text:
5 things to do and know the weekend of July 16 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ana Martinez-Ortiz
July 16, 2021
Join Cetonia Weston-Roy for story time at Pete’s Pops, 3809 W. Vliet St., this Sunday, July 18. (Photo provided by Cetonia Weston-Roy)
It’s Friday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about as the nation grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please email info@milwaukeenns.org and put “5 things” in the subject line by noon Thursday.
1. Movie night in Johnsons Park: “Moana”: Friday, July 16
Friends of Johnsons Park and Neu-Life Community Development are screening a showing of Disney’s “Moana” at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 16 in Johnsons Park, 1919 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
2. Heal the Hood: Annual block party: Saturday, July 17
Heal the Hood MKE is back. The annual block party will take place on North Ninth and West Ring Streets from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 17. There will be food, live music, entertainment, giveaways and more. The event is co-sponsored by the City of Milwaukee and 414Life Violence Prevention team.
3. Garden Homes 100th anniversary celebration: Saturday, July 17
The 30th Street Corridor is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Garden Homes. During the celebration, the group will also be kicking off the renovation of 11 historic homes in Garden Homes Park. The celebration will take place at Garden Homes Park, 2600 W. Atkinson Ave., starting at noon on Saturday, July 17. For inquiries and to RSVP call 414-509-5115.
4. Nelson Mandela International Day Milwaukee Public Museum celebration: Sunday, July 18
Every year, Nelson Mandela International Day is celebrated on his birthday. This year, the celebration will take place on Sunday, July 18. The Milwaukee Public Museum and America’s Black Holocaust Museum are encouraging people to take the “My Mandela Pledge.” Those who take the pledge are asked to serve their community for 67 minutes in honor of Nelson Mandela’s 67 years of service. “Mandela: The Official Exhibition” will be on display at the Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 W. Wells St., until Sunday, Aug. 1.
5. Story time at Pete’s Pops with the Niche Book Bar: Sunday, July 18
Earlier this summer, Pete’s Pops and the Niche Book Bar launched an outdoor story time series. Each month, Cetonia Weston-Roy chooses three books that explore a different theme. This week, story time will take place at Pete’s Pops, 3809 W. Vliet St., from 11:30 a.m. to noon on Sunday, July 18. This event is free and family friendly.
Bonus: Cultural plant walks with Angela Kingsawan: Saturday, July 17
Local herbalist Angela Kingsawan will be leading a cultural plant walk in Lynden Sculpture Garden, 2145 W. Brown Deer Rd., from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 17. The walks are a part of the garden’s “HOME” series. Participants will learn about the cultural significance various plants have and how they can be used as food and medicine. The event is free, but space is limited and registration is required. Read: NNS Spotlight: Clarke Square herbalist connects community with nature.


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
July 16, 2021

source: news-milwaukeenns

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

author: Dwayne Burtin


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
July 15, 2021


text:
5 things to know this week in Milwaukee: July 19 to July 24 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ana Martinez-Ortiz
July 19, 2021
Join Arts @ Large for its ARTS4ALL workshop and make a family collage book from scratch. (NNS file photo by Andrea Waxman)
It’s Monday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about as you prepare for the week.
If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please email info@milwaukeenns.org and put “5 things” in the subject line by noon Thursday.
1. Nō Studios PhotoMKE festival information session: Monday, July 19
Nō Studios is hosting its first PhotoMKE festival in September and is asking Milwaukee residents to submit photos of the following neighborhoods: Clarke Square, Harambee, Layton Boulevard, Lindsay Heights, Metcalfe Park and Muskego Way. Nō Studios is hosting a virtual Q&A regarding the event and photo submissions at 6 p.m. on Monday, July 19. For more information, click here. Photo submissions must be uploaded digitally at 300 dpi and include a story; they are due by Sunday, July 31.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
2. Milwaukee Public Library: “Job Readiness 101”: Ageism in the workplace: Tuesday, July 20
The Milwaukee Public Library offers various virtual events through its “Stay Connected” programming, including its monthly “Job Readiness 101” series. This week, the session focuses on ageism in the workplace. Annette DiZinno, a workforce connection consultant and specialist with Goodwill Industries, will be offering her expertise. The program will take place on Zoom from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, July 20.
3. COVID-19 walk-in vaccination clinics: Tuesday, July 20 and Wednesday, July 21
Catholic Financial Life, along with Near West Side Partners and Walmart, is hosting a free COVID-19 vaccine clinic. The clinic will be located at Catholic Financial Life, 1100 W. Wells St., from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 20. Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines will be given to anyone ages 12 and older Participants will receive a free meal and a raffle ticket.
In addition, Neighborhood House of Milwaukee is hosting free COVID-19 vaccination clinics. Individuals 12 and older are eligible and appointments are not needed. The first clinic will take place at Neighborhood House International Learning Program, 639 N. 25th St., from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, July 21. The second clinic will take place at Neighborhood House, 2819 W. Richardson Place, from noon to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, July 21. If you have questions or concerns, call 414-933-6161, Ext. 134.
4. Summer family nights in the park: Thursday, July 22
This summer, the Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center is hosting several family fun nights in the park. Join the organization at Humboldt Park, 3000 S. Howell Ave., from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 22. There will be a kickball game and a cookout.
5. Arts @ Large: ARTS4ALL Family collage book: Saturday, July 24
Arts @ Large offers ARTS4ALL, a family friendly art workshop. This week, Rylee Krumrei will be showing participants how to make a family collage book from scratch. The workshop will offer two sessions at Arts @ Large, 1100 S. 5th St., from 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. and from 11:15 a.m. to noon on Saturday, July 24. Families can choose which session to attend. Registration is not required, but sessions are limited to 15 people.
BONUS: Mayor Tom Barrett will host a public meeting regarding his Milwaukee Recovery and Resilience Plan at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, July 19. The event will provide information about the allocation of American Rescue Plan funds, and city officials will be available to answer questions about the proposed expenditures.
The public meeting will take place via GoToMeeting. Register in advance by clicking here. The session will also be recorded and available for viewing online after the event.
People interested in the plan the mayor has presented to the Common Council can read it at milwaukee.gov/arpa under “New Developments and Updates.”

author: Ana Martinez-Ortiz


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
July 18, 2021


text:
Post from Community: A Picture & A Thousand Words 2021 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Writeapic.org
July 19, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
P1K: A Picture & A Thousand Words is a blind collaboration between photographers & writers: Photos are submitted and posted at writeapic.org. Writers then choose a photo that inspires them and write a thousand words, any genre or form. This culminates in a live event featuring a reading and photo projection with all artists in attendance. We’ve planned for a live event at Sugar Maple in Bay View, but we’re prepared to go virtual depending on COVID guidelines.
Photo submission period on theme: Everyday Life in a Public Place -July 8-29, 2021
Written Word Deadline:  September 16, 2021
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
We encourage participation by keeping all submissions free – as is the event itself. P1K has been hugely successful and is in its 5th year.
About us: Writeapic.org is a non-profit committed to showcasing Wisconsin artists and encouraging collaboration between genres. P1K:A Picture & A Thousand Words is our flagship event. Our live event has have grown into a larger space and we continued with a virtual event in 2020 that saw 60 attendees.


text:
Post from Community: Milwaukee changemaker selected as a semifinalist in Expensify.org’s community justice grant challenge | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Expensify.org
July 19, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
Expensify.org, a charity founded by the preaccounting platform Expensify, today announced over 60 semi-finalists advancing to the first voting round for the Community Justice Grant Challenge. The grant challenge will provide up to $100,000 in funding to 10 grassroots organizations or individuals fighting injustices in their community. This initiative is just the beginning and part of Expensify’s $3 million commitment to combat systemic inequity.
Since launching the grant challenge in February, Expensify.org received more than 1,000 applications to advance community initiatives supporting climate justice, food security, housing equity, reentry services, or youth advocacy. Now entering the voting stage, Expensify.org is inviting members of the public to cast their ballot for the campaigns they think should win up to $100,000 of the over 60 qualifying campaigns seeking to scale their efforts for change.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and run by The Community, the Pre-Entry: Customized Career Assistance project aims to prepare incarcerated people for success and transform societal stereotypes and fears about this demographic so preparation meets opportunity prior to and upon release. Through pre-entry training, the program creates opportunities for real careers that can offer more than the minimum wage to prevent reoffending among formerly incarcerated individuals. To learn more about the over 60 qualifying campaigns from across the world, visit www.expensify.org.
“It’s simply been amazing seeing how many people are out there fighting for change, justice, and equity in their communities. The level of creativity and hustle shown by these applicants reminds us that change is possible – especially when we work together to build local solutions that empower those most affected by the issues,” said Puneet Lath, a Director at Expensify. “We’ve worked closely with all the applicants to truly understand their campaign proposals, and we’re excited for the public to see all the incredible ideas that they can help support simply by voting.”
Voting is open from July 19, 2021 through July 26, 2021 @ 11:50 p.m. PST on www.expensify.org. All members of the public are eligible to vote. People can vote for one campaign per fund category for a total of five campaigns. Ten finalists will be announced shortly after voting closes. Additionally, to honor the incredible effort put into these campaign applications, we are going to fund all semifinalists with up to $5,000 in reimbursements each, starting immediately.
To learn more about the Community Justice Grant Challenge, visit www.expensify.org and check out the launch video HERE.


