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City’s RICH program completes first housing rehabilitation | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Elliot Hughes
September 1, 2017
Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Brian Sonderman (at microphone), presents Osman Hassan and his family with a windsock at the ceremony for the completed home as Ald. Russell Stamper looks on.
Twenty-two years of upheaval for one family and several years of tension for a Washington Park block ended with the arrival of the Hassan family on the 2100 block of North 37th Street.
Officials celebrated the completion of the first rehabilitated home under the city’s RICH program (Re-Invest in City Homes), which, in partnership with Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity, flips city-owned foreclosed homes. Its first completed project simultaneously flushed out a drug trade operation and put a refugee family in a home big enough for the parents and eight children.
Civil war forced Isha Adan and Osman Hassan to flee from Somalia 22 years ago. For 10 years, a refugee camp in Kenya was home, until they came to the United States in 2004 and Milwaukee in 2008.
Their journey was chronicled by the family’s 18-year-old daughter, Zeynab Ali, in a book she recently self-published, titled “Cataclysm: Secrets of the Horn of Africa.”
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The family of 10 currently lives in a three-bedroom house. They will soon move into a 1,900-square-foot, five-bedroom home with a yard and garage.
The Hassan family’s newly rehabbed five-bedroom home in Washington Park was previously used as a drug lab.
Hassan, who was joined by Adan and their 11-year-old son at the house dedication ceremony, said through a translator that their current home is much too small and this new one “will bring a lot of joy.”
The three smiled warmly throughout the ceremony. Hassan introduced himself to nearly everyone in the crowd of 50 attendees. Before their son, Abubakar Ali, cut the ribbon and entered the home, Adan turned to the crowd and thanked everyone.
The RICH program, sponsored by , was approved by the Milwaukee Common Council in 2014 with $600,000 in annual funding. The city sells, for $1, certain foreclosed homes in distressed neighborhoods to , which then rehabilitates and sells them. The buyers are provided with a mortgage that they pay back to the city with 1 percent interest over 10 years.
Buyers must not have owned property in Milwaukee within the last two years, have uninterrupted employment for at least one year, have a favorable rent and debt history, and agree to live on the property for five years. They also must contribute 300 to 500 hours of “sweat equity” — meaning they must help rehabilitate the home and complete Habitat for Humanity’s financial literacy and homeowners program.
The RICH program is designed to flip 15 houses per year. Seven others are currently under construction, according to Brian Sonderman, executive director of Habitat for Humanity.
Like its new inhabitants, the home at 37th Street has gone through quite a journey. Years ago, Sonderman said, the home operated as a functioning drug lab with “a substantive security system — some pretty dangerous dogs and a lot of guns.” The house was on Habitat’s radar for years, he said, and the organization helped police shut it down.
“Think about the homeowners on either side of this house” who will no longer have a criminal enterprise next door, Sonderman said. “This house in particular has a tremendous amount of meaning for [us].”
According to the city assessor’s office, the property was valued at $66,800 in 2006. By 2015, that fell to $35,600. Following a 14-month rehabilitation that took the home “all the way down to the studs,” Sonderman said, a recent private appraisal rang it in at $75,000.
“This block has truly received a beacon of hope in this family next to me and a complete transformation of what this home once represented,” said Eric Gremonprez, Habitat for Humanity’s critical home repair manager. “This family, I’m confident, can take on leadership in this neighborhood.”

author: Elliot Hughes


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
August 31, 2017

source: news-milwaukeenns

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

author: Adam Carr


text:
Community leader in wake of Clarke resignation: ‘The struggle is permanent’ | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jabril Faraj
September 2, 2017
Christine Neumann-Ortiz and other leaders carry signs at the Day without Latinos, Immigrants and Refugees march in February. (Photo courtesy of milwaukeestories.org)
Leaders of a community coalition and an elected official who called for Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke to step down are hailing his sudden resignation as a victory, but saying there is still work to be done.
“That’s what we’ve been fighting for,” said Voces de la Frontera Executive Director Christine Neumann-Ortiz.
Voces is a member of the Coalition for a People’s Sheriff, a group of organizations convened to defeat Clarke because of his “incompetent,” “unethical” and “inhumane” actions. Clarke has been in office since he was appointed in 2002. Since April 2016, six people have died — the most recent earlier this week — while incarcerated at the Milwaukee County Jail, which was managed by Clarke. He has also been criticized for using county funds while traveling for media engagements.
Recently, a grand jury recommended charges against seven people involved in the detention of Terrill Thomas, who died of dehydration while in the county jail. Neumann-Ortiz and Milwaukee County District 10 Supervisor Supreme Moore-Omokunde suggested scrutiny for those actions should extend to Clarke, who Neumann-Ortiz said, “promoted a culture of neglect and abuse.”
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Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm will decide who to charge in the case. The DA’s office did not respond to questions about when a decision could be expected, or whether charges are being considered against Clarke.
Thousands of people demonstrated for immigrant rights, in a May Day march organized by Voces de la Frontera earlier this year. (Photo by Sue Vliet)
While in office, Clarke also applied to take part in the federal 287(g) program, which trains and authorizes deputies to act as immigration agents. The program was popularized by former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and has been called racially discriminatory. Arpaio was recently pardoned by President Donald Trump after being convicted of criminal contempt for violating a court order designed to stop illegally detaining people because of their suspected immigration status.
Clarke was in Nashville for a National Fraternal Order of Police convention when a resignation letter was delivered to the Milwaukee County Clerk just before noon Thursday. In a written statement from the Sheriff’s Office, Clarke, whose term would have ended next year, said, “I have chosen to retire to pursue other opportunities.” Clarke declined to answer additional questions about the reason and timing of the decision.
Gov. Scott Walker will appoint an interim sheriff who will serve until next year, when voters will elect a new sheriff. Walker’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Walker ignored calls from Voces, the Coalition for a People’s Sheriff and others, to remove Clarke from office. Neumann-Ortiz said mounting pressure — including two statewide boycotts and demonstrations that attracted tens of thousands as well as the threat of lawsuits and possible criminal charges related to the jail deaths — contributed to Clarke’s departure. She said it is “an example of the pressure that can be brought to bear when we unite and when we have clear demands around the kind of community we want to build.”
In a statement, the Wisconsin Working Families Party questioned Walker’s willingness to listen to constituents now.
“Scott Walker has been asleep at the switch while grave abuses were committed against members of our community in Milwaukee County jails,” said Rebecca Lynch, political director of the Wisconsin Working Families Party. “The Wisconsin Working Families Party demands a sheriff who upholds the dignity, life and health of all Milwaukee residents.”
In June, when Clarke was being considered for a federal appointment, The Coalition for a People’s Sheriff submitted a letter to Walker outlining a platform that opposed the implementation of 287(g) and endorsed a sheriff who would work with the community to protect human rights and address systematic abuse against traditionally marginalized groups.
Neumann-Ortiz encouraged residents to call and email Walker — as well as sign a petition that Voces will re-release — urging him to appoint someone whose character aligns with the platform. She said it’s important to “send a message,” calling this “an opportunity for the people to really put pressure to make sure that these abuses end.”
Ultimately, voters will have an opportunity to elect a new sheriff in 2018. According to Neumann-Ortiz, it’s essential that the new sheriff work with residents to address Milwaukee’s “shameful” legacy of poverty and mass incarceration in an effort to build “strong and beautiful communities where all families can prosper.”
She said, “That’s the community we want built, and it’s up to the people to make that happen.”
Voces will participate in a Labor Day march Sept. 4 in support of working people, a living wage and immigrant workers. On Sept. 18, the first day of the state’s legislative session, the group will be in Madison to protest Assembly Bill 190, which would require municipalities to hold people for 48 hours who were arrested for a crime and suspected of being in the country illegally.

