reductions in state aids greatly enhanced, at least for the short term” the budget brief concludes. “But improved stability is one thing, and capacity to invest in needed and desired program initiatives is another. Whether MPS can maintain and achieve both stability and the capacity to make strategic programmatic investments still is questionable, and still is largely contingent upon decision-making at other levels of government.”
The budget brief can be downloaded from the Forum’s website: www.publicpolicyforum.org.
Milwaukee-based Public Policy Forum, established in 1913 as a local government watchdog, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the effectiveness of government and the development of southeastern Wisconsin through objective research of public policy issues.

author: Public Policy Forum