text:
Crosswalk murals on North Avenue part of a larger effort to address reckless driving in city | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
July 20, 2021
Youths and adults paint murals along several North Avenue crosswalks Saturday as part of a project to raise awareness about reckless driving in the community. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Like most other days, cars traveled along West North Avenue at a brisk clip around noon Saturday.
But when they entered the intersection of West North Avenue and North Palmer Street in Harambee and saw youths painting white lotus flowers and other colorful images onto the crosswalk, they slowed down. And that was exactly the point.
“We are all here together, and we all want to be safe,” said 13-year-old Jazale Hill, who, along with others, helped to re-create the images with paint brushes and rollers on the crosswalk. “When we slow down, we’re showing that we care about each other.”
Jazale, the daughter of well-known Milwaukee artist Vedale Hill, was part of a team of youths and adults who participated in the “Cross/Words/North” project, an effort to increase a sense of community and raise awareness about reckless driving along North Avenue.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
They painted four crosswalks Saturday, two on North Palmer Street and the others on North Hubbard Street, each featuring images that represent the themes of empowerment, diversity, love and unity.
“Those are words that the youth associate with community,” said Stephanie Krellwitz, who led the community-based project for Artists Working in Education, also known as AWE. Krellwitz said the project makes art more accessible to the community while prompting drivers in a high-traffic area to be more mindful.
“It will make people ask questions,” she said. “Why this design?”
The “why” is that being part of a community means feeling safe there, said Joshua Fuentes, 13, who also created images used in the crosswalks. Joshua, who like Hill, is a student at St. Marcus Lutheran School, said he’s seen the aftermath of car crashes and known people who have been affected by reckless driving. When people slow down, everybody benefits, he said.
“If I know I’m safe to walk around in my community, then I know that my community is safe,” he said.
The original idea to create projects to address reckless driving in Harambee came from a resident who often rides his bike along North Avenue, according to Mark Lisowski, a community organizer for Safe and Sound. Safe and Sound works with residents and other local organizations, including the Milwaukee Police Department, to increase safety and resident engagement in the city. Lisowski said that one of the main concerns of residents is out-of-control drivers.
With the support of residents and other organizations, Safe and Sound applied for and received a $5,000 grant from the City of Milwaukee’s Reckless Driving Mini-Grant program. The grants are being used to fund the crosswalk and another project. A total of $108,000 was awarded to 18 community organizations to launch efforts to persuade drivers to slow down.
The themes behind the crosswalk art on North Avenue were identified during two Zoom visioning sessions led by Artists Working in Education, representatives of Safe and Sound, St. Marcus Lutheran School and residents and students from the area. The project was also supported by Ald. Milele Coggs. Krellwitz, a Milwaukee-based painter, is also lead artist of another crosswalk mural project that will be completed this week on North 31st Street near Galena Street United Methodist Church to raise awareness on the issue.
These smaller efforts are part of a larger push to curb reckless driving in Milwaukee. One major development in support of that work is a plan by Mayor Tom Barrett to invest $6 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds to address the issue.
“Residents are asking city government to take action,” said Barrett, who described North Avenue as an epicenter of reckless driving. “As we curb reckless driving, we are improving safety, increasing neighborhood quality of life and restoring a sense of civility on our roadways.”
If the plan is approved, most of the funds would be used on physical improvements, including curb extensions, pedestrian refuge islands, raised crosswalks, pedestrian signals and pavement markings, Barrett said. More than $1 million of those funds would go to the Milwaukee Police Department to support reckless driving enforcement activities.
According to data from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, there were 12,943 crashes that resulted in 34 fatalities and 4,102 injuries in Milwaukee County from January through June. Speed was cited as a factor in 1,748 of those crashes. There was one less crash fatality during that same time period last year, but the number of crashes and injuries has increased.
Although several crashes have occurred near the St. Marcus campus, 2215 N. Palmer St.,  speeding has also resulted in many close calls, said Maureen Gunn, community engagement specialist for the school. She said a car flying down the street almost hit her as she exited her car at the school. With summer in full bloom and St. Marcus set to open its third campus in the neighborhood at the old Harambee Community School on North First and West Burleigh streets, even more children will be walking on the streets.
“Children want to go out and play safely and enjoy their neighborhood and it’s difficult to do that when cars are driving recklessly,” she said.

author: Edgar Mendez


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
July 19, 2021


text:
‘I want to fix it’: Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson calls Milwaukee’s lead crisis her No. 1 priority | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Matt Martinez
July 21, 2021
Milwaukee Health Department Commissioner Kirsten Johnson speaks at a news conference earlier this month on door-to-door vaccinations. (Photo provided by Milwaukee Health Department)
In a wide-ranging interview with NNS, new Milwaukee Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson said her top priority is tackling the city’s ongoing lead crisis, which she called “the pandemic before the pandemic.”
Johnson, who joined the department in March, said although the COVID-19 pandemic remains a challenge, she also wants to begin reversing policies that have worsened health outcomes for the city’s Black and brown residents. This includes the city’s lead abatement program that focuses on removing lead from pipes, paint and soil in the city.
Johnson acknowledged the program has had its share of challenges and currently faces new ones as well.
“I want to fix it,” Johnson said. “This change doesn’t happen overnight, but I think there’s a real opportunity to do great work and leverage the resources and relationships we have to do that work.”
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
The city’s lead crisis gained attention in 2018, when Mayor Tom Barrett’s office announced that thousands of families hadn’t been notified about lead levels in their children’s blood. Former Health Commissioner Bevan Baker resigned amid the controversy, and the department issued a report that outlined gaps in the program.
The findings spurred an effort by the city to remove lead service lines in the city, which identified over 70,000 homes with lead pipes. With an average of about 1,000 removals a year, the city would need 70 years to replace the pipes at its current rate, according to Milwaukee Water Works.
Lead poisoning can have damaging health effects on children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  It can also create long-term cognitive challenges, including irritability, fatigue and forgetfulness.
Last week, the health department acknowledged that it had failed to reach out to a family in the Bay View neighborhood whose child had elevated lead levels in their blood. Department leaders told the Common Council in an email that parts of the lead program “have been mismanaged.”
Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic, chairwoman of the Public Safety and Health Committee, is calling for a thorough review of lead exposure cases.
“I believe that every case should receive the same magnifying glass,” Dimitrjevic said.
Johnson said the department has hired the Public Health Foundation, which conducted an audit on the lead abatement program last year, to review anywhere from 20% to 50% of the cases in 2020 and 2021 to identify problems. The Public Health Foundation is a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., that makes recommendations to public health agencies.
Johnson said she wants the foundation to “literally map out every process in that program and identify where the system has failed families, frankly.”
She said her department needs to improve the quality and timeliness of how it reports on homes affected by lead. Johnson also said she wants to work with primary care doctors to better screen children and pregnant women for lead poisoning to avoid hospitalizations.
“We’re chronically underfunded in public health, but we need to spend the money we have well,” Johnson said. The lead service line replacement program has $5.5 million allocated in the city budget.
For her part, Dimitjrevic said she wants to see the city take a more proactive approach. Specifically, she would like to use American Rescue Plan funds to replace pipes. The American Rescue Plan provides emergency financial relief to state governments, local municipalities and residents battered by the pandemic.
“We need to take 10 steps back and ask ourselves what we’re doing here,” Dimitrjevic said.
Dimitrijevic said she’s been “astounded by the straight-up complacency” she’s seen on the lead issue.  She said she hopes that as a city, health officials can learn something from the pandemic and consider ideas like mobile sites and door-to-door outreach for lead poisoning.
“You can’t ignore the reality that most of the children being infected are Black and brown,” Dimitrjevic said.
Robert Miranda, an activist and leader with Get The Lead Out and Freshwater for Life Action Coalition, is also tired of waiting for change on this issue.
“I’m at a point where I think nobody’s going to do anything until we see actual deaths occur,” Miranda said. “It appears to me they’re OK with children being damaged because of this.”
Miranda said he believes the focus needs to be on removing lead pipes and teaching homeowners how to do so. While prevention methods are fine, he wants to see the pipes replaced as fast as possible.
He said the current situation was a result of “indifference and mess” in city government that is costing too much time.
“The level of frustration is definitely rising, there’s no doubt about that,” Miranda said.
Johnson said the city must also combat a crisis in rental housing.
“Many of them are owned by out-of-state investors and that creates a perpetual housing stock issue,” Johnson said. “The rentals are expensive, and they have lead in them and there’s a lack of engagement by landlords because it’s an investment property for them. It’s not where their family is living.”
She said other challenges include a lack of health insurance, which creates a major barrier to getting people the care they need. She also said she is concerned about infant mortality rates, as Black women in the city deal with drastically higher rates when compared with other groups.
The department is also in need of a strategic plan after a review from the state Department of Health Services that began in 2019 identified areas for improvement, including determining the role of the Board of Health and improving the staffing and quality of its Community Health Assessments and Community Health Improvement Program.
Johnson said the audit by the Department of Health Services has made the need for transparency between the state and city apparent, and she hopes to create that environment in the health department as well.
“To be frank, it’s been hard because you only know what people tell you,” Johnson said. “There’s a culture of not sharing information and that’s been challenging.”
Dimitrjevic and Ald. Chantia Lewis, a fellow member of the Public Safety and Health Committee, both voiced concerns about turnover in the department in interviews with NNS.
Leadership has changed dramatically over the last year, including the departure of former commissioner Dr. Jeanette Kowalik and the dismissals of chief of staff Lilliann Paine and deputy health commissioner Griselle Torres. Paine was instrumental in getting racism declared as a public health crisis in 2019.
Johnson, who served as health commissioner for Washington and Ozaukee counties before her current job, said she wanted to bring in team members who shared her vision, resulting in Paine and Torres being let go.
Johnson commended them for their work in addressing health equity, a goal that Johnson said she shares.
“It was really about building my own team and knowing where I wanted to take the department,” Johnson said.
Johnson hopes to have a strategic plan to share by spring 2022. In the meantime, she plans to host listening sessions and go into the community. She also wants to use social media to get feedback from residents and members of her department.
“For me as a white woman, it’s not my voice that needs to be at the table. My role is to advocate for what people in the neighborhood want,” Johnson said. “My role is to bring those voices forward at the tables where I sit.”