created: September 2, 2017

author: Jabril Faraj


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 1, 2017

created: September 1, 2017


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Graphic Designers: enter SOC’s New Logo Competition to win up to $500 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Southside Organizing Committee
September 2, 2017
Graphic Designers – Enter SOC’s New Logo Competition!
Designs must be submitted by midnight, Saturday, Sept. 16th, 2017
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1st place receives up to $500
($250 for logo and eligible to be contracted for another $250
to develop templates for collateral pieces)
SOC
Visit our website to learn more about SOC at www.SOCmilwaukee.org & please submit questions to Logo@SOCmilwaukee.org
COMPETITION
SOC has begun its second quarter of a century of service and invites graphic designers from the community to partner by entering its new logo competition. The new logo will be unveiled as part of this year’s Legacy Awards Retro Ball.
The logo will be used in all typical media forms including print (business cards, stationary, brochures, newsletter, banners, etc.), online (website, social media, etc.), merchandising, and other collateral. The last two logos created are pictured above.
DESIGN GUIDELINES
1. If your design is selected, you may be requested to modify the design to the satisfaction of SOC and must provide the final design with the following specifications in order to complete your entry and receive the prize money: high resolution vector files, editable capabilities, transparent backgrounds, CMYK and RGB, png and pdf (adaptable to electronic and print), and able to be reproduced in small and large formats.
2. Utilize blue color/s (a specific color has not been determined at this time and can be negotiated).
3. Incorporate acronym “SOC” and name “Southside Organizing Committee”.
4. You may or may not use the four South Side iconic sites images (Mitchell Domes, St. Josaphat Basilica, Rockwell Tower Clock, Miller Park Stadium).
5. Create an original logo design and submit it in PDF format in three color versions including color, grayscale, and black & white.
6. The Board of Directors will review designs based on congruency with organization, aesthetic quality, and usability/versatility – extra points will be awarded for current and former residents of SOC’s district.
7. Submit design to Logo@SOCmilwaukee.org along with name, address, phone number – if applicable, include a note regarding time residing in SOC’s district.
8. Designs must be submitted by midnight, Saturday, Sept. 16th, 2017 to
Logo@SOCmilwaukee.org
COMPETITION RULES
•SOC reserves the right to NOT select a winner in the event that it deems there is not a suitable entry.
•1st place receives $250 and is eligible to be contracted for another $250 to develop templates for collateral pieces.
•Submissions must be original work of the entrant and must not infringe on any other party’s work, trademarks, and/or copyrights.
•Entrants surrender the designs and all the design’s elements to become property of SOC and surrenders all intellectual property rights or benefits of the design to SOC to use or modify at its discretion for any purpose.
•Entrants agree to the use of their name, likeness, competition information, and submission for use by SOC without further compensation.
•By submitting entries, entrants agree that they have read and agree to the information and rules noted in this document.
*************************************************
Diseñadores Gráficos – ¡Entra la Competencia de Logotipo de SOC!
Los diseños tienen que ser enviados antes de medianoche, sábado, 16 de septiembre 2017 1er lugar puede recibe has $500 ($250 para logotipo y elegible para ser contratado por otros $250 para desarrollar plantillas para piezas colaterales).
SOC
Visite nuestro sitio web para obtener más información sobre SOC en www.SOCmilwaukee.org & por favor envíe sus preguntas a Logo@SOCmilwaukee.org
COMPETENCIA
SOC ha comenzado su segundo cuarto de siglo de servicio e invita a diseñadores gráficos de la comunidad a asociarse al participar en su nueva competencia de logotipo. El nuevo logotipo será presentado como parte del Baile Retro de los Premios de Legado este año.
El logotipo se utilizará en todas las formas típicas de los medios de comunicación, incluyendo la impresión (tarjetas de negocio, papelería, folletos, boletines informativos, banderas, etc.), en línea (sitio web, medios sociales, etc.), mercancías y otras colaterales. Los dos últimos logotipos creados se muestran arriba.
GUÍA PARA DISEÑ0S
Si su diseño es seleccionado, se le puede pedir que modifique el diseño a la satisfacción de SOC y debe proporcionar el diseño final con las siguientes especificaciones para completar su diseño y recibir el dinero del premio: archivos vectoriales de alta resolución, capacidades editables, fondos transparentes, CMYK y RGB, png y pdf (adaptables a la electrónica e impresión), y capaces de reproducirse en formatos pequeños y grandes.
2. Utilice el color azul/s (un color específico no se ha determinado en este momento y se puede negociar)
3. Incorporar el acrónimo “SOC” y el nombre ” Southside Organizing Committee”.
4. Pueden o no utilizar las cuatro imágenes icónicas de sitios del lado sur (‘Mitchell Domes’, Basílica de San Josaphat, ‘Rockwell Tower Clock’, ‘Miller Park Stadium’).
5. Cree un diseño de logotipo original y envíelo en formato PDF en tres versiones de color incluyendo color, escala de grises y blanco/negro.
6. La Junta Directiva revisará los diseños basadas en la congruencia con la organización, la calidad estética y la usabilidad versatilidad – se otorgarán puntos adicionales para los residentes actuales y antiguos del distrito de SOC.
7. Envíe su diseño a Logo@SOCmilwaukee.org junto con su nombre, dirección, y número de teléfono –  si corresponde, incluya una nota sobre el tiempo que ha vivido en el distrito de SOC.
8. Los diseños tienen que ser enviados antes de medianoche, sábado, 16 de septiembre de 2017 a Logo@SOCmilwaukee.org
LAS REGLAS DE LA COMPETENCIA
•Primer lugar recibe $250 y es elegible para ser contratado por otros $250 para desarrollar plantillas para piezas colaterales
•SOC se reserva el derecho de NO seleccionar un ganador en el caso de que considere que no hay un diseño adecuado.
•Su diseño debe ser obra original del participante y no deben infringir el trabajo, las marcas comerciales y/o los derechos de autor de ninguna otra parte.
•Los participantes entregan los diseños y todos los elementos del diseño para convertirse en propiedad del SOC y rinde todos los derechos de propiedad intelectual e los beneficios del diseño a SOC para usar o modificar a su discreción para cualquier propósito.
•Los participantes aceptan el uso de su nombre, semejanza, información de la competencia y diseño para uso del SOC sin más compensación.
•Al enviar el diseño los participantes aceptan que han leído y aceptado la información y las reglas que se indican en este documento.

author: Southside Organizing Committee


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 3, 2017

created: September 3, 2017


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Graphic Designers_ _1_ | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 2, 2017


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Summer in our city, 2017 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 4, 2017
It was a beautiful and busy summer in our city. This gallery collects photos from throughout Milwaukee neighborhoods during July and August 2017.

created: September 4, 2017


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Food stamp enrollment numbers drop due to Walker policy, advocates say | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Jabril Faraj
September 5, 2017
FoodShare recipients utilize the Marcia Coggs Center on 12th and Vliet. (Photo by Sue Vliet)
When Derek Osborne, 48, re-applied for FoodShare in spring 2014, he didn’t know he was no longer eligible for the food stamps program. Osborne was in the process of leaving Racine for school in Milwaukee when he found out.
“I went ahead and filled all the paperwork out. And, then … once that was all processed, they were like, ‘Oh, by the way, you’ve got to do this job search, and you’ve got to put 20 hours a week in looking for work to keep your food stamps,” Osborne said.
According to representatives of Milwaukee nonprofits, a decision by Gov. Scott Walker to not renew waivers on FoodShare time limits starting at the end of 2014 has caused tens of thousands of people in Milwaukee County, and other economically depressed areas around the state, to lose their benefits.
To qualify for a waiver an area must have a recent unemployment rate over 10 percent, a recent 24-month average unemployment rate 20 percent above the national unemployment rate or be designated as a Labor Surplus Area by the U.S. Department of Labor. According to Hunger Task Force Director of Advocacy Maureen Fitzgerald, 10 counties and three municipalities, including Milwaukee, are eligible for the waivers but are unable to take advantage of them because of Walker’s decision.
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The federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, a Clinton-era welfare reform, requires that able-bodied adults without dependent children must work, volunteer or report for work training at least 20 hours per week. They are defined as anyone between 18 and 50, who is legally able to work and is not pregnant or living with a child under 18 who they support. Exemptions include anyone attending an institution of higher education, receiving unemployment benefits and individuals who are disabled or participating in an alcohol or drug abuse treatment or rehabilitation program.
For those who don’t meet these requirements, SNAP (FoodShare) benefits are limited to three months of benefits every three years. Those time limits were suspended nationwide in 2009 because of high unemployment resulting from the Great Recession.
Police Ambassador Shaquirra Johnson bags pasta in the Our Savior’s Lutheran Church food pantry. (Photo by Devi Shastri)
A U.S. Army veteran, Osborne suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome. However, he is considered only 30 percent disabled by a panel of psychiatrists. Individuals who are less than 50 percent disabled are still considered able to work. Despite going to school at MATC to be a dietary technician — Osborne already has a degree in culinary arts — he wasn’t taking enough credits to qualify for the higher-education exemption. He has past substance abuse issues, which keep him from working in a stressful kitchen environment, but is not currently in treatment.
Osborne, who lives near 37th Street and Oklahoma Avenue, said he misses the $200 a month he got through FoodShare, which helped him survive on meager benefits while in school. He’s been to St. John’s Lutheran Church, 5500 W. Greenfield Ave., which holds a food pantry every Tuesday for veterans, but Osborne, who doesn’t own a car, said the trip is too far so he hasn’t been back recently.
“My refrigerator’s bare right now — it’s not like it used to be,” Osborne said. “I don’t think it’s fair.”
According to Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) data, starting in January 2010, the number of monthly FoodShare recipients in Milwaukee County began a steady increase, from just over 200,000 to a peak of 291,119 in October 2013. Numbers remained steady during 2014, which began and ended with about 285,000 people using food benefits per month. But, by the beginning of 2015, numbers started to fall off; in December of that year only 257,456 were enrolled in Milwaukee County. As of May 2017, the number was 240,685.
Elizabeth Goodsitt, communication specialist at DHS, explained the drop by noting that FoodShare is considered a “lag economic indicator,” which means it often mirrors unemployment numbers on a delayed basis. She added, “As the economy improves and unemployment rates drop, the FoodShare enrollment rates will also decrease.”
Goodsitt declined to answer additional questions about whether suspending the time- limit waiver had an effect.
The unemployment rate statewide is below 4 percent, the lowest it’s been in more than 15 years. However, a recent report by the nonpartisan Center for Wisconsin Strategy notes the state lags in wage and private-sector job growth and union representation. According to the report, Wisconsin’s middle class has continued to decline as African-American unemployment has remained steady at 11 percent, 2.9 times the rate for whites.
In April 2016, more than 25 health, food and worker organizations — including the Hunger Task Force, Public Policy Institute and 9to5 — signed onto a letter calling on Walker to reinstate the waiver in order to protect people in eligible areas from the “harmful” effects of the time limits.
“This is a choice that the state is making that the state doesn’t have to make,” said Michael Bare, research and program coordinator at the Community Advocates Public Policy Institute. “To leave people hungry … doesn’t make sense.”
“The assumption is that the folks who are on FoodShare are, somehow, lazy or need some kind of work requirement in order to eat,” said 9to5’s state director for Wisconsin Astar Herndon. “It just perpetuates this level of disparity.”
Walker’s office did not respond to requests for comment. Autumn Morgan, an operations manager at ResCare, which contracts with the state to administer the FoodShare Employment and Training (FSET) program, also did not respond to calls and voicemails requesting an interview.
Herndon and Fitzgerald also questioned whether individuals who are not working and instead must enroll in FSET are receiving training that will provide them the opportunity to secure family-supporting employment, or whether people are simply being forced into low-wage jobs.
Herndon said tying food to work is “punitive,” particularly when the state is not taking proactive measures to make the economy healthy, pointing to a minimum wage that “is not life-sustaining.”
“Cutting people off from eating is taking away their humanity,” she said. “You’re saying, ‘You’re not worth living enough to eat.’”
Fitzgerald said, “As a state, we need to decide: are we going to help our neighbor when our neighbor’s in need?”

