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Are you concerned about water quality and pollution in your neighborhood? Join Sweet Water to discuss the effects of stormwater pollution! | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Claire Duening
May 10, 2022
Sweet Water (Southeastern Wisconsin Watersheds Trust, Inc), works to protect our water from stormwater pollution through public outreach and education. Stormwater is just what it sounds like- the water that results from rain, snow, and other kinds of storms. Stormwater problems range from the visible effects of flooding or drought to the more invisible effects of the introduction of pollutants into our rivers, ponds, and lakes– the sources of our drinking water. As stormwater flows through our neighborhoods toward these bodies of water, it picks up trash, pet waste, and chemicals, and other pollutants.
Because Milwaukee is fortunate enough to be in close proximity to the Great Lakes, it is important that we take care of our waterways. To learn more about stormwater pollution go to: https://www.respectourwaters.org/what-is-stormwater-pollution-swwt
Intrigued? Join Sweet Water and partners for a community event to discuss the effects of stormwater pollution on your neighborhood! This is an opportunity to help get the programming your community needs to be safer, healthier, and cleaner!
Currently we have two opportunities scheduled:
Sunday, May 15th, 2022 from 12:30pm-2:30pm in the Harambe Neighborhood @ Solomon Community Temple, 3295 N Doctor M.L.K. Jr Dr, Milwaukee, WI 53212. (Nearby Bus Stop: Dr.MLK Jr. Dr + Concordia Stop (19))
RSVP at www.swwtwater.org/RSVP
Friday, May 20th, 2022 from 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm in collaboration with North Side Rising @ Wisconsin Black Historical Society, 2620 W Center St, Milwaukee, WI 53206 (Nearby Bus Stops: Center + Fond Du Lac Stop (81); N27th + Center Stop (22 + Purple Line))
RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/718984425788600?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22surface%22%3A%22page%22%7D]%7D
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We will have snacks, resources, activities for the kids, and more available at these events! Stay tuned for more conversation opportunities to be scheduled in the future by liking Sweet Water on Facebook at www.facebook.com/swwt.org !
Sweet Water Contact Information:
600 E Greenfield Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53204
Phone: 414-382-1766
Email: duening@swwtwater.org or kristin@swwtwater.org
For more information about the Sweet Water organization and our work, go to: https://www.swwtwater.org/

author: Claire Duening


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SWWT-Logo-Transparent.png | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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May 6, 2022

source: news-milwaukeenns

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

author: Name *


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Post From Community: City of Milwaukee seeking developer proposals for Homes MKE Initiative | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Department of City Development
May 10, 2022
MILWAUKEE – The Department of City Development (DCD) is seeking proposals from developers to participate in the Homes MKE initiative. This effort will renovate vacant City-owned residential properties that will help build stronger neighborhoods throughout Milwaukee.
In 2021, Mayor Cavalier Johnson and members of the Milwaukee Common Council allocated $15 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to DCD for the Homes MKE program. The goal is to renovate vacant houses in the City’s inventory of tax-foreclosed residential properties and return them to productive use.
“Growing up in Milwaukee, I experienced the effects of housing insecurity just as many residents and families currently are. This is personal for me, so we worked to deploy federal ARPA funds for this initiative that will revitalize vacant properties into new homes,” said Mayor Cavalier Johnson. “Together, we are working to build stronger neighborhoods, promote homeownership, and ensure every Milwaukeean has access to the quality, affordable housing they need.”
The goals of Homes MKE are to:
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The full RFP is available HERE.
More information about DCD is available HERE.


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May 2, 2022


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Post From Community: Milwaukee Ultimate, Sports Milwaukee to host D-I, D-III College Championships | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Bryan Geenen
May 10, 2022
— Milwaukee Ultimate is excited to announce the return of the USA Ultimate Division I and Division III College Championships to Southeastern Wisconsin. Teams will compete for the title of National Champion at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee during the three-day tournament.
The D-III tournament will take place on May 21-23, returning to Milwaukee for the first time since 2013. The D-I tournament will take place the following weekend, over Memorial Day, from May 27-30, its third time occurring in Milwaukee since 2015 and 2018.
“Milwaukee Ultimate is very excited to host this year’s D-III and D-I tournaments,” said tournament director and Milwaukee Ultimate president Scott Severson. “This is the pinnacle of college ultimate and to be able to host not one, but two tournaments is an incredible honor and challenge. We cannot wait to host the best of the best college athletes, strive to creating the best college nationals experience we can and create memories for all of the competing student-athletes. We want to showcase the beauty of ultimate frisbee and share our sport with everyone.”
Milwaukee Ultimate and Sports Milwaukee will both host the tournaments as they welcome over 72 teams through both divisions.
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The breakdown of teams is as follows:
The D-I Championships will be covered by ESPN, as the men’s and women’s championship games take place on ESPNU with semifinal games taking place on ESPN3, according to USA Ultimate.
USA Ultimate and the Color of Ultimate will be hosting an exhibition game on Monday, May 30 at Uihlein Soccer Park to highlight current college players of color, before the D-I finals.
To sign up to volunteer with Milwaukee Ultimate, visit milwaukeeultimate.com to help out.