author: Matt Martinez


text:
51322644363_31526ddc55_h | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
July 20, 2021


text:
Post from Community: MATC to offer extended hours for admissions, registration and advising; all campuses open; target set for at least 60% of fall courses through in-person, hybrid and blended formats | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ginny Gnadt
July 21, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
Milwaukee Area Technical College will hold extended admissions, registration and advising hours on four days at all campuses to help future, new and current students who choose to visit campuses for assistance in applying and enrolling for fall courses.
This Fall, the college is offering 60% of classes with an in-person component.
Extended hours will be offered::
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Students who want to apply to MATC should bring their high school transcripts, and if they want to transfer credits from another college, those transcripts as well.
All campuses are open and include Downtown Milwaukee Campus, 700 W. State St.; Mequon Campus, 5555 W. Highland Rd.; Oak Creek Campus, 6555 S. Howell Ave.; and West Allis Campus, 1200 S. 71st. St.
For more information, call 414-297-6282 and press ‘1’ for admissions, registration or financial aid.
Wisconsin’s largest technical college and one of the most diverse two-year institutions in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. More than 30,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community-based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers more than 170 academic programs; and transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees with more than 40 four-year colleges and universities. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

author: Ginny Gnadt


text:
Raising Wisconsin’s minimum wage would significantly cut poverty. So why is it still $7.25? | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Molly Davis and Gretchen Gerlach (Wisconsin Watch)
July 22, 2021
For26-year-old Olivia McKnight, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour wouldtransform her life.
Asa full-time Popeyes employee in Milwaukee, McKnight makes $10 an hour. Thisisn’t nearly enough to support herself and her three children. She also works asecond job. The long work hours have forced her to miss out on time spent withher children, including holidays and key life moments.
For29-year-old James Rudd, who earns more than $15 an hour now, he is finally ableto pay for the things he needs. And he now fights for all workers in Wisconsinto reach at least $15 an hour.
Incontrast with McKnight, Rudd’s maintenance job at AT&T’s Milwaukee officecleaning floors and changing light bulbs has made his life easier. He canafford health insurance, bus fare and to keep current on his bills — all ofwhich were out of reach when he earned $7.25 or $8 an hour.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
That’swhere McKnight is now.
“Itry to provide for my family day to day, month to month, paying rent, payingelectric, lights, and trying to find babysitters,” she said. “It’s definitelyhard, it takes the majority of my time away, and it’s like I’m almost workingfor pennies.”
Roughly1 million hourly workers nationwide earn the federal
minimum wage of $7.25 an hour or less. Like others fed up with lowearnings, McKnight recently joined the Fight for $15, a global politicalmovement working to increase the minimum wage for all underpaid workers.
InWisconsin, where the racial wealth and income gaps are some of the greatest inthe nation, many feel raising the minimum is long overdue. According to a 2019Marquette Law School Poll, 55% of Wisconsinites support raising the minimumwage, while 39% oppose it. And Black women like McKnight are among those whowould benefit the most from it.
Blackand Hispanic women are more than twice as likely as white men to make less than$15 per hour, according to calculations by The
Washington Post using federal jobs data. About 46% of Hispanic women and39% of Black women earn less than $15 an hour, while only 18% of white andAsian men earn less than $15 per hour. In Wisconsin, an estimated 43.7% of
residentsearn less than $15 an hour.
Becauseof grassroots movements like the Fight for $15 and growing political support,eight states and the District of Columbia have already passed legislation toraise the wage to $15 an hour, most recently Florida, according to the UC Berkeley Labor
Center.
Butnot Wisconsin. It is among 21 states whose minimum wage matches the federallevel of $7.25 an hour. In 10 other states, the minimum is higher but stillunder $10, the UC Berkeley Labor Center reports.
Legislators,activists and community members have organized, lobbied and proposed changes tothe federal and state-level wages for years, well before Democrats triedunsuccessfully to include a federal $15 minimum wage in the pandemic reliefpackage passed in February 2021. `
InJanuary, Democrats reintroduced the Raise the Wage Act, which would gradually increase thefederal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025 and end pay below-the-minimum wagefor tipped workers. Under the bill, the minimum wage would increase immediatelyto $9.50 an hour, then to $11 per hour next year, $12.50 in 2023, $14 in 2024and then $15 in 2025. A similar bill was introduced in 2019 but nevercleared the GOP-controlled Senate.
Themain reason minimum wage bills have stalled: Opponents argue that raising itwould force many businesses to close or cut their workforces, resulting infewer jobs.
Arecent Congressional Budget
Office report estimated that implementing a nationwide minimum of $15 anhour would lift nearly 1 million people out of poverty — but employment wouldbe reduced by 1.4 million workers. Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, apowerful business lobby, argues raising the minimum wage would reduceopportunities for entry-level workers by making it more expensive for companiesto hire them.
Economic disparities huge
Lowwages have long been a problem for workers of color in Wisconsin. Black medianhousehold income in Milwaukee has fallen by almost 30% since 1979. In fact, theBlack median household income of $29,655 is the lowest among the top 50 U.S.metropolitan areas, and it is only 42% of white median household income, whichin 2018 was $70,561. That’s according to a 2020 study by the University ofWisconsin-Milwaukee Center for Economic Development, which controlled for costof living while comparing metropolitan areas.
“Ithink that’s a profound finding,” said Marc Levine, co-founder of the centerwho led the study. “It tells us a lot about not only our history, but aboutwhat’s happening today in Milwaukee and how little progress it has made.”
Levine’srecent research focuses on Black communities and how they fare in the nation’s50 largest metropolitan areas on issues including housing segregation,incarceration, poverty and income. On nearly every measure, Milwaukee comes outat or near the bottom. Wisconsin’s largest city, he said, “represents thearchetype of modern-day metropolitan racial apartheid and inequality.”
Differencesin educational achievement do not account for the disparities in income.According to Levine’s report, a white high school dropout is over twice aslikely to be employed in Milwaukee than a Black high school dropout. In fact,white high school dropouts have a higher employment rate than Black workers who have graduated from high school.
“Sowhen we talk about raising the minimum wage and the Fight for 15, you can seehow important that is for Black Milwaukee given the very low wages that areearned by Black males,” Levine told Wisconsin Watch. “My estimate is thatalmost 40 to 45% of Black workers in Milwaukee would benefit from raising theminimum wage to $15 an hour.”
Lack of raise ‘shameful’
ForWisconsin state Sen. Melissa Agard, the issue of raising the minimum wage is amoral one. Far too many people in the state who are working 40 hours a week —and who are disproportionately people of color — are still unable to take careof themselves and their families with dignity, she said.
OnJune 17, Agard announced she would reintroduce legislation to raise the minimumwage to $15 in Wisconsin. She said it is “embarrassing” and “shameful” that theminimum hourly wage in the state has been frozen at $7.25 since 2009.
Manyminimum-wage workers are forced to rely on public assistance programs, whichcost the state billions. Addressing income inequality, in part by raising theminimum wage, could actually save the state money in respect togovernment-funded assistance programs because people would be able to bettersupport themselves and their families, Agard said.
“Increasedwages mean less people (are) reliant on government assistance for food, healthcare and other essentials,” she said. “In the richest country on the planet, noone should work full time and live in poverty.”
The UC Berkeley Labor
Centerfound that 45% of workers in Wisconsin who would receive a pay boost if theRaise the Wage Act were passed are currently enrolled in one or more publicassistance programs, including Medicaid, FoodShare and the Earned Income TaxCredit. Those working class employees are supported by an estimated $2.4billion in public assistance programs in Wisconsin, the Labor Centerestimated.
WisconsinManufacturers and Commerce is a major voice of opposition to raising theminimum wage. The group argues that the biggest issue facing employers is alack of skilled workers, and that the state should focus on training workersand incentivizing young professionals and college graduates to remain in thestate.
Thepowerful business group did not respond to requests for comment. But in itslegislative agenda, WMC stated that “raising the minimum wage will increase thecost of employing entry level workers, resulting in fewer job opportunities forworkers entering the workforce who need to build skills and experience fortheir career.”
Inaddition, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the reduction inemployment would increase spending for programs such as unemploymentcompensation. It also projected the costs of goods and services would increase,leading consumers to limit purchases and employers to reduce their employment.
Afterattempting to push through the bill in 2015 and 2017, the senator invited her Republicancolleagues to join her. “Everyone deserves economic security,” she said.
Higher
tipped wage proposed
AnotherDemocratic-backed proposal in Wisconsin would ensure tipped employees currentlymaking $2.13 or $2.33 an hour are compensated the same minimum wage as the restof the workforce. Sen. Chris Larson of Milwaukee and Rep. Francesca Hong ofMadison are sponsors of the measure.
“Thiswage is simply not enough,” Larson said at a March press conference introducingthe legislation. “Up to 60% of tipped workers report that their tipped wagesare too low to meet unemployment thresholds, and 46% rely on public assistancefor basic survival.”
LarissaJoanna, a restaurant worker and single mother of two, said such a change wouldhave helped her. She described getting paid the sub-minimum wage at her pastrestaurant jobs as dehumanizing. Having to rely so heavily on tips fromcustomers to support her family made her stressed and worried.
Forthe past three years Joanna has worked as a manager at a Madison restaurantthat starts every employee at the $7.25 minimum wage, plus tips. But shecontinues to fight for a higher wage for others because she knows what it’slike to work hard and yet not earn enough to support a family.
Andshe can never make up for lost time with her sons — one of whom has autism,attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and speech delays — while she workedtwo jobs just to make ends meet.
“UnfortunatelyI had to spend that time away from my children, and if we were all makingbetter pay it would be beneficial for everyone as a whole including ourchildren,” Joanna said.
SaidRudd: “Fifteen dollars is just a start. We want to take vacations. We want tobe able to live the American dream.”
Wisconsin
Watch reporters Zhen Wang and Isaac Wasserman contributed to this story, which
was produced as part of an investigative reporting class at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication under the
direction of Dee J. Hall, Wisconsin Watch’s managing editor. The nonprofit
Wisconsin Watch (www.WisconsinWatch.org) collaborates with
WPR, PBS Wisconsin, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism
and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by
Wisconsin Watch do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison
or any of its affiliates.