created: September 5, 2017


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 4, 2017


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How to volunteer in September | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Martha Cannon, Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee
September 5, 2017
Nicole Jackson is a volunteer for the Milwaukee Film Festival.
Volunteer Milwaukee, a service of the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee features a calendar full of events for volunteers, both one-time and ongoing. Here are a few of the opportunities in September.
Answer the crisis line and provide information/intervention to victims of sexual trauma for Aurora Healing and Advocacy Services. Training is Sept. 26 – Oct. 7, and a six-month commitment is expected.
Contact Nicole Glaser at nicole.glaser@aurora.org or 414-219-5228.
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Kids Matter needs voices for children in foster care. Volunteers can advocate for the best interests of a child to ensure the child has a safe, nurturing, permanent home.  Trainings are held on Wednesday evenings and one Saturday from late September to the end of October.
Contact Lance Jones at lance.jones@kidsmatterinc.org or (414) 344-1220.
Enjoy the company of an international student by participating in monthly activities. This is a great opportunity for families. Interested parties should apply by Sept. 15 to the Marquette University – Office Of International Education.
Contact Eli Marten at eli.marten@marquette.edu or 414-288-7289.
Take tickets, distribute and count ballots, assist at will call and direct people in line for movies at the Milwaukee Film Festival Sept. 28-Oct. 12; various shifts are available. Register here.
Contact Amelia Bursi at volunteer@mkefilm.org or 414-755-1965 ext. 210.
Historic Milwaukee seeks volunteers to greet visitors at one of 160 locations throughout metro Milwaukee at Doors Open Milwaukee, Sept. 23–24. Shifts are 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. or 1:30-5:30 p.m. Sign up here.
Contact Grace Fuhr at doorsopenvol@historicmilwaukee.org or 414-277-7795.
Bring and serve bag or hot lunches for 40 women undergoing outpatient substance abuse treatment at Meta House on a Tuesday (11 a.m.-1 p.m.). This is a perfect opportunity for groups of 5 to 8 people.
Contact Laura Jacobson at ljacobson@metahouse.org or 414-977-5823.


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SHARP Literacy presents “A Novel Event” featuring Randall Cobb | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Lisa Elias
September 5, 2017
Green Bay Packers star wide receiver and life-long learner Randall Cobb will take center stage at SHARP Literacy’s 16 annual “A Novel Event” on Monday, October 16 from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. at the Pfister Hotel.  Omar Shaikh, co-owner/president of SURG Restaurant Group, and Linda Gorens-Levey, partner at General Capital Group, are serving as event co-chairs.
Now beginning his seventh season with the Green Bay Packers, Cobb is tied for 6 in the National Football League with 18 touchdown catches since 2014 and is tied for 2 in the league for catching 75-plus passes in three of the past four seasons.  In 2014 Cobb started all 16 games and posted career highs in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, and earned his first Pro Bowl selection.  Prior to joining the Green Bay Packers, Cobb spent three star-studded seasons playing football at the University of Kentucky.  On July 17, 2017, the school announced that Cobb will be one of six inductees into the University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2017 during Hall of Fame weekend, September 22-23.  Off the field, Cobb founded “Blessings in a Backpack,” a program that provides children who receive free or reduced-cost lunches a backpack filled with food on weekends. The program serves children at Eisenhower Elementary School in Green Bay, as well as Alcoa Elementary in Cobb’s hometown of Alcoa, Tennessee.  Cobb also partnered with Prevea Health on cookbook for children, Prevea Gets Cooking with Cobb: Randall’s Favorite Kid-Friendly Recipes, which features a variety of easy-to follow meal and snack recipes for young chefs.
Randall Cobb supports the mission of SHARP and believes in the importance of education.  Viewing himself as a “life-long learner,” Cobb became the first member of his family to earn a college degree when he returned to the University of Kentucky last summer to finish his degree in community leadership.  The theme of Cobb’s keynote address at A Novel Event will be the importance of literacy and being a life-long learner, and how his continued education has affected his life both on and off the field.
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At the dinner, Omar Shaikh, president and co-owner of SURG Restaurant Group and SHARP Literacy Board of Directors member, will present Jim Mueller, president of Mueller QAAS, with a Literacy Champion Award for his ongoing support of SHARP Literacy’s educational program.  Cecelia Gore, executive director of Brewers Community Foundation, will receive SHARP Literacy’s EDGE Award (energizing through dedication, giving and engagement), which will be presented by Linda Gorens-Levey, co-chair.
The message of this year’s A Novel Event is the importance of being a life-long learner, according to Lynda Kohler, president and CEO of SHARP Literacy.  “A life-long love of learning can be nurtured and encouraged at a young age.  The SHARP Literacy program provides students as young as four years old with a variety of imaginative, hands-on learning experiences that extend far beyond the classroom.”  Kohler went on to say, “From a variety of educational tours to the creation of permanent works of arts and We Love to Learn books, the SHARP program encourages students to explore, discover, research, and find opportunities to learn something new each and every day.”
Funds raised at A Novel Event will support the delivery of SHARP’s foundational literacy program to over 8,000 K4 through fifth grade school students in 38 of Milwaukee and Waukesha County’s most at-risk schools.
Individual tickets for the event are $150 and may be purchased online at www.sharpliteracy.org or by calling 414.410.3203.  Various levels of corporate and individual sponsorships are also available.  SHARP Literacy, Inc. wishes to thank this year’s largest event sponsors to date: Brewers Community Foundation, BMO Harris Bank, Payne and Dolan, Richard and Joan Abdoo, James Mueller Family, Kelben Foundation, MillerCoors, and media sponsor BizTimes Milwaukee.
SHARP Literacy, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) Milwaukee nonprofit educational program whose mission is to enhance future life success by energizing urban children, motivating them to identify themselves as confident, capable scholars and lifelong learners by inspiring engagement in reading, writing and research through hands-on interaction and visual arts.  The primary goal of SHARP Literacy is to provide elementary school students with an imaginative learning experience that builds confidence, self-esteem, and a greater awareness of the world.  This year SHARP Literacy, Inc. will impart foundational literacy skills to over 8,000 elementary school students in 38 of Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties’ most at-risk schools.  For more information, visit www.sharpliteracy.org.

author: Lisa Elias


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Randall Cobb | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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September 5, 2017

author: Name *


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Fondy Park to open Sept. 16 with all-day celebration | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Lydia Slattery / Wisconsin Watch
September 6, 2017
Fondy Park will feature a stage that will host concerts and poetry readings for community members to enjoy. (Photo by Lydia Slattery)
Fondy Park, 2200 W. Fond Du Lac Ave., will open with an all-day celebration on Sept. 16 that also commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Fondy Farmers Market. The park, located next to the market, has been converted from a vacant lot to a storm water park and sustainable green space for community use.
The opening ceremony will begin at 7 a.m., and feature food, music, yoga and dancing throughout the day.
The park’s main feature is a stage where concerts will be performed. It also will provide a space for activities including jazz concerts, spoken word performances, gardening demonstrations and financial classes.
“It’s a dream. It’s been an unused vacant lot for decades,” said Jennifer Casey, executive director of Fondy Farmers Market. “It started with funding for a storm water park and green space. We saw the need for something to be put into that space.”
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Casey said she hopes people shopping at the farmers market will also use the park.
The Lindsay Heights park is a project of HOME GR/OWN, an initiative of the city of Milwaukee’s Environmental Collaboration Office (ECO), which converts vacant lots into sustainable green spaces throughout Milwaukee.
“This is our 30th vacant lot conversion; it’s also our largest,” said Tim McCollow, program manager for HOME GR/OWN.
The park is located next to the Fondy Farmers Market. (Photo by Lydia Slattery)
The city and Fondy Farmers Market distributed a survey asking community members what activities they would like to see in the park, what trees to plant and what type of seating should go in the park, McCollow said.
“We want the residents to know this is their park, and we’re just building it,” McCollow said.
Planning for Fondy Park began in August 2016, and construction started in May. McCollow said the park is designed as a storm water park.
“A storm water park is a very sustainable site. We’re catching rainwater in multiple ways to keep it out of the sewer system, which keeps it from overflowing and polluting Lake Michigan,” McCollow said.
Reflo, a Milwaukee nonprofit that specializes in sustainable water use and water management, helped design the storm water capture system for Fondy Park.
“What you don’t see is almost $100,000 worth of storm water management underground,” McCollow said.
The site also has bio-soil, which McCollow explained is specially engineered soil used to capture rainwater and keep it out of Lake Michigan. The space will also have prairie and native Wisconsin, along with oats.
“We’re growing oats at 22nd (Street) and Fond Du Lac (Avenue),” McCollow said.
Before the park’s construction, the space was a vacant lot from a failed construction site. There were challenges to building over an abandoned lot, McCollow noted, which included designing around giant concrete pads to minimize costs.
The park is a collaboration between the city of Milwaukee and private partners. The Zilber Family Foundation, which provides grants to local nonprofits, awarded the project $40,000.
“We have funded Fondy Food Center for many years, primarily for the food services they provide in what is a food desert,” said Susan Lloyd, executive director of the Zilber Family Foundation. “This particular project we funded because it feeds into some larger efforts to improve the commercial corridors of North Avenue and Fond Du Lac Avenue.”
Lloyd explained that the development coincides with the Zilber Family Foundation’s interest in providing residents access to healthy foods, promoting wellness and expanding economic development in Lindsay Heights.
“It will attract people to come to the market, as well as people to be in the neighborhood,” Lloyd said.
Other funders include Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Milwaukee School of Engineering and Fund for Lake Michigan.
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee and the Greater Milwaukee Synod ELCA donated money to plant trees. David J. Frank Landscape donated the labor and materials for the park’s walkways, and a custom fence that it installed around the park, McCollow said.
The first official event at the park will be a pumpkin giveaway on Oct. 21.