author: Bryan Geenen


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May 5, 2022


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Post From Community: Raising a Child in Nature program May 16 at Urban Ecology Center | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Karen Samelson
May 10, 2022
“Raising a Child in Nature,” presented by educator Matt Flower
Sierra Club Great Waters Group public program
Monday, May 16, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Urban Ecology Center at Riverside Park, 1500 E. Park Place
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Join Matt Flower, a nature-based early childhood educator for the Urban Ecology Center,  for a guided hike and talk in Riverside Park on May 16.
This  informative and fun evening will provide practical suggestions to organize safe, enjoyable, and educational outdoor adventures with the children in your life.
Matt says, “There are many paths on the way to raising and supporting young children in our lives, but choosing the right ones can be difficult in an ever changing and challenging world. Fortunately, we need look no further that the trails in and around our beautiful city! Come explore outdoor education with me and discover why spending time in nature is so critical to early childhood growth and development.”
After our hike we’ll gather around the campfire for a group discussion covering topics such as What to Wear, Nature Play/Assessing Risk and the Needed Naturalist Skills, and Backpack Essentials.
This program will move inside if the weather is bad. The program is free, but registration is recommended at https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details.

author: Karen Samelson


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mattf-kids.jpg | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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May 4, 2022


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With help from AmeriCorps, Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers gets staffing boost | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Matt Martinez
May 10, 2022
Ximena Vaca started on the path toward social work back in middle school.
She went to Bruce-Guadalupe Middle School, part of the United Community Center, a social services organization on the South Side. Then she had the chance to volunteer with local kids and provide mentoring services throughout high school.
Now, Vaca is 21 and a junior studying social work at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She also is an AmeriCorps member and works at Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers, a group of health centers on the South Side, as a resource navigator in the social services department.
Vaca is one of seven AmeriCorps members at Sixteenth Street now, but that number is about to increase. New grant funding from AmeriCorps, a service organization overseen by the federal government, will help the center continue its health navigation work.
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Vaca said she’s seen her own growth through her work with patients.
“When I was volunteering with UCC, I kind of saw the needs from a child’s perspective,” Vaca said. “But now I get to see adults and patients and the community that I live in and I’m part of.”
In her day-to-day work, Vaca helps patients connect with resources to address concerns like housing and food insecurity. She walks patients through the process to find services, often reading the forms aloud and helping to bridge any language barrier.
“It kind of reminds me of how my parents used to struggle, too, and how we were struggling to find resources,” Vaca said. “There (are) people that don’t know that these types of resources are available to them, so it’s kind of a relief for me and for the patient and their families to let them know that there are things they can look into if they want to.”
Sixteenth Street was one of the organizations in Wisconsin that received grant funding from Public Health AmeriCorps, a new partnership between AmeriCorps and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The goal of the partnership is to provide staff for the public health workforce.
Sixteenth Street will receive over $374,000 to fund 13 full-time AmeriCorps staffers.
Michael D. Smith, CEO of AmeriCorps, said the funding will be available in September when the next term year for the program begins. Smith was at a news conference on April 29 at Sixteenth Street to discuss the grant.
“I think it’s important to note this new partnership (with the CDC) is what AmeriCorps can and should be at its best,” Smith said. “It is meeting an urgent, live, important need that communities are facing right now while also helping to build up the generation of leaders that’s going to continue to work against these issues.”
Erik Miller, AmeriCorps manager for Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers, said the current program began during the pandemic.
“This is a time when it was socially acceptable — and encouraged — to stay home and be safe, and they decided to roll their sleeves up and take a risk and dive in and help me build this thing from scratch at peak pandemic,” Miller said.
The AmeriCorps staff will help administer social services, including women’s wellness, Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, programs, environmental health services and community organizing efforts. Miller said the variety of programs allows participants to get involved with something they’re interested in professionally.
“Our priority is people from our community, and we want our program to represent the community,” Miller said.