text:
fight_for_15 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
July 20, 2021


text:
Graphic_minimum_wage | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
July 20, 2021


text:
James_Rudd_01A | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
July 20, 2021


text:
Minimum_wage_05 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
July 20, 2021


text:
National_map_minimum-wage | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
July 20, 2021


text:
5 things to do and know the weekend of July 23 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ana Martinez-Ortiz
July 23, 2021
Tricklebee Cafe, 4424 W. North Ave., is hosting a farmers market on Sunday, July 25. (File photo by Andrea Waxman)
It’s Friday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about as you plan your weekend.
If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please email info@milwaukeenns.org and put “5 things” in the subject line by noon .
1. Morning Reads with La Revo Books
La Revo Books is hosting Morning Reads or Lecturas Mañaneras. The event will take place at Kosciuszko Park, 2201 S. 7th St., from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, July 24. The group will meet by the playground. Participants are invited to bring a book and a blanket and enjoy a relaxing morning in the park. La Revo Books will provide the coffee.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
2. Youth development and community resource fair
PEAK Initiative is hosting its first Youth and Community Resource Fair. The event will take place in Tiefenthaler Park, 2480 W. Cherry St., from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 24. Various partners will be in attendance, including Safe & Sound, Next Door, Xalaat Africa Drum and Dance for Life, PEARLS for Teen Girls and more.
Milwaukee Public Schools is hosting COVID-19 vaccine clinics in partnership with the Milwaukee Health Department. This weekend, there will be a clinic at South Division High School, 1515 W. Lapham Blvd., from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 24. The Pfizer vaccine is the only vaccine approved for youth ages 12 and older. Click here for the consent form.
There will be additional clinics in the weeks to come, including one at Milwaukee Academy of Chinese Language, 2430 W. Wisconsin Ave., on Wednesday, July 28 and one at Washington High School, 2525 N. Sherman Blvd., on Thursday, July 29.
In response to the recent federal court ruling regarding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, Voces de la Frontera is hosting three immigration forums throughout the state. The one in Milwaukee will take place at the Voces offices, 733 W. Historic Mitchell St., at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 24. The event will be streamed live on Facebook.
5. Tricklebee Cafe farmers market
Tricklebee Cafe is hosting its summer farmers market this weekend. The market will take place at Tricklebee Cafe, 4424 W. North Ave., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 25. There will be produce, body care products, jewelry and more available for purchase. The market will also have a free health screening station, a free clothing rack, musical entertainment and games for children.


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
July 22, 2021


text:
News414: You asked, we answer: Resources for property tax relief | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
July 23, 2021
If you’re struggling to pay property taxes, you’re not alone. There are tax foreclosure prevention programs and grants available to help. (File photo by Edgar Mendez)
One year ago, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service collaborated with fellow nonprofit newsrooms Wisconsin Watch and Outlier Media to launch News414, the free texting news service that delivers essential information on food, housing and health to readers.
Since then, we’ve communicated with over 1,000 texters regularly about issues that matter most to them. Today we share answers to two common questions we’ve received.
There are a few options available if you need help covering your property tax bill.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity currently has a tax foreclosure prevention grant available to homeowners in the Harambee, Midtown, Washington Park, Metcalf Park and Amani communities. This is a one-time grant to help with delinquent property tax with a $1,500 maximum payout amount.
GreenPath Financial Wellness’ free foreclosure prevention program can administer payments to creditors, including property tax payments. Find out more here or call 800-550-1961.
Housing Resources Inc. also offers a foreclosure prevention program with counseling services for people who are having problems with property taxes. You can find out more here.
If there is a dispute between the employee and employer on the amount to be paid in unemployment, assistance can be held at an adjudicator while the exact amount is agreed upon.
However, if your unemployment assistance is held by an adjudicator, you can get free legal help. A list of providers for free legal help can be found here.
To ask a question through News414, text “MKE” to 73224.

author: Sam Woods


text:
Peer support counselors offer guidance on breastfeeding | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Matt Martinez
July 23, 2021
Dalvery Blackwell, founder of the Milwaukee-based African American Breastfeeding Network, says peer counseling programs allow counselors an opportunity to not “put women in a box and define who and what they are.” She’s shown providing maternity advice at the now-closed Marquette Neighborhood Health Center in 2013. (NNS file photo by Kara Cucchiarelli)
After having a baby, mothers face a choice: Will they breastfeed or feed from the bottle?
The difference could be major. In recent studies, breastfeeding was linked to a major reduction in infant mortality. Infants and mothers who breastfeed are also at less risk for a number of health conditions, including asthma and diabetes.
In Milwaukee, peer support counselors are available to provide guidance. The counselors offer their own experiences and guidance from breastfeeding in a culturally competent way.
Peer support programs through the Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, program are available throughout the city, and Milwaukee’s WIC program provides counseling for 821 women annually. Grant funding for the program is now over $74,000, an increase of 50% from 2020.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Natalie Alcaraz, WIC program manager for the Milwaukee Health Department, said the increased funding will go to hiring additional staff and increasing community outreach. The team will have four peer counselors by the end of the year and has a stated goal to reach mothers at Ascension St. Joseph hospital.
WIC will also host Baby Cafés for mothers in the near future, with the goal of holding two a month, said Erica Olivier, maternal and child health director for the Milwaukee Health Department. The Baby Cafes are events where mothers can come and have their questions answered about maternal health.
Peer counselors also operate out of different organizations in the community, all with the common goal of reflecting the communities they serve.
Dalvery Blackwell, founder of the Milwaukee-based African American Breastfeeding Network, said peer counseling programs are important because they allow counselors an opportunity to not “put women in a box and define who and what they are.”
Blackwell said that her organization intentionally hires women from the community.
“They bring their own lived experiences, cultural backgrounds and nuances,” Blackwell said. “They see determinants and assets in their own community.”
Blackwell said the breastfeeding initiation rate for Black women was about 58%, about 12% lower than all other women, including those in the Latinx population. She believes that for many Black women, this is because of a lack of positive examples.
“When you don’t see it, you don’t believe it can happen for you,” Blackwell said. “I’ve heard women say, ‘That’s not for me, that’s for the woman who’s going to stay at home with her kids.’”
Blackwell said she noticed that Black women were uncomfortable exposing their breasts to non-Black women in clinical settings during her own time working with WIC. She also said Black women were more likely to have jobs in workplaces that were not family-friendly or accommodating for breastfeeding.
Lauren Christie, the breastfeeding coordinator at Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers, said new mothers rely on other mothers for advice.
“It lands differently from someone you might see at church,” Christie said.
Breastfeeding resources