created: September 6, 2017

author: Lydia Slattery / Wisconsin Watch


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 5, 2017


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How to incorporate play into daily activities | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Stephanie Shabangu, Penfield Children’s Center
September 6, 2017
(Photo courtesy of Penfield Children’s Center)
As a mom of two small children, I make a daily choice: have a clean house and meals cooked OR spend time with my family. But, does it really have to be like this? Is there a way to truly do it all, or at least get close enough? I think so. In devising a plan to make this happen, I came up with a few play-based activities that can actually be done throughout the day while a parent or caregiver checks off his/her to-do list.
Before you begin, create a schedule. Children (and most adults) thrive from following a routine. Work with your child to create a visually appealing schedule that gives an idea of what’s to come throughout the day and also provides you some peace of mind knowing you’ll get the necessary chores done. Easy-to-follow charts include photos of each chore and a way of crossing off completed tasks.
Put on your favorite tunes. Make cleaning up fun. Play or sing your child’s favorite song and see if he can put all his toys away before the song ends.
Play basketball. Time to fold the laundry? While you fold, challenge your little one to see how many baskets he can make by throwing balled-up socks into the laundry basket. Bonus points (and gross motor skill points) if he can match all the socks and ball them up too.
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Make lunch together. While it might take children a bit longer to prepare a meal, allow them to help in age-appropriate ways. Ask him to choose his slices of bread and sandwich ingredients. Lay out pre-sliced meat, cheese and veggies and allow him to construct his own sandwich. With proper adult supervision, older children can also help spread butter or peanut butter on bread, as it’s important to teach children how to use a knife safely. Encourage your child to eat healthy foods by asking him to construct a monster or silly face with cut up fruits and veggies. Picky eaters are more apt to eat when they are part of the meal preparation process.
Play grocery store bingo. Give your child a “bingo” game with about 10 of the foods you need to buy. Every time she finds (or you both find) an item, allow her to cross off a bingo square that includes a picture of the food on it. When she crosses off all the bingo foods, allow her to pick a healthy “treat” like an apple or fruit pouch.
Eat some Playdoh pizza. Well, not really, but while you cook, open up a container of Playdoh and ask your child to “cook” you some dinner. Allow her to take your order and then talk to her about the process of making each food as she rolls and shapes the dough. This keeps your hands free to do some real cooking.
Adding a playful spin to mundane tasks will allow you as a parent to get everything done while also spending quality time with your child.


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North side entrepreneurs dream of more than money | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care
September 6, 2017
(Photo courtesy of St. Ann Center)
Aspiring entrepreneurs filled up on advice and connections—high-octane fuel for startups—at the North Side Business Incubator workshop Aug. 31, at St. Ann Center’s Bucyrus Campus, 2450 W. North Ave.
“It was inspiring to see how many people are committed to starting businesses on the north side,” said John Jansen, Vice President of Grants, Community and Capital Development at St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care.“Besides making money, they are dedicated to improving their neighborhood and serving the people who live there.”
The 21 entrepreneurs had the opportunity to pitch their ideas to more than two dozen investors, mentors and business coaches at the free event to nurture homegrown commerce for Milwaukee’s 15th Aldermanic District. Ald. Russell W. Stamper II and the Marketplace Business Improvement District 32 co-sponsored the workshop—the third in an ongoing series of business incubators at St. Ann Center’s two-year-old north side campus.
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Connections made—both between the entrepreneurs and the business resource people andamong the entrepreneurs—showed how interested people were in each other’s ideas and in exploring ways they might work together, Jansen said, adding that a few set up follow-up appointments to tap each other’s services, he added.
Dana Williamson, working to take  her coaching, publishing, film and coffee house business beyond its online presence, said she followed up immediately after the event with connections she made, adding, “I’m doing my homework.”
The workshop kicked off with elevator speeches from the business hopefuls, who each spoke for 3 to 5 minutes. “These entrepreneurs were more passionate than 30 seconds would permit,” Jansen said, referring to the traditionally shorter pitch.  The afternoon also included time for one-on-one discussions between entrepreneurs, mentors and investors.
Each entrepreneur had a chance to meet privately with Ald. Stamper to discuss what they needed to start or expand their business. Several are pursuing their ideas as sidelines—most dream of launching full-time businesses. Participants like Monica Hubbard of the Bread Explosion Comfort Cafe came prepared with product samples.  Her warm mini peach cobblers didn’t last long. Maurice Sharpe, who was seeking start-up funds, gave potential investors a chance to taste his product—hot chocolate with a caffeine kick.
Response to the incubator was so great that 40 more entrepreneurs have already registered for a second workshop, tentatively scheduled for October. In the meantime, Ald. Stamper will meet with Jansen and  Sr. Edna Lonergan, President of St. Ann Center, to determine next steps to help participants turn their ideas into profitable ventures.
Jansen sent out contact information for attendants the next morning so they could continue networking afterward.
“There was so much camaraderie in the room, it was incredible,” he said, adding participants all had one dream in common. “They want to take back their neighborhood and see it grow and prosper. Judging by what we saw today, I’m sure they’re going to do it.”
Entrepreneur Melissa Felix agreed.
Felix aims to grow her business, GGRM, GeeGee’s Junk Removal and Maintenance, beyond  debris removal and contracted janitorial property maintenance and on into post-construction cleaning. She said it was a privilege to attend.
“I’m excited to see how we’re each going to grow and assist one another,” she said. “I feel that with all of the talent that was in that incubator, we’re are about to do good things. “


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 6, 2017


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Union members, supporters take to streets in city’s Labor Day parade | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sue Vliet
September 6, 2017
Hosted by IBEW Local 494 and the Milwaukee Area Labor Council , Milwaukee’s Labor Day parade featured union workers, their families, friends and supporters. Beginning at Zeidler Union Square Park at 4 and Wisconsin, the parade concluded at Henry Maier Festival Park.
Among the groups represented were Women of Steel, District 2, sporting pink hardhats, Operating Engineers Local 139, Laborers’ Union Local 113, Teamsters Local 344, UAW, United Food and Commercial Workers, Untied Steelworkers, and AFSCME and Milwaukee LCLAA (Labor Council for Latin American Advancement).

author: Sue Vliet


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Dream deferred? Determined DACA supporters rally on South Side | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
September 7, 2017
Musical groups perform in support of Dreamers on South Cesar Chavez Drive. (Photo by Emmy Yates)
As rain momentarily subsided, Denis Montero, 26, a sophomore studying economics at MATC, stood stone-faced in the middle of Walker Square Park, 1031 S. 9th St., pondering his past and his future.
“I’ve been through a lot in my life already, so I guess you could say I have a hard shell. But, I woke up in the middle of the night yesterday really stressed out and wondering if I’m going to be able to finish school or even keep working,” Montero said.
Montero was among thousands who gathered Wednesday at Walker Square Park for a rally to support those affected by the Trump administration’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, The Obama-era policy allowed an estimated 800,000 undocumented immigrants nationwide who entered the country as minors  — including many from Milwaukee such as Montero — to receive renewable two-year protection from deportation, as well as work permits. They are often referred to as “Dreamers.”
At times pounded by rain, attendees marched along West Mineral Street and onto West National and South Cesar Chavez Drive before circling back to Walker Square Park, where the protest continued. DACA supporters also held a vigil on Tuesday night, hosted by the New Sanctuary Movement Milwaukee and Voces De La Frontera at Ascension Lutheran Church, 1236 S. Layton Blvd.
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Denis Montero, 26, received DACA status in the fall of 2012. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Earlier that day Trump announced the end of DACA, preventing the Department of Homeland Security from accepting new applications, while challenging Congress to replace the program within six months. Phasing out of the DACA will begin on March 5. Once it is phased out, DACA recipients will face deportation.
Members of the Young People’s Resistance Committee (YPRC), who organized the rally, community leaders and others are demanding that Congress and the White House take immediate action to create a path to legalization for the estimated 11 million undocumented individuals in the U.S.
“We will not stand still as Trump and the politicians in Washington continue to play with our lives and the lives of our immigrant people,” said Maricela Aguilar Monroy, a YPRC leader and DACA recipient. The YPRC is a grassroots organization led by local youth that supports immigrant, student and worker rights.
YPRC chair Isa Cortes, a community arts student at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), said at the rally that although she isn’t a DACA participant it was important to show support.
“I have a lot of friends and family members who are worried now and wondering what will happen six months from now. I want them and others who are undocumented to know that although this is a hard hit, as a community we will continue to struggle and fight for the right for all to become legalized citizens,” Cortes said.
Trump’s decision to end DACA was sharply criticized by several local elected officials, including State Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa.
(Photo by Emmy A. Yates)
“Ending DACA is cruel, heartless and wrong. … Since the president and his administration lack the integrity to keep their promises to our nation’s children, I call on Congress to defend DACA and protect our Dreamers. Speaker [Paul] Ryan and the GOP-controlled Congress must do the right thing, and pass a clean piece of legislation that protects these Dreamers.”
Ryan also issued a statement on the DACA decision.
“However well-intentioned, President Obama’s DACA program was a clear abuse of executive authority, an attempt to create law out of thin air. … Congress writes laws, not the president, and ending this program fulfills a promise that President Trump made to restore the proper role of the executive and legislative branches,” stated Ryan.
According to Emilio De Torre, ACLU of Wisconsin’s director of community engagement, 7,565 state residents have DACA status.
One of them is the daughter of Sylvia Rivas, 40, who said her other three children were born in the U.S. Her daughter, whom she chose not to name, graduated with honors from Bruce Guadalupe Community School, located across the street from where the rally was held, and is involved in music and sports in college, Rivas said.
“I’m scared she won’t be able to finish achieving her dreams.”
Montero said the large showing at the rally and the community support makes him feel much more optimistic about the future. He said he hopes what started as a negative for DACA supporters will eventually become positive.
“It’s time for the issue of immigration to be dealt with and for all undocumented people to be offered citizenship. Not just students but everybody. Our parents can’t be left behind either,” he said.

created: September 7, 2017

author: Edgar Mendez


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NNS on Lake Effect: Milwaukee Employment/Renovation Initiative | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
September 7, 2017
A soon-to-be-renovated foreclosed house on the 3200 block of 42nd Street can be seen from the window of the first completed MERI home. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)

author: Dwayne Burtin


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Lake Effect Jabril Sherman Park housing | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
September 7, 2017
“Lake Effect Jabril Sherman Park housing”. Released: 2017.


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Personal stories and support offered at Milwaukee International Overdose Awareness Day event | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Lisa Kaiser
September 7, 2017
Martine Tate speaking at the International Overdose Awareness Day event sponsored by MCSAP. (Photo courtesy of Milwaukee County Substance Abuse Prevention)
“There is not one single person who is a lost cause.”
That was the powerful message delivered by Laura Haas, a certified peer specialist at the United Community Center to the 30-strong group assembled to mark International Overdose Awareness Day on Thursday, August 31.
The event, organized by the Milwaukee County Substance Abuse Prevention (MCSAP) coalition at Kosciuszko Park, drew parents who lost children to overdose, friends and relatives of overdose victims and survivors, members of the drug treatment community, and individuals who are battling substance abuse themselves.
In sharing her personal story, Haas explained why she believes no one is a “lost cause.”
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Haas, deep into an addiction to prescription pain medications and street drugs after an injury, had been arrested and in and out of jail multiple times, and could have been written off as a victim and failure.
But, as she explained, when lying in her jail cell, a light came on. “I felt peace and serenity,” she told the audience. She wanted to beat her addiction and start a new chapter in her life.
Fortunately, Haas landed in Milwaukee County Adult Drug Treatment Court, which offered her a deferred prosecution agreement as long as she attended a drug treatment program and stayed clean.
She was accepted to the United Community Center’s residential treatment program, got sober, and now counsels individuals who were in her shoes.
“Drug court saved my life,” Haas said.
Still, she listed off almost 10 names of individuals who’d been through UCC’s program and later died of an overdose, proving how fragile sobriety can be, even when you’ve got support.
That theme was echoed by Martine Tate, whose daughter died as a direct result of her substance use disorder. Tate said she didn’t see the warning signs of her daughter’s drug use until it was very late—when her daughter was being airlifted to the hospital following an overdose.
Her daughter got into treatment, including medication-assisted treatment, yet she ultimately died.
“She really tried,” Tate said.
Now, Tate runs two support groups at the Shorewood Public Library, as part of the Wisconsin: Change Addiction Now (CAN) organization. She told those gathered at Thursday’s MCSAP event not to give up hope, even though recovering from addiction is difficult.
“Whatever works for you is what you should be doing,” she counseled.
Others spoke of their struggles with addiction or loving someone with a substance use disorder.
Getting into treatment “was the best decision I’ve ever made,” one man said. “But it’s one of the hardest decisions for someone with an addiction to make.”
Although many of the personal stories were painful, they served as an important reminder about the fatal consequences of addiction.
“This event was truly a sad one, but also an eye opener,” said Deavon Collins, Partnership for Success coordinator and a member of the MCSAP Prescription Drug Workgroup. “It exposed the reality of how substance abuse and misuse can lead to death. That fact alone should help to prevent more overdoses in the future.”
Established in 2011, the Milwaukee County Substance Abuse Prevention (MCSAP) coalition is a countywide initiative with a vision of bringing together resources, wisdom, talents and passion to create a happy and healthy community. MCSAP addresses policies, practices and programs in our two current priority areas: marijuana use among youth and fatal drug overdose, with a particular emphasis on prescription drugs. To learn more about MCSAP, go to mcsapcoalition.org.

author: Lisa Kaiser


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 7, 2017


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MCSAPevent4 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Name *
September 7, 2017


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United Way hiring Project Coordinator, Diversity Initiatives | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Michelle Gutknecht
September 7, 2017
SUMMARY
United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County (UWGMWC) has a first-ever position as Project Coordinator, Diversity Initiatives in our Resource Development division! In this key role, you’ll provide full-time support and assist in the planning and organizing of all Partnership MKE initiatives and other United Way diversity programs.
KEY JOB FUNCTIONS
Partnership MKE (http://www.partnershipmke.org/):
Provide excellent service to Partnership MKE alumni, participants, and donors.
• Provide regular communication with all stakeholders of Partnership MKE.
• Help coordinate the pairing process for Partnership MKE.
• Maintain and follow program timelines.
• Fully utilize donor management database (ANDAR 360) to assist in the implementation of effective growth strategies for the Resource Development department divisions.
• Maintain communication with program alumni and all stakeholders.
• Help coordinate all social media communication.
• Help coordinate all events and activities for Partnership MKE cohorts and alumni.
• Report any volunteer concerns and opportunities to appropriate staff in a timely manner.
• Provide accurate records and reports of all Partnership MKE data.
• Review and update content for the Partnership MKE web page.
• Prepare meeting materials and minutes.
United Way Diversity Initiatives
Provide support for the all United Way diversity initiatives.
• Support and assist with the coordination of all Project LEAD (Leadership Effectiveness And Diversity) events.
• Support and assist with the coordination of Diversity Leadership Society activities.
• Provide statistics and generate reports and information for volunteers and staff as needed.
• Support and assist with internal diversity & inclusion activities.
KEY REQUIREMENTS
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE
• High school diploma or GED and five (5) years of progressively responsible experience
• High level of proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook or other similar programs. Ability to produce and edit complex spreadsheets that include formulas.
• Ability to manage multiple calendars – experience with scheduling executives a plus.
• Ability to take minutes. Ability to communicate and interact well on all levels.
• Demonstrated skills in letter and memo writing and development. Demonstrated attention to detail and organizational details.
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OTHER SKILLS
• Ability to work in a complex work environment using technical and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to prepare and give presentations.
• Strong analytical abilities, demonstrating the ability to anticipate problems and identify and implement solutions when needed.
• Ability to work independently, recognize tasks, implement, and follow through to completion.
• Ability to problem-solve and work flexibly.
TO APPLY:
For further job criteria and complete details, click on: https://www.milwaukeejobs.com/j/27421298. If you meet or exceed job requirements, please apply directly at this web address today. Please indicate salary requirements.
Equal Opportunity Employer
M/F/Disability/Vet

author: Michelle Gutknecht


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‘That’s What She Said’ podcast provides proud, black, female voices | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Elliot Hughes
September 8, 2017
Tracey Corder, left, and Shavonda Sisson are the hosts of “That’s What She Said,” a podcast focusing on race, sexuality and pop culture. (Photo courtesy of Shavonda Sisson.)
If you’re lucky enough to know of Shavonda Sisson and Tracey Corder, chances are your curiosity will push you to ask them for their thoughts on something that’s been on your mind.
The Milwaukee natives are the hosts of the podcast “That’s What She Said” — a weekly-ish show that in its typical 90-minute run time will feature a flurry of subjects that range from race in America to relationships, sexuality, pop culture, local news and more. Corder now lives in Oakland while Sisson still resides in Milwaukee.
What started two years ago as a show listened to only by friends has gained a small but enthusiastic fan base. No doubt fans are drawn to the show by how happy Sisson and Corder are to flaunt their blackness and femininity — two qualities they say are in short supply in today’s media landscape.
“It was really about wanting to make sure we had a voice,” Corder said. “Folks don’t hear our stories and so we wanted to make sure people could hear directly from us, what we were feeling and experiencing.”
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Corder, 33, and Sisson, 37, who go by Tee and Von on the show, met two years ago when a mutual friend inserted the two into a Facebook group chat about Milwaukee politics. The two quickly realized they liked each other’s style and within months launched the podcast, which debuted crudely with the two speaking over the phone.
Tracey Corder, left, and Shavonda Sisson started the “That’s What She Said,” podcast two years ago to fill a void of black, female voices in media. (Photo courtesy of Shavonda Sisson.)
Neither had much of a background in radio or podcasts. Corder, a racial justice campaign organizer for a national nonprofit, had appeared briefly on Riverwest Radio in the past. Sisson, a client relations associate for the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee, had once tried her hand at starting a podcast, which flamed out fast.
The two still produce the show on their own today, where they have graduated from the phone, but occasionally run into audio issues (“If we could just overcome those sound issues I feel like we would be winning Emmys for podcast production,” Sisson joked).
Nevertheless, the show is now on four platforms (SoundCloud, iTunes, Stitcher and GooglePlay) and the two have cultivated a following — the show’s Facebook page has 2,000 followers — for their unequivocal and unapologetic opinions that you probably wouldn’t hear from mainstream or white media outlets.
In past episodes they have discussed their lack of faith in white women. They have debated how to handle white family members who clumsily discuss racial matters. They have analyzed how open relationships work, criticized the idea that feminist movements should exclude trans women and proclaimed they would no longer watch the NFL with quarterback Colin Kaepernick still without a job after he protested the national anthem last season.
But the show maintains a personal touch. Corder and Sisson often talk about their own relationships — romantic, familial, friendly and other types. And anything that relates to the treatment of people like them — black women — is near to them.
Asked what topic she gets the most satisfaction from, Sisson replied, “Any time we’re standing up for black women and girls.” In their last episode, for instance, Sisson and Corder drew a connection from listening to the music of R. Kelly — who has recently been accused of leading an abusive cult of women — and being complicit in a long history of devaluing and not caring about black women.
“I’ve always been very proud of where we stand on those issues,” she said.
Listening to their podcast will probably boil up some curiosity of your own. A reporter recently asked them to play word association and the two were happy to oblige:
Sisson: “I don’t know him.”
Corder: “Disaster.”
Sisson: “Congratulations.”
Corder: “We’re here for it, while understanding, at the same time, that this embrace of her getting thicker is not extended to all women.”
Sisson: “Uh, uh. No.”
Corder: “Stop it.”
Sisson: “Mediocre.”
Corder: “Defund the police.”
Despite their small audience, the show has brought the two an unexpected amount of accountability, they said. Listeners have used their inbox to call them out on inconsistencies and to argue with them. But they welcome that.
“It makes me extend grace to others because I have to confront where I’m inconsistent,” Sisson said. “I have to talk about that, confront that. It’s been a great opportunity to do that in front of other people.”