text:
10071908035_c2dbf64c06_o | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
July 22, 2021


text:
Post from Community: MKE Cuban-Americans back July 25 caravan asking Biden to lift economic blockade on the Cuban people | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Arthur Heitzer
July 23, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
In the wake of protests against food and medicine shortages in Cuba, Cuban-Americans and others In the Milwaukee area are demanding President Biden act now to reverse the continued US policy to “starve“ the people of Cuba. They will hold their fourth monthly caravan in support of the Cuban people on July 25 at 1 PM at the Mitchell Park Domes, which will coincide with a march from Miami to the White House by Cuban-Americans seeking an end to the US restrictions on their ability to visit with their relatives and send remittances.
Dr. Raul Galvan, who was born in Havana, noted the recent resolutions passed by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors and others, in favor of repealing the embargo. “With the events taking place in Cuba this pastweek, it’s more important than ever to urge President Biden to take some leadership on eliminating the Embargo and alleviating the suffering of the Cuban people by immediately rescinding the additional restrictions imposed by our previous president.” The Milwaukee Journal last week ran an OpEd by Dr. Galvan.
Daniel Fonseca of Milwaukee, whose brother and other relatives live in Havana, described the painful divisions that his family and many others have suffered from restrictions which were severely tightened by the last administration, and have been fully continued under Biden. He stated “the cold war is over and the US is better than this. It’s time to lift the embargo on Cuba.”
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
Amada Morales has a brother in Cuba who cannot get a medical device to allow him to speak, and has so far been unable to send him assistance due to the US restrictions. She also asks for fully normalized relations with our neighbor.
“Our demand is consistent with that of the international community, which just voted overwhelmingly on the ‘necessity’ of the US ending this 60 years of economic warfare. This economic blockade prevents Cuba from trading not only with the US, but also with third countries, and is opposed by 97% of Cuba’s population,” stated Atty. Art Heitzer, who represented four Milwaukee church members prosecuted by the US for visiting their sister church in Central Havana.
The car and bike caravan will take place on Sunday, July 25, with a send off rally at 1pm at the parking lot of the Mitchell Park Domes, 524 South Layton Blvd., Milwaukee 53215. In addition to Cuban-Americans, speakers will include Tony Baez who co-sponsored the unanimously adopted Milwaukee School Board resolution calling for normal relations, and a representative from Voces de la Frontera, the state’s leading immigrant rights organization, and sponsoring groups..
For more information, contact the Wisconsin Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba, www.wicuba.org, email: wicubacoalition@gmail.com, and Facebook (facebook.com/WisconsinCubaCoalition. See the July 25 Caravan on Facebook

author: Arthur Heitzer


text:
Post from Community: Washington Park Community Fishing Club | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Urban Ecology Center
July 23, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
3-6pm on Tuesdays and 10-12pm on Saturdays at Washington Park
Registration is not required for this program.
(For everyone) Learn to catch the big one at Washington Park! Guided fishing lessons for kids, adults, and families with our DNR Angler Educator on Tuesdays and Saturdays through October 2. All equipment provided.
Free- donations appreciated
For questions about this program, contact Terry Evans at tevans@urbanecologycenter.org
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
website: https://calendar.urbanecologycenter.org/event/washington-park-community-fishing-club-12/

author: Urban Ecology Center


text:
217478311_10159637818613698_6659737072856883105_n.jpg | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Name *
July 23, 2021

author: Name *


text:
Post from Community: Youth strive to make change in Amani: Earn & Learn participants working as community organizers at Dominican Center in Milwaukee’s Amani Neighborhood | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dominican Center
July 23, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
“The main goal is getting the community to care about their own neighborhood and come out to make a change,” said Amanda Clark, youth organizer at Dominican Center, who has been running the Earn & Learn program at DC. “I know I’m going to make an impact in all seven [Earn & Learn participants], and I can show all of them they can be the change. You can be the person that sparks change in the people you know.”
Earn & Learn is a summer employment program started by Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in response to barriers young people face when looking for employment and good wages. Participants under 18 work for local businesses, nonprofits and community- and faith-based organizations, and are provided an opportunity to gain skills employers are seeking while earning a competitive wage. The Dominican Center is a host site for seven Earn & Learn participants this year, and they’re working as community organizers in Milwaukee’s Amani neighborhood. Through their work, the students are improving the community, making connections and fostering civic engagement within themselves, their peers and Amani residents.
“It doesn’t event feel like work, just having fun,” said Stevie, 15. “We had fun while cleaning up the community and making it better.” But students aren’t only picking up trash, they’re inspiring others to get involved. They said that when they were doing a clean-up, they were disappointed that residents around them didn’t jump in and participate. But the next day, they saw that many of the homes and yards on the route of their clean-up had been cleaned. The impact of the clean-up made them feel like they were inspiring neighbors. “(Cleaning up the neighborhood) makes people want to change,” said Patrick, 15. “If you see something that’s dirty and just walk by, nothing’s going to change. If you see someone cleaning up every day, and fixing houses, it looks like somebody is trying help, it looks like it might make more people want to move into the community, and it makes me feel like we’re doing something.”
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
“I think people would like to see the Model House,” said Lavale, 16, as he talked about things in the Earn & Learn program that surprised him. This project in the Block by Block initiative, supported by partners DC, Northwestern Mutual, Amani United, Ezeikel Hope, LISC Milwaukee, Legal Aid Society, Milwaukee Christian Center and KG Development Group, focuses on revitalizing an entire block in Amani while training residents at the Model House to gain valuable contractor skills. “We took a tour and they showed us how to do things that could lead to entrepreneurship,” said Lavale. The students learned that the Block by Block initiative’s impact is three-fold: It shows that the community is trying to make a change and residents are doing the work, it shows that revitalization is working in Amani, and it shows how such a program can improve the quality of living in Milwaukee.
In addition to weekly neighborhood clean ups, DC’s Earn & Learn participants have learned how the Milwaukee Country Transit System works and how it connects people throughout the city, they helped Amani residents by working a Mobile Food Pantry with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, they visited the Milwaukee Public Museum for the Mandela exhibit, they’ve learned about Amani and DC programing and initiatives in the neighborhood, and they’ve learned how to organize all of this information to effectively share it with the community.
“The Mobile Food Pantry was a good experience,” said Henry, 15. “Being able to see people come out who couldn’t get to the grocery store. They came out to get apples and oranges because they really wanted those. There is not access to fresh food around here, and residents really want that.” Sophia, 15, agreed and though it was her first time working at a food giveaway, she said she will seek out future opportunities to help. “Seeing how many people came out and how much food we gave away opened my eyes.”
The Earn & Learn participants also hosted a group of students from Immanuel Presbyterian in Milwaukee to learn more about each other, network and clean up areas around Dominican Center. This allowed students to hear new perspectives and get to know students who they may have never met in their school. “With the kids from Immanuel Presbyterian, we got to participate with other people from other communities. You don’t see many people coming together like that, especially kids,” said Stevie. “When you do activities and clean ups with other people, sometimes they only want to participate with others in their own groups.”
“They wanted to know what we were thinking, they treated us with respect,” added Patrick. “They had no preconceived notion of what we are.” Learning the differences and similarities between groups of people with different races is something that the students say there should be more of. “Two people with different skin tones got together and we didn’t care about skin color. Seeing us come together is one thing that opened my eyes,” said Lavale. “More people from different backgrounds should come in and help Amani.”
“We’ve got seven people out here proving all adults wrong,” said Clark. “These kids are influencing people and changing adult minds.” She said that the students in her program have faced discrimination and have had to work harder than students in other communities to spark the change they want to see. “Adults talk negatively about all kids, but when they bust their bubble by doing something positive, more adults start stopping and asking how to apply. They want young people to be doing something positive.”
There was one instance this summer when the Earn & Learn participants were cleaning up the streets in Amani when a resident walking by asked Clark if they were in a jail program. She said when people stereotype kids, it’s bad for the community. “These kids are changing the narrative for young people,” said Clark. “They care about the community, and they know why it is important. They can make the change that we all need.”
This program has been an opportunity for the students to get involved and make a difference in their community. The students say that more people their age should have the same opportunity, and that maybe kids – not adults – should be the messengers. “[Kids] need another kid coming up to them,” said Patrick. “We need people in our program to let kids know what is out there for them to do. We can share that information; I already showed my cousin how to get an application.”
Stevie agreed, saying that kids need more opportunities to talk to each other. He also said that more organizations like DC should have spaces for young people to come and do what they’re interested in. “We don’t always need a grown person standing over us,” he said. Patrick added that sometimes youth programming that is run by adults isn’t always what he’s interested in. He said that the youth need a place where they can have the freedom to talk and listen to each other. “Peer to peer messaging is the most important thing,” he said. “If adults listened more, we wouldn’t have as many problems.”
“Whenever I tell an adult what I think, it’s like they don’t care,” said Stevie. “They’re just trying to make fun programs for kids, but we’re trying to make the community safe for kids.”
The Earn & Learn participants said that they do need assistance from adults, but collaboration between adults and kids would lead to better programming for youth and safer communities. “Adults have all the resources, buildings, etc. We need adults to run the buildings and the programs, but programming should be kids’ ideas,” said Patrick. “Or at least combine our ideas. It will probably be better.”
The Dominican Center in the Amani neighborhood of Milwaukee works with Amani residents and partners to build a better future. Founded in 1995, DC began as an urban ministry program to learn more about the women in the neighborhood and has since evolved to serve all Amani residents and respond to the changing needs of the community. Today, DC serves as the community anchor for the White House Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, Building Neighborhood Capacity Program and is the lead community partner for the US Department of Justice’s Innovations of Community Based Crime Reduction grant for Amani.
Please contact Christina Chronister at the Dominican Center for additional information at
(414) 444-9930 or by email at christina@dominican-center.org