created: September 8, 2017


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City of Milwaukee Health Department issues call for public input into MKE Elevate Community Health Improvement Plan | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
City of Milwaukee Health Department
September 11, 2017
Draft report calls for partners citywide to respond to community-selected health priorities and goals for collaborative action
The City of Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) has released a draft of the city’s first community-driven health improvement plan, asking residents and public health stakeholders citywide to provide comment and feedback.
Called the MKE Elevate Community Health Improvement Plan, the draft plan is the result of an extensive process to assess the health of city residents and hear directly from residents, agencies, and organizations about the most pressing health issues they feel a communitywide effort can address.
The process to build the MKE Elevate Plan began with the 2016 release of the City of Milwaukee Community Health Assessment, a report detailing the health status of Milwaukee residents and the factors that impact health outcomes.
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Using this data, the MHD sought to hear directly from community residents on the issues they believed most need to be addressed to improve health and well-being. More than 3,000 people answered an online and in-person survey, selecting their top five priority issues. A photo campaign also asked residents to visually identify healthy and unhealthy aspects of city life, receiving more than 1,000 submissions.
Based on this input, the MKE Elevate Plan seeks to respond to these community-selected priority areas: Supporting safer and healthier neighborhoods through activities that will align existing work or identify new strategies around economic security, a fair and inclusive society, and positive mental health.
To draft the MKE Elevate Plan, the MHD engaged partners in a series of community meetings, where goals, objectives, and current activities that support these efforts were identified.
Through September 30, additional comments and suggested activities for addressing the community-selected priorities will be accepted at Milwaukee.gov/MKEelevate. Public health stakeholders across Milwaukee are asked to:
For more information and to view the plan, visit Milwaukee.gov/MKEelevate.

created: September 11, 2017

author: City of Milwaukee Health Department


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New African American Chamber of Commerce leaders build for the future | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
September 11, 2017
Small businesses line Villard Avenue on the city’s North Side. (Photo by Sue Vliet)
Ossie Kendrix, the new president and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin, sees himself as an agent of change. One change he’s planning is to move the chamber, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary in April, from downtown to the Innovations and Wellness Commons in Lindsay Heights.
“I love the entrepreneurial synergy” there, where the Juice Kitchen, Tandem restaurant and the chamber’s partner organization, the Social Development Commission (SDC), are located, Kendrix said.
The Commons is located on a major corridor close to downtown and is “in the community, where the chamber is most needed,” Kendrix said. Construction is expected to start on Phase Two of the Commons next year. The chamber’s current lease will expire in January 2019.
Kendrix plans to begin a strategic planning process in January. He and his new board are “building the chamber of the future” by focusing on helping members grow their businesses and expand their access to capital. Their top prioritiesinclude creating a business-growth training program and expanding the revolving loan fund, established in 2014. Plans include transforming the fund into a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), which would enable the chamber to seek federal funds, according to Kendrix, who became the president and CEO on May 1.
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Borrowing money for business development has been a challenge for African-Americans in Milwaukee, Kendrix said. “That essentially is (the reason) our revolving loan fund was started, to serve as a micro-lending (tool) to assist start-ups and existing small businesses,” he added.
Keith Stanley, executive director of Near West Side Partners, Inc. and BID (Business Improvement District) #10, supports the idea.
Ossie Kendrix plans to enhance the benefits of membership in the African American Chamber of Commerce under his leadership, which began May 1. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
“Access to capital is a major need … as we look at commercial development, not just on the Near West Side but in the other urban corridors and centers outside of downtown,” he said.
Kendrix said the chamber, which extended 10 loans from the revolving fund in the last three years, now has 18 applicants seeking loans.
“We would like to raise the cap from $35,000 to $150,000. As we work to build the capacity of African-American owned businesses, their needs are going to increase, as well, so we will have to evolve to a higher cap to continue meeting the need,” Kendrix said.
Wanda Montgomery, who was recently elected board chair, said the chamber knows that many members and potential members have full-time jobs and are simultaneously developing entrepreneurial projects. Trying to step out on their own is difficult and time consuming and “though they may have an excellent product, they (often) become stagnant,” Montgomery said.
To meet this need, the chamber plans to launch a new capacity-building program in January, which will provide technical assistance and connect members with opportunities for growth. The chamber has retained a consultant, P3 Development Group. to develop the program, Kendrix said.
The first nine to 12 months of the capacity-building program will provide hands-on skills training. During the next six months, participants will get follow-up assistance. Limiting the cohorts to five participants is intended to keep them manageable and cost effective, said Kendrix, who established a similar program when he headed the city’s Office of Small Business Development.
Daphne Jones, owner of Glorious Malone’s Fine Sausage, Inc., 300 W. Walnut St., has found such training helpful in the past.
“The best thing for me was actually being able to get outside of my plant where I’m working all the time,” and work on the business instead of in it, Jones said. Being among members who are focusing on their businesses gave her a different perspective, she said. “As a businessperson, it’s good to …  have someone cheering you on” as well as raising questions and suggesting new ideas.
In addition to problems accessing capital, challenges facing the African-American business community include lack of investment by community members who do not “buy local,” said Deshea Agee, executive director of the Historic King Drive BID.
“If people understood the value of their dollars and did not decide to take them out of the community, we would have more successful businesses within the community,” Agee said.
Another challenge is that “the Milwaukee business community in general is conservative and static,” said Denise Thomas, owner of The Effective Communication Coach, LLC. Thomas came to Milwaukee from Indiana to work for Rockwell Automation in 2003. She later was a corporate executive at G.E. Medical (now G.E. Healthcare) and, until last month, at MillerCoors.
“If Milwaukee is truly going to evolve into the nation’s next ‘go-to’ city,” which it is positioning itself to do with the “huge infrastructure development projects” that are in progress, it needs to understand that the population is diversifying, Thomas said. “Ten, 15, 20 years ago, one out of every 10 residents of Milwaukee may have been a person of color, but that is now going to change … to maybe even five out of every 10,” she said.
“The change of generations, ethnicity and race impacts … how the city functions, how it grows, how it evolves,” Thomas said. She added that the chamber, under Kendrix’s leadership, is considering how to elevate black-owned businesses so they attract people who don’t live in Milwaukee. The African-American business community needs people from outside our community to patronize our businesses.”
Kendrix, a Milwaukee native, grew up in Sherman Park. A graduate of UWM and Drake University, where he earned a master’s degree in public administration, he has built a reputation as a business expert. In addition to his 10-year-old real estate company and his work with the city, he has been a program consultant at the Urban Entrepreneur Partnership, a national initiative to promote inner city entrepreneurship and job growth. Most recently, Kendrix was deputy state director for U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin.
In addition to Kendrix’s skills and experience, “his ability to connect people is going to be an asset to the chamber,” Agee said.
For the first time in recent history, the chamber has a full board of 15 people with a variety of experience as small business owners, attorneys, bankers and corporate employees, Montgomery said.
She added that the chamber is hearing about new businesses opening in the community every day. “We certainly look forward to connecting with all of those people … and letting them know there is value in being a member.”

author: Andrea Waxman


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 10, 2017

created: September 10, 2017


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Annual Silver City International Festival draws large crowds | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Lydia Slattery
September 12, 2017
Youth dancers from Escamilla Entertainment perform on the festival’s main stage. (Photo by Adam Carr)
Mamie’s Bar and Grill, 3300 W. National Ave., served food and beverages while a band played and people danced. Children drew on the sidewalk with chalk and the two stages featured local musicians and dancers, including the Nefertari African Dance Company. Artists Working in Education (A.W.E) offered free art activities.
On a warm and sunny September afternoon, hundreds of people gathered along West National Avenue for the sixth annual Silver City International Festival.
Layton Boulevard West Neighbors (LBWN) hosted the festival, which took place on a section of West National Avenue between South 33rd and 35th streets.
The Nefertari African Dance Company performs at the festival. (Photo by Lydia Slattery)
Gisela Ortega, community outreach coordinator at LBWN, said she was pleased with the turnout of more than 2,000 people, the largest since the event began six years ago.
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“(The festival) celebrates the cultural diversity of the Silver City neighborhood. It’s an opportunity for neighbors to come together to get to know each other,” Ortega said. “It’s also an opportunity for the business owners to meet the neighbors” and allows people from outside Silver City to meet people from the neighborhood, she added.
Therese Toben, an artist who lives in Silver City, set up a table at the festival covered with paints, glitter, markers and other art supplies that she donated. People of all ages gathered around the table to create their own art. Toben was one of many vendors participating in the event.
“This is an art make-and-take. You use what’s available to make art with whatever is available and then you take it home,” Toben said. “It’s always very exciting to watch people in their art process and see them go from a cautious place to an adventurous place.”
“I think it’s time well spent,” Toben said.
Nelson Lopez, a Silver City resident and MC of the festival, introduced the bands and dancers on stage. “I invite people to try new things like new foods and make new friends. It’s my thing. I like to try new things.” He said he tried all the food at the festival.
“This is called an international festival because this is an international avenue,” Lopez said. “We have different vendors from all different places.”
Vendors included Tudo Sabor Brasil, serving traditional Brazilian food, Tu Casa Mexican Restaurant, which sold steak and pork tacos, and Asian International Market, which offered papaya salad.
“Silver City is an up-and-coming neighborhood. It’s a true gem,” Ortega said.

created: September 12, 2017

author: Lydia Slattery


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 11, 2017


text:
| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 12, 2017


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On The Block: Parks offer escape | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Elliot Hughes
September 12, 2017
Ras Maurice McCutcheon, a 17-year-old senior in high school, walked from his nearby home on a recent evening and sat on a bench in front of a pond at Mitchell Park. He said parks are his favorite part of Milwaukee because they offer a chance to escape urban environments, smartphones and whatever is bothering him at home. It allows him to decompress and organize his thoughts, he said.


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U.S. News & World Report ranks Alverno College highest in the state in “strong commitment to teaching” category | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Kelly Fay
September 12, 2017
(Photo courtesy of Alverno College)
Alverno College is ranked in the top four Midwest Regional Universities for its “strong commitment to teaching” in U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 America’s Best Colleges guidebook. In the eight-year history of this category, Alverno is the only Wisconsin college to receive this recognition in the Midwest Regional standings each year. College presidents, provosts and admissions deans were asked to “identify schools where the faculty have an unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching.” This marks the 17th consecutive year U.S. News & World Report has recognized Alverno in its annual rankings.
“Alverno’s commitment to students is the foundation upon which our abilities-based curriculum and assessment-as-learning teaching model are built,” said Andrea Lee, IHM, president of Alverno College. “Our focus is on student success, and this recognition from U.S. News & World Report highlights that dedication. We will continue to ensure that we prepare students to make a difference in all their spheres of influence.”
Alverno is also recognized for its “Senior Capstone” experiences. These culminating activities require students nearing graduation to create a project that integrates and synthesizes what they’ve learned. This could be a thesis, a performance or an exhibit of artwork. Regardless of their major, Alverno students articulate what they learned, what it means to them, how their learning is a part of them, and how it drives their future goals and actions.
Additionally, Alverno College is recognized for “Ethnic Diversity.” Schools nominated in this category are recognized as colleges where students are most likely to encounter undergraduates from a different ethnic group than their own. As of the 2016-17 school year, Alverno’s ethnic make-up was 18% Hispanic or Latino, 14% African American, 5% Asian, 1% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 4% were of two or more races, making it one of the most diverse campuses in Wisconsin.
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With these rankings, Alverno College is in the company of such prestigious schools as Brown University, Harvard University, Princeton University and Stanford University. Overall, Alverno College remained in tier one in the category of master’s-granting colleges and universities.
This is the 33rd edition of the U.S. News & World Report annual college rankings. The rankings are published in the September issue, in a separate college guidebook, and posted online at usnews.com. The rankings measure up to 15 academic performance indicators for each institution. Quantitative data that assess a college’s performance in areas such as graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, financial resources, student selectivity and alumni giving account for the college’s score. Colleges and universities in each category are then ranked against their peers based on their composite weighted scores.
About Alverno College
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 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 has consulted with three U.S. presidential administrations on accountability and outcomes in higher education and for the past eight years has been ranked one of the top five schools in the Midwest doing “the best job of educating undergrads” by U.S. News & World Report.
Based in Milwaukee, Wis., Alverno College is a four-year independent, Catholic, liberal arts college.

author: Kelly Fay


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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September 12, 2017


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A morning with Community Advocates’ Homeless Outreach Nursing Center staff | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Lisa Kaiser
September 13, 2017
Members of the Homeless Outreach Nursing Center (L-R): Miriam Manyara, Program Manager Mary Ann Patti, and Kristin Syftestad (Photo courtesy of Community Advocates)
Bus shelters. The nooks and crannies behind a high-rise office. In abandoned buildings. On benches in secluded areas of county parks. Under a bridge. In a friend’s garage. In the upper reaches of a parking ramp. Roaming through empty streets as dawn hovers over downtown Milwaukee.
These are the locations Community Advocates’ Homeless Outreach Nursing Center (HONC) staff search out in the early hours of the morning twice a week when they offer assistance to Milwaukeeans living in uninhabitable areas.
The members of the Homeless Outreach Nursing Center—Program Manager Mary Ann Patti, plus Winnie Butler, Bindu Derksen, Dani Koehler, Miriam Manyara, and Kristin Syftestad—are unique among local street outreach teams in that all of them are clinicians—Kristin is a nurse—who are licensed to diagnose and treat mental illness. As they meet and work with individuals who live on the street, the HONC staff are constantly assessing and addressing their complex physical and mental health needs, as well as their living conditions.
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At 5:30 a.m. on a recent Thursday in August, before the sun rose, HONC’s Mary Ann Patti and Dani Koehler set off from Autumn West, Community Advocates’ 20-unit Safe Haven for chronically homeless individuals who are transitioning into permanent housing. HONC’s minivan is loaded with a cooler full of sandwiches, snacks, and bottled water, as well as sleeping bags and a thermos of hot coffee. The food and supplies not only meet the immediate needs of individuals in dire straits, but they’re also a way to allow Mary Ann and Dani to initiate conversations and gather information during quick encounters. Besides doing street outreach, they’ll also arrange to meet with their contacts in meal sites and other safe, friendly locations to talk more in-depth about their wants, needs, and goals.
Mary Ann and Dani head downtown, where they look for a number of individuals they’ve met before and some who’ve been referred to them. Last year, HONC had made than 1,660 contacts with individuals, some of whom were engaged multiple times throughout the year.
Mary Ann and Dani pull up behind an office building on Wisconsin Avenue where two sisters typically spend the night, then hop out of the minivan and walk around the building, checking in doorways, behind the dumpster, and in the alley. There’s no sign of the women, so the pair continue through downtown and spot an older woman they know in a bus shelter on Sixth Street, her belongings in plastic bags filling the space. They circle back so they can talk to her. They approach, correctly identifying her as Beverly*. From their previous encounters, Mary Ann and Dani know Beverly lives with mental illness. But Beverly assures the women she’s fine and due for some money to come through. She accepts coffee and food, but no other assistance. Dani gives her a business card and arranges to meet with Beverly at another time, so that they can have a longer conversation about her health and living conditions.
Documenting Homelessness
Mary Ann and Dani head to a park on the near south side, where they’ve been told a man named John* sleeps in a secluded spot near a lagoon. As they drive through the park they spot another man at a picnic table—he’s a veteran who says he’s trying to get help through the VA and says has spent the night in an emergency shelter—before they find John, a bundled-up 20-something man who’s almost invisible from the park trail.
As rain starts to fall, Mary Ann and Dani approach him carefully. He’s startled when he wakes up, but Mary Ann talks to him quietly and listens to his story. John tells her has a diagnosed but untreated mental illness, survived being shot, and has lived on the streets for years. Mary Ann pulls out her iPad and is shocked to discover he’s not listed in ServicePoint, Wisconsin’s Homeless Management Information System, a statewide database of homeless individuals compiled by homeless outreach workers. That means John has slipped through the cracks of the system for years, a sign of how difficult it is to find and maintain contact with those who are transient and lack housing.
Mary Ann asks John a series of questions and makes observations about his current state; her questions are sourced from the standardized assessment tool VI-SPDAT, a vulnerability index. This information is critical to finding and prioritizing appropriate shelter for people like John if or when they want housing. Although individuals who are experiencing homelessness lack just about everything but the clothes on their back—sometimes even valid ID—they must document their time without housing as well as their physical and mental health needs in ServicePoint.
Not all housing is alike. There’s a continuum of care for those with specific needs and family relationships; the county’s coordinated entry system matches an individual’s needs to the appropriate housing option on the continuum. For example, Autumn West, classified as a “Safe Haven,” serves chronically homeless individuals—defined by Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as people who have a disabling condition (such as a serious mental illness, substance use disorder, or physical disability), and have been continually without a home for a year or more or have experienced homelessness at least four times in the past three years. Besides Safe Havens, there are also emergency shelters that serve specific types of individuals or families (such as Community Advocates’ Milwaukee Women’s Center), as well as more long-term or permanent housing secured through Community Advocates’ Project Bridge program, for example, or Milwaukee County’s Housing First initiative.
At Long Last, Success
After meeting with John, Mary Ann and Dani drive across town to meet Isabelle* at a specific bus shelter at an agreed-upon time. Meeting Isabelle is the morning’s bright spot. In her late 20s, she’s been homeless and barely getting by after aging out of foster care. But finally, on this morning, she’s going to move into Autumn West, where she’ll have a small studio apartment to herself and receive the support she needs so she can get stable and eventually live independently. She’s thrilled about this opportunity and is full of questions. Mary Ann and Dani drop her off at Autumn West, introduce her to a case manager, and congratulate her on her new home. They wave goodbye as Isabelle hops into the elevator with her belongings, eager to start her new life.
Mary Ann and Dani drive away in search of the rest of the individuals on their list—under a bridge, in a garage, in the backyard of an empty house, on the steps of an office building—and head back to Autumn West at 9 a.m., when most Milwaukeeans are starting their work day, oblivious to the needs of the thousands of individuals who’ve just survived another long night on the streets.
*All names of individuals who are experiencing homelessness have been changed to protect their identity.
If you or someone you know is experiencing homelessness or is at risk of becoming homeless, contact Impact 2-1-1.