author: Dominican Center


text:
earnlearn-small.jpg | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Name *
July 23, 2021


text:
5 things to know this week in Milwaukee: July 26 to July 31 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Ana Martinez-Ortiz
July 26, 2021
The African American Roundtable, shown here during the initial LiberateMKE launch, is hosting MilwaukeeFest, a local concert event this Friday, July 30. (Photo provided by Markasa Tucker)
It’s Monday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about as make plans for the week. If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please email info@milwaukeenns.org and put “5 things” in the subject line by noon Thursday.
1. Health and Inclusion Resource Fair: Monday, July 26
The Milwaukee County Disabilities Services Division is celebrating the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act by hosting a Health and Inclusion Resource Fair at Washington Park Senior Center, 4420 W. Vliet St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, July 26.
2. Evenings on the lagoon in Washington Park: Wednesday, July 28
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
The Urban Ecology Center invites you to enjoy an evening on Washington Park’s lagoon. The event will take place at Washington Park, 1859 N. 40th St., from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 28. Tickets cost from $8 to $10; registration is required.
3. VIA’s ice cream social: Thursday, July 29
VIA, formerly known as Layton West Boulevard Neighbors, is hosting an ice cream social at Trowbridge Square Park, 1530 S. 38th St., from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 29.  READ: NNS Spotlight: New name, same mission: How one organization is lifting up Milwaukee residents
4. Red Bike & Green: Harambee rides: Thursday, July 29
Red Bike & Green is hosting a casual bike ride through Harambee and all are invited to join. The group will meet at 5 Points Art Gallery & Studios, 3514 N. Port Washington Rd., at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 29.
5. African American Roundtable: MilwaukeeFest: Friday, July 30
The African American Roundtable presents MilwaukeeFest, which will feature  musical performances from gospel to rap to country to pop to hip-hop and more. The concert will take place at 6633 W. Mill Rd. from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, July 30.


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
July 25, 2021


text:
OPINION: ‘Disappointing and enraging’: MPS isn’t doing enough to involve community in spending $506 million | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Angela Harris
July 27, 2021
(Photo by Wes Tank)
Editor’s note: Have something on your mind? “Community Voices” is the place to let Milwaukee hear what you have to say. To be considered, we need your name, email address and phone number for verification. Please email your submissions to info@milwaukeenns.org.
(Photo provided by Angela Harris)
As a Milwaukee Public Schools parent of two MPS students, and as an MPS teacher, I was surprised to discover that MPS was hosting community engagement sessions on the third round of funding allocation from the American Rescue Plan, also known as ESSER 3.
Per the district page, MPS held five sessions at various MPS school sites, from July 8 to July 17. My surprise stemmed from the minimal communication I received about these conversations. My first notification was received on Friday, July 9 at 4:22 p.m. for a session that was happening the next day at North Division at 9:30 a.m. All subsequent emails or text messages followed the same pattern of providing information for a session in an untimely manner regarding sessions that had already ended, or notification of sessions giving less than 24 hours’ notice.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
This form of random notification is inconvenient for community stakeholders — families, MPS staff and community members. It keeps stakeholders out of an important conversation in which they have every reason and right to participate.
While MPS claims to want input from the community, its actions indicate otherwise.
The allocation of the ESSER 3 funding is a historic opportunity to transform our school communities. One of my favorite quotes by educator Marian Wright Edelman states, “Education is for improving the lives of others and leaving the community better than you found it.” The appropriate allocation of the ESSER 3 funding has the potential to improve the lives of not just our MPS students but our community, and Milwaukee Public Schools is tasked with aligning this work.
Community members attend an MPS community engagement session on Jul. 15 at Vincent High School. (Photo provided by Angela Harris)
MPS will receive $506 million dollars from ESSER 3 funding allocations. Ten percent of this funding must be allocated for “loss of learning due to COVID-19.”
Per the article “What does the American Rescue Plan mean for educators and students?,” the guidelines for submitting a plan to receive this funding are crystal clear. One guideline is stakeholder engagement. You may be wondering who is considered a stakeholder. The short answer: you, the person reading this right now. Stakeholders include but are not limited to students, families, educators, staff and administration. It is any group that the district serves or engages in serving our students.
Unfortunately, the five community engagement sessions that were sponsored by MPS do not meet the guidelines for several reasons. First, during these sessions, MPS presented a predetermined plan to stakeholders. Who developed this plan?
Second, the sessions were poorly attended. I attended the listening session at Vincent High School on Thursday, July 15. The five priority areas of accelerating learning, health and wellness, facilities, technology and extracurricular activities had already been determined by MPS. After introducing the priorities, the audience was tasked with providing feedback on the two priorities they found to be most interesting. A short discussion followed that did not allow for questions, clarification, or input. These conversations were heavily controlled by MPS administration. As both an MPS parent and teacher, I found it clear that these conversations were not meaningful or thoughtful—and one thing is for certain, there was zero consultation from the stakeholders present.
This was disappointing and enraging.
MPS has five priorities for success, the fifth being strengthening collaboration and communication. As a district, we need strong collaboration and communication to ensure ESSER3 funding is allocated in a way that addresses current and systemic inequities our communities face.
This conversation reminds me of “The Parable of the River”: There are babies falling in a river and the villagers begin to save them. They exhaust their resources trying to save them and then a villager suggests they go upstream to find out why the babies are falling in.
As a city, we constantly see our students falling into the river of the school-to-prison pipeline, opportunity gaps and low graduation rates. For years, our village has claimed to exhaust our resources to “save our children from the river,” but they have refused to go upstream to find out why our children are falling in.
In August, MPS will present its current plan to the MPS Board of School Directors. As stakeholders, we need to be ready to provide testimony on the lack of meaningful community consultation and engagement around building this plan. We must demand that Milwaukee Public Schools create meaningful opportunities for real engagement and discussions that include timely invitations, opportunities to understand ESSER 3 funding and true collaboration to build a workable plan.
The $506 million dollars from ESSER 3 funding has the potential to change the fabric of our city to be more inclusive and to provide quality, equitable educational opportunities for our children. Are you ready to roll up your sleeves?
Angela Harris is an MPS teacher, MPS parent and chair of the Black Educators Caucus MKE.