created: September 13, 2017


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 13, 2017


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Name *
September 13, 2017


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How to avoid DACA scams | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Lisa Schiller, Better Business Bureau of Wisconsin
September 13, 2017
Marchers in support of Dreamers during a recent march. (Photo by Emmy Yates)
While BBB cannot provide legal advice on any matters, we urge consumers to avoid potential DACA and other immigration scams by proactively seeking competent legal assistance rather than responding to unsolicited appeals.
BBB urges consumers to:
•Be wary of email, social media messages, phone calls, or other unsolicited sales pitches for legal services, especially if they use scare tactics to frighten you into action.
•Don’t provide confidential information over the phone or via email.
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•Never pay for blank government forms. Government forms are free, although you may have to pay a fee when you submit them.
•Be cautious when researching immigration information online. Some scammers set up websites that look like government websites. Look for a .gov domain.
•Don’t let anyone keep your original documents (birth certificate, passport, etc.). Scammers may charge you to get them back.
•Never sign a document you don’t understand, or sign any form that has not been completely filled out.
•Keep a copy of every form you submit, as well as every letter you receive from a government agency.
•Don’t wire money to anyone you don’t know. Once you send it, you cannot get it back. Government agencies usually ask for funds by check or money order, or by a secure transaction on a government (.gov) website.


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Summit on Poverty takes hard look at forces that create poverty | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Elliot Hughes
September 13, 2017
Fred Royal, the president of the Milwaukee NAACP chapter, listens to a speaker at the Social Development Commission’s Summit on Poverty event (Photo by Dennis McMurray, courtesy of SDC).
Kevin Powell grew up in a family that for generations had struggled in poverty, but it didn’t have to be that way.
In the early 1900s, Powell’s great-grandparents came into possession of 400 acres of land in South Carolina. Things were looking up for a family with five children who previously lived out of a tool shack and sometimes only had syrup to eat.
But the family couldn’t hold on to that land for long. White locals tried pressuring Powell’s great-grandfather, who was black, into handing the land over, until one day he died under suspicious circumstances and all but three acres of land were taken from them.
The Powells plunged back into poverty and it took decades for any of them to escape it again. Powell, a well-known activist and author who grew up in Jersey City, N.J., in the ‘70s and ‘80s in “horrific” poverty, relayed this story last week during the Social Development Commission’s Summit on Poverty, which aims to change the way poor people are seen and understood in the United States.
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About 500 people — mostly local nonprofit and public employees — attended the two-day event, which featured Powell and author Kathryn Edin as keynote speakers. One of the most consistent messages that Powell, Edin and other speakers tried to get across is simply that people do not get stuck in poverty because they are lazy or immoral. Often they are tossed or born into it, and there are no easy paths out.
Author and activist Kevin Powell spoke about the poverty he experienced as a child growing up in Jersey City, N.J. in the 1970s and 80s. (Photo by Elliot Hughes)
“We cannot have an honest conversation about poverty in America if we’re not going to explore how people have been intentionally impoverished,” Powell said.
Although there are many different policies, systems and societal phenomena that help keep people in poverty, a huge target of blame during the summit rested squarely on welfare reform in the 1990s.
Edin, who is also the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, chronicled the demise of welfare and how it contributes to a growing low-income class.
In 1994, the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program served 14.2 million people, about 68 percent of poor families. President Bill Clinton replaced that in 1997 with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which, in 2015, served 750,000 people, about 24 percent of poor families, according to Edin.
Edin said welfare reform is one reason why there has been a rise in poor families who live on $2 a day per person, a measure of poverty more commonly reserved for developing nations. In 1992, there were 600,000 people in the U.S. surviving on that kind of cash. Today, there are 1.2 million families, she said.
Welfare reform also gave states the chance to “innovate,” and divert federal welfare funds toward other things. Today, Edin said, three-quarters of that money is diverted and only four states — California, Oregon, Minnesota and New York — have a “shell of a cash system left.” In Michigan, for example, a lot of welfare money is instead used to fund scholarships that typically go to children of the middle class.
“This is like giving crack to governors and state legislators,” Edin said.
A 10 percent decline in welfare coverage is associated with a 2.2 percent increase in food insecurity among single mothers, according to Edin. And a reduction of 100 recipients is associated with an increase of 14 homeless students.
In some areas of the country, such as the Mississippi Delta, even those who are receiving welfare live on $2 a day, since the benefits are so measly.
“When Bill Clinton, the president, signed that welfare reform bill in 1996 that was a death knell for a lot of folks,” said Powell. He described his mother, who finished school after the eighth grade, as his only support system growing up. He eventually went on to earn a scholarship to attend Rutgers University.
Poverty can force people to share housing and accept dangerous jobs, which create more problems that can snowball and make their situations worse. Without a more robust safety net for the poor, Edin said, families face a steep climb out of poverty.
She related a story of a low-income, single mother in Cleveland who shared a house and car with others. She won “employee of the month” multiple times at the Wal-Mart where she worked. But one morning, she woke and found the car without any gas, thanks to her roommates. She had no other way of getting to work and was fired immediately.
“There are times when things are too unstable,” Edin said. “(Low-income people) are caring for elderly relatives, they’re struggling with emotional stress. They’re not going to be able to work full time. We really do need a functioning safety net so that families don’t spiral into a poverty trap from which it is so difficult to escape.”


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St. Marcus students reflect on ‘everyday heroes’ during 9/11 observance | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Leah Harris
September 15, 2017
Eighth-graders lead younger students to a local fire department. (Photo by Leah Harris)
When the fifth-graders at St. Marcus Lutheran School failed to exit their school quietly, Superintendent Henry Tyson had them try again.
The second time around, the fifth-graders, and all of the students following, were completely silent.
Lead by eighth-graders holding hands with kindergarten and primary school students, the group walked from its main campus, located on North Palmer Street, down the block to Milwaukee Fire Station 21. The 930 students gathered around the firehouse to face the assistant fire chief and a line of straight-faced firefighters.
Students participate in a moment of silence as the St. Marcus Church bells are rung. (Photo by Leah Harris)
“I felt uneasy and like I couldn’t breathe because it was so sad and we were recognizing what was happening,” said Cole, a 13-year-old eighth-grader.
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Although Cole has taken the short walk from his school to the fire station every year since he was small, it wasn’t until fourth grade that he understood the significance of the moment. “It was when we first saw a photo of a man falling out of a window,” Cole said.
His classmate, Erin, also 13, said since fourth or fifth grade, their classes have studied the details of the day in greater depth. She said they now focus on analyzing 9/11 instead of simply calling it a sad day in history. She said they read articles and watch videos of families of the victims to understand their pain.
But for Erin, the significance of the day didn’t hit until a year or two ago when her mother told her they have family in New York City. “It was a moment for me to realize I should build a relationship with each part of my family,” she said.
Tyson, who has been at St. Marcus for 15 years, said it’s important to inform the children every year, in an age-appropriate way, what happened on 9/11. However, what he really wants the students to understand is heroism. “9/11 created traumatic heroes. We want the students to understand we need everyday heroes,” he said.
Gerad Washington, assistant fire chief, echoed the theme of heroism in his address to the students. “There’s many heroes in the scholars’ lives they don’t recognize are heroes,” Washington said.  He listed parents, teachers and ordinary people as forgotten heroes and encouraged the students to recognize them too.
Washington has been the assistant fire chief at Fire Station 21 for seven years and has worked at the department for 25 years.  Every year since 9/11, he has given a speech. “It’s putting a face to a firefighter,” he said. “It brings it home to have a face there.”
Eighth-grade students reflected on the idea of heroism and many pointed to their mothers as their ordinary heroes.
Jayla, 13, has a single mother. Every day, she drops Jayla off at school and drives to work in Madison. “She keeps fighting to make sure I have food on the table and clothes to wear,” she said. “That’s why she’s my hero.”

created: September 15, 2017

author: Leah Harris


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
September 14, 2017

created: September 14, 2017


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United Way is hiring an Administrative Assistant, Corporate Relationships | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Michelle Gutknecht
September 18, 2017
United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County (UWGMWC) has a challenging opportunity as an Administrative Assistant, Corporate Relationships in our Resource Development (RD) department! In this key role, you’ll provide assistance to staff in four different campaign divisions, including administrative support for campaign sessions, company Ambassador trainings and recognition. You’ll also coordinate thank you letters and sponsorship benefits, and provide support for United Way events, volunteers, and additional administrative backup for the department.
KEY JOB FUNCTIONS
SUPPORT MAJOR CAMPAIGNS, HEALTHCARE, PROFESSIONAL, and PUBLIC SECTOR DIVISIONS
VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT SUPPORT
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SPONSORSHIP PROCESS SUPPORT
CORPORATE GIFT THANK YOU LETTER PROCESS
GENERAL EVENT SUPPORT
MANAGE IMPACT COUPON BOOK PROJECT
ADMINISTRATIVE BACKUP SUPPORT
RECEPTION AREA COVERAGE
OTHER DUTIES
Actively participate in special work-groups and projects as assigned.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES
This position does not have supervisory responsibilities.
KEY REQUIREMENTS
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE
OTHER SKILLS
TO APPLY:
For further job criteria and complete details, click on: https://www.milwaukeejobs.com/j/27711030. If you meet or exceed job requirements, please apply directly at this web address today. Please indicate salary requirements.
Equal Opportunity Employer
M/F/Disability/Vet

created: September 18, 2017