author: Angela Harris


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
July 26, 2021


text:
Post from Community: Alverno will host workshop on freedom of speech | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Alverno College
July 27, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
Alverno College will host a workshop exploring freedom of speech and the right to protest.
The day will begin with a panel discussion with advocates who are working on these issues around the world. Several concurrent sessions exploring immigrant and refugee perspectives, students’ rights to protest and strategies for civil discourse and free speech in the classroom will follow. This exploration of First Amendment rights is geared toward K-12 educators, but all educators are welcome.
Panelists include:
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
The free online workshop will take place on Thursday, August 5 from 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. The registration deadline is August 2. For more details and to register visit alverno.edu/civil.
This event is sponsored by Alverno College and the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Center for Latin American Studies and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) and the Institute for World Affairs (IWA).
About Alverno College
Founded in 1887 by the School Sisters of St. Francis, Alverno College promotes the academic, personal and professional development of its students in a collaborative and inclusive environment. Undergraduate programs for women are offered in more than 60 areas of study, and graduate programs in education, nursing, community psychology, school psychology, music therapy, music and liturgy, and business are open to women and men.
A leader in higher education innovation, Alverno has earned international accolades for its highly effective ability-based, assessment-as-learning approach to education, which emphasizes hands-on experience and develops in-demand skills. The college, Wisconsin’s first Hispanic-Serving Institution, ranks among the top schools in the Midwest for its commitment to undergraduate teaching and innovation by U.S. News & World Report. For two years, The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education named Alverno the country’s most inspiring college.
Based in Milwaukee, Wis., Alverno College is a four-year independent, Catholic, liberal arts college.

author: Alverno College


text:
markus-winkler-RMBZQFvPU4U-unsplash-1200px.jpg | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Name *
July 26, 2021


text:
Post from Community: Band shell performances light up August nights | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care
July 27, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
Christopher’s Project is among popular acts slated for Indaba Band Shell series.
Christopher’s Project
Fans of live music, dance and drama can enjoy all three at Indaba Nights, a brand-new outdoor summer concert series. Taking to the stage in August are Christopher’s Project, the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, Adekola Adedapo & Friends, the Milwaukee Black Theater Festival and more. Performances take place at the Indaba Band Shell, 2450 W. North Ave., on Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
The band shell, located at St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care-Bucyrus Campus, offers a covered, wheelchair-accessible audience space, plus lawn seating. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets. Food trucks will also be at the venue. The series runs every Wednesday through August 25.
The August entertainment lineup includes:
August 4:
6:30 Three Tenors MKE, from the Skylight Music Theatre, features a trio of Milwaukee’s most exciting male singers. Andrew Varela, Tommy Hahn and Tim Rebers are joined by pianist Maggie Rebers in this concert of solos, duets and trios.
Three Tenors MKE
7:30 Adekola Adedapo & Friends perform straight-ahead jazz with an African/Latin flavor. Joining this renowned vocalist are Cecilio Negron Jr. on congas, Omar Phillips on trap drums, Neal Davis on guitar, and bass player Joey Sanchez. Bring your dancing feet and enjoy the groove!
Adekola Adedapo & Friends
August 11:
6:30 Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra spotlights talented students who are the future of jazz in Milwaukee and the world. Buckle up for jazz favorites, performed on trumpet, keyboard, bass and drums.
Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra
7:30 Danceworks Performance MKE and Danceworks On Tap team up with guest artist Cyenthia Vijayakumar, a classical Indian dancer. Together, they’ll present a variety of rhythmic styles—from a swing beat to rocking 4/4 time.
August 18:
6:30 Milwaukee Black Theater Festival’s Youth Night will feature youth artists from the Milwaukee Rep, First Stage, Next Act and other local theater organizations, celebrating and uniting youth performers in one location. Enjoy music, poetry, theater and more!
August 25:
6:30 Christopher’s Project delivers a smooth, melodic infusion of upbeat keyboards, drum, bass and sax. Christopher Pipkins and his jazz ensemble master a wide variety of styles for listeners young and old.
Performers from the Skylight Music Theatre, Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra and Danceworks are presented in partnership with the United Performing Arts Fund’s UPAF Connect.
A mobile vaccination tent, operated by the Wisconsin National Guard, will be on site to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine and answer questions about its effectivity and safety. In observance of COVID-19 safety guidelines, guests who haven’t been vaccinated are asked to wear a mask and to practice social distancing on the grounds.
To get regular updates on the summer performance season, visit StAnnCenter.org/Indaba; or Facebook.com/IndabaBandShell. For more information, contact Gloria Miller at 414-210-2428.


text:
Post from Community: Join us Saturday, July 31st from 11AM – 1PM for our mural reveal honoring Dolores Huerta on Cesar E. Chavez Drive | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative
July 27, 2021

author: Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
July 27, 2021


text:
We’ve updated our list on where struggling residents can get free food or low-cost meals | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
July 27, 2021
If you’re hungry, help is available in many forms in Milwaukee right now. Greater Good(s) MKE, for example, offers fresh produce at a “pay-what-you-can” price. (Photo provided by Gina Nygro)
If you or someone you know needs food, here is information on where to find food pantries, meal distribution sites and meals for children as well as pay-what-you-can options, meal delivery programs and information on how to get money for buying groceries. This information is updated regularly.
Do you know of a resource that is not listed here? Text “MKE” to 73224 and let us know!
If you are looking for food now, the best place to start is by using the following resources. These resources can connect you to food pantries and meal sites within your ZIP code.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
The Hunger Task Force has created an interactive map complete with soup kitchens, MPS meal sites, non-MPS meal sites, mobile markets, meal sites for seniors and more. You can search by ZIP code or by resource type to find what you are looking for at a location near you. The map is updated daily but call the location before you visit to make sure it is still open.
Feeding America also has an interactive map of food pantries and meal programs located across Wisconsin. The map is updated regularly but call the location before you visit to make sure it is still open.
Feeding America also has maps of summer meal locations and farmer’s markets that take Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, credits. You can learn more about the WIC program here.
Use the 2-1-1 Wisconsin website to find the food pantry in your neighborhood.
Call Impact at 2-1-1, which can connect you to food pantries and meal programs in your area. You can also text your ZIP code to TXT-211.
You can also text “MKEfood” to 73224 to connect with a News414 reporter about food resources.
For some, yes. This is because some pantries are restricted in the areas they can serve and are required to verify that you live in the area they serve. However, not all pantries require an ID.
If you are not sure if you need an ID, call the food pantry directly or text “MKE” to 73224 and a reporter can get you the information you need.
Some restaurants and grocery stores allow customers to pay only what they are able to pay for food, even if that is nothing. However, there is also a suggested price for those who want to support these efforts.
Tricklebee Café, located at 4424 W. North Ave., is a community cafe offering vegan and gluten free options. The café is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Call 414-488-2477 to order for pickup or dine in.
greater good(s) MKE, located at 5205 W. North Ave., is a pay-what-you-can produce store open every Wednesday from noon to 7 p.m. and every Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon. Order online for pickup here.
Victory Garden Initiative, or VGI, is a food justice nonprofit and urban farm based in Harambee. In addition to other programming, VGI hosts a pay-what-you-can farm stand every Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 249 E. Concordia Ave. until Oct. 29. Food at the farm stand is grown at VGI’s farm across the street. In addition to pay-what-you-can food, there are also garden tools and seeds available for checkout to start your own garden.
Officials from Emerald City Catering, located at 3555 S. 13th St., said that people can call to see if they can reserve leftover meals or meals made with extra produce the company did not use. Meal prices will be pay-what-you-can. Call 414-672-3434 from noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to inquire about the options.
MKE Good Food Bus is a mobile food truck that offers produce on a pay-what-you-can scale. Cash, PayPal, Venmo and Cash App accepted. Text 414-367-9459 for the exact location of the truck. But the truck will generally be in these neighborhoods on the following days:
For those who are 60 or older, Meals on Wheels will deliver meals to you and anyone living with you who also qualifies. You can view eligibility requirements and apply here and view this month’s menu here.
Additionally, for those 60 or older and/or have a qualifying disability in the 53204, 53205, 53206, 53215, 53223, 53224 and 53225 ZIP codes, Friedens Community Ministries will deliver food from one of its four pantries. Call 414-289-6030 to sign up.
Those making less than the maximum income requirements can get EBT credit to buy food through Wisconsin’s FoodShare program. You can check to see if you are eligible here, and instructions on how to apply here.
Parents of children who receive free or reduced-price school meals may also be eligible to receive credit to buy food through Pandemic EBT, or P-EBT. Three P-EBT programs focused on school age children, children under 6, and summer meals respectively. You can view eligibility for each program here.
If you are eligible but have not received any funds or a letter saying you are eligible, either fill out an application here or call 833-431-2224 and email PEBTsupport@wisconsin.gov.


text:
Living Legends: ‘I’ll never retire from trying to make a difference’: Why Dr. Howard Fuller keeps going | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Matt Martinez
July 28, 2021
Alums from the school gather around its namesake, Dr. Howard Fuller. Kailon McGhee (from left), Taleavia Cole, Kevanitia Taylor, Howard Fuller, Sherlean Roberts and Nazir Ali Powell. (Photo by Sue Vliet)
This is part of an occasional series of stories that honor members of Milwaukee’s vibrant senior community.
Dr. Howard Fuller, in his own words, is a man of many contradictions.
He loves the city of Milwaukee, although he’s angry about the conditions it provides for Black people. He sees the glass as half empty, but through his life’s work, he has tried to see it filled.
Yet through it all, he persists. He wakes up each morning to attack the day. He sows seeds for the next generation to step up and keep fighting.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
“People have asked me about my greatest achievement. I say, ‘Hope is still out there.’”
For Fuller, this hope takes form in the students at Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy, 4030 N. 29 St.
Fuller, 80, retired from a long career as an academic and administrator at Marquette University a little over a year ago, though you wouldn’t know it if you followed him around today. Spending time at the school that bears his name, he’s easy to pick out in a crowd. He’s about a head taller than most students, and the only person that tall walking around with gray hair.
In his life, Fuller has been a civil rights activist, world traveler, educator and scholar. Now, he’s best described as a mentor. He hangs around the school talking to students and learning their passions, their struggles and their dreams.
Fuller consults his own life and examines his own influences when he passes on his wisdom: the lessons he learned in history, in economic reality, in travel and in the power of a simple speech.
Fuller was in the crowd for Malcolm X’s famous “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech on April 3, 1964. After that day, he’s never taken a speaking engagement for granted.
“Whenever I get up to speak, I never take it lightly,” Fuller said. “You never know who’s sitting in the crowd listening or what impact you’ll have on people’s lives.”
Fuller would go on to found the Malcolm X. Liberation University in Durham, North Carolina, in 1969. The university was an experimental school to further education based on the Black Power movement. It shut its doors because of funding constraints.
This was one of Fuller’s first forays into education. He’d go on to become the superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools and a nationally recognized supporter for school choice.
Dr. Howard Fuller spends time at the Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy building relationships with students. (Photo by Sue Vliet)
You don’t have to go far to find someone who was inspired by one of Fuller’s speeches. Judith Parker, principal at the Fuller academy, said he was the reason she sought a job at the school.
Parker, who was living in Chicago at the time, said that Fuller was the keynote speaker at a summit when she heard him talk about being compassionate while having high expectations of students.
“It was filling a gap, a missing piece of the puzzle, a critical piece of the puzzle that helped everything else make sense,” Parker said.
Parker said he changed her outlook on teaching. She regularly checks in with students and tries to give them a learning environment that responds to their needs.
“It starts from the top,” Parker said. “It starts with Dr. Fuller. He doesn’t just tell you to learn, he’s going to stand beside you and teach you.”
That teaching extends beyond the classroom, and even sometimes beyond state lines.
Taleavia Cole, an alum that mentors at the school as a student success coach, said Fuller took her under his wing as a freshman. Now she’s a poet, a law school hopeful and an activist.
She’s also the sister of Alvin Cole, the teenager who was shot and killed by Wauwatosa police officer Joseph Mensah at Mayfair Mall.
Cole graduated from Jackson State this year, while taking on a role as an activist protesting her brother’s death. She credits Fuller with her education and for inspiring her willingness to speak up and speak truth. She gladly says she’s been “getting into some good trouble” because of lessons she learned at the Fuller academy.
“The love is here,” Cole said. “The culture remains.” It’s all because of Fuller, she said.
During her freshman year, Fuller promised to take Cole to Times Square, a promise he’d make good on two years later. Along with other students, Fuller and Cole traveled to New York, New Jersey and New Orleans before she was out of school.
“It showed us a different part of the world,” Cole said.
Sherlean Roberts, a student success coach and alum, is a sophomore at Marquette studying political science on a full ride. She said she wouldn’t be there without Fuller.
“He has so many job titles and he spends his time with us,” Roberts said.
For as much as he believes in the school and its students, there are still things Fuller would like to see change. Looking back proudly on 15 graduating classes at the school, Fuller wants to see conditions shift that will allow all students to succeed.
“Economic reality is critical,” Fuller said. “I’ve fought for education my whole life and will continue to fight for it … but if you were to ask me what’s the more important thing between a change in the curriculum and the minimum wage to be 15 bucks, I’d say the minimum wage.”
Fuller said lacking necessary resources can make education 50 times harder for students. That leads to another contradiction for him.
“I’m always trying to fight on both fronts and not act like schools can change everything but also not act like schools can’t change things,” Fuller said.
As far as legacy is concerned, Fuller laughs when you ask him about it.
“I don’t want to dwell on that,” he said. “That’s a way of becoming static.”
He’ll never get used to people calling him a “legend” or “iconic,” either.
“To me, ‘iconic’ just means ‘old,’ ” he said, chuckling.
“I just see myself as a regular dude who had opportunity because of what I did and what other people did for me,” Fuller said. “Because of that, I just have this responsibility to give back everything that I possibly can to change the lives of these students and the people that I’ve interacted with over the years.”
For Fuller, a quote from Mary McLeod Bethune, educator, civil rights activist and a direct descendant of slaves, resonates: “The drums of Africa still beat in my heart. They will not let me rest while there is a single Negro boy or girl without a chance to prove his or her worth.”
“There’s no way that I can fulfill or satisfy anything like that,” Fuller said. “My soul is still not at rest. I’ll never retire from trying to make a difference. And clearly, there’s a humongous amount of work yet to be done.”


text:
Post from Community: MATC to forgive approximately $6.75 million in student debt for students who attended the college during the pandemic; Initiative funded by institutional portion of Federal Emergency Relief awarded to MATC | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Area Technical College
July 28, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
Milwaukee Area Technical College will automatically forgive $5.75 million of debt owed to the college by students who attended MATC during the pandemic, using federal COVID-19 relief dollars awarded the institution by U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF III). Students who owe an outstanding balance to MATC for tuition and fees incurred from spring 2020 through spring of 2021 will have those debts forgiven by the college. This affects past due tuition and fees owed directly to MATC. It does not apply to debt from student loans.
Students who were enrolled at MATC during the COVID-19 pandemic and do not owe MATC money but who experienced a hardship in paying their account balances during this time may request up to $500 in relief as well. MATC is setting aside an additional $1 million dollars of HEERF III funds to assist those students, for a total of $6.75 million designated for this project.
“We know that the pandemic caused disproportionate financial hardships for our students,” said Dr. Vicki J. Martin, MATC president. “We believe that it is crucial to reach out to help those students overcome debt at this time when so many are struggling. Recipients are not required to enroll in MATC in the fall semester, but we hope this will provide the opportunity for many students to return to college this fall to continue studies which will lead them to jobs with family-sustaining wages. This initiative will have a positive financial impact not only on our students, but also on the communities we serve.”
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!
The U.S. Department of Education’s allocation methodology emphasized support for institutions enrolling a high number of Pell grant recipients. The MATC community is student-centered and has consistently allocated additional institutional portion funding to address student needs, above and beyond what is required by the Department of Education.
The debt forgiveness program will immediately help nearly 7,000 students who owe MATC an average of $825 for tuition and fees during the pandemic. Affected students will be contacted by the college by email in the coming weeks.
For more information, email facovid19@matc.edu.
Wisconsin’s largest technical college and one of the most diverse two-year institutions in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. More than 30,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community-based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers more than 170 academic programs; and transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees with more than 40 four-year colleges and universities. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

author: Milwaukee Area Technical College


text:
PHOTOS: Muralists create three new neighborhood treasures | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 29, 2021
This article has been edited to accurately reflect the artists of the Dolores Huerta mural.
Milwaukeeans know how to take advantage of the precious time when the weather’s nice — that includes muralists.
In this gallery, check out three impressive murals recently created by artists Isabel Castro, GirlMobb, Nyia Luna and Tia Richardson.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!

author: Adam Carr


text:
Post from Community: Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center 5th Annual Health Fair reminding community we’re here for you | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center, Inc
July 29, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
After a long, tenuous year where many patients and members of the community put routine care and screenings on the back burner, the Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center is holding their 5th Annual Community Health Fair to remind those individuals that these can’t be put off any longer. The variety of resources we can offer to the community, from routine health screenings, to domestic violence support, will be on full display.
While still being in the midst of a pandemic, and the importance in being vaccinated now more apparent than ever, we will be offering the Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccine to attendees who wish to be vaccinated as well. For more info on resources that will be available, visit https://gliihc.net/event/gliihc-community-health-fair/
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!


text:
2J2A3164.jpg | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Name *
July 29, 2021


text:
Post from Community: Zeidler Group moves forward | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Zeidler Group
July 29, 2021
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
Civil conversation that builds bridges across differences is alive and well through the Zeidler Group.  After pausing most activity briefly the past 18 months, the Zeidler Group is ready to engage and train more facilitators and others to meet this communication challenge in our community.
On August 10, a public event to showcase the work of the Zeidler Group will take place from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Redeemer Lutheran Church at 19th and Wisconsin. The program will bring together past participants as well as those simply interested in experiencing a method of  civil conversation for personal and group use. For more information contact: Sharon McMurray, Program Director, email: sharon@zeidlergroup.org.
Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing!

author: Zeidler Group