author: Matt Martinez


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Dwayne Burtin
May 9, 2022

author: Dwayne Burtin


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NNS Spotlight: How Nearby Nature Milwaukee works to get Black residents interested in the environment | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
PrincessSafiya Byers
May 11, 2022
Nearby Nature Milwaukee exists to make environmental action more inclusive and diverse.
Now 5 years old, the group’s mission is to reconnect Black people to nature by offering nature education classes and introducing Milwaukeeans to new outdoor experiences.
“We want to create positive experiences for Black people so that they want to go outside,” co-founder Sierra Taliaferro said.
Taliaferro grew up with a curiosity about nature but said she never saw many people who looked like her share that interest.
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The group promotes being outside for obvious health and wellness reasons, but members say it’s bigger than that.
“There are not enough Black people in green careers because Black people don’t have enough knowledge that those careers exist,” said Steven Hunter, the program director of Nearby Nature Milwaukee.
Green jobs are those that preserve or restore the environment. Many have been around for years such as farming. Some are new opportunities such as solar installers or environmental engineers. Others many people don’t even consider such as waste management, hazardous materials clean-up and recycling jobs.
Hunter said many of these jobs exist in Milwaukee and making nature normal to people can help move people into this work.
“How do you know you want to work somewhere if you don’t know the job exists,” Hunter said.
Aside from creating avenues to economic success via green jobs, Nearby Nature works to create healthier and resilient communities through access to nature.
Martina Patterson, the arts and youth educator for Nearby Nature, is working to restore prairies on Milwaukee’s North Side. The plan is to help the natural progression of various ecosystems to beautify the space and help area wildlife.
“It’ll increase the value of everything in the area,” Patterson said. “We want to include residents to help them see and understand the value in their space.”
Patterson said she wants resident involvement because they will be the ones responsible for maintaining the space for years to come.
Nearby Nature wants to show Black Milwaukeeans that nature is for everyone.
And Hunter said that takes a lot of work.
“It means altering the perception that nature is just for white people,” he said. “If we can get Black people to be a part of nature recreationally, we grow in every other aspect.”
He said there is value in connecting to natural spaces.
“We as a society put value in things rather than experiences,” Hunter said. “Being able to experience nature is being around the one thing that is just doing what God said to do.”
Nearby Nature Milwaukee hosts monthly events to connect people to nature.
To get involved, you can follow its Facebook page or check out its website.

author: PrincessSafiya Byers


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Ricardo Pimentel
May 10, 2022

author: Ricardo Pimentel


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Spring Festival at MMSD West Basin, May 21st—free plants, games, food and more! | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sarah Bregant
May 11, 2022
Bring the whole family to MMSD’s West Basin (4350 N. 35th Street) for NWSCDC’s first annual Spring Festival on Saturday, May 21st from 11am – 2pm! We’re partnering with Teens Grow Greens to provide 100+ FREE plant packs to attendees to get your garden ready for the summer plus a whole lot more!
NWSCDC’s Spring Festival will have the following:
Arrive early – giveaways are first-come, first-served. Don’t miss out on this fun event – RSVP on eventbrite here!
Questions should be directed to Northwest Side CDC’s Planning & Community Development Manager, Sarah Bregant, at 414-444-8200 x.8104 or sarah.b@nwscdc.org
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author: Sarah Bregant


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May 9, 2022


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A legacy of past choices: Milwaukee’s housing crisis explained | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
PrincessSafiya Byers
May 12, 2022
Leer en español: una versión traducida de este artículo está disponible debajo de la versión en inglés.
Rising rent, stagnant wages and a lack of available units have left Milwaukeeans navigating an affordable housing crisis. This crisis, say local housing experts, is a legacy of the city’s past policy choices.
Though the city was recently recognized for having no unsheltered homeless people, it has also been center stage for its homeownership gap, its burdensome level of evictions and its housing shortage.
The combination has left many Milwaukeeans without options.
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This was avoidable.
Anne Bonds, a geography professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said we are seeing the result of redlining, the discriminatory process of denying services to residents based on race or ethnicity, and racial covenants play out in real time.
“People like to chalk up the city’s segregation to people living where they are comfortable and other socioeconomic reasons,” Bonds said. “But the reality is neighborhoods are this way by design.”
She said racially restrictive practices and policies channeled investments to the suburbs, where even now, wage-sustaining job growth continues to occur outside the city, leading to “a concentration of disadvantage and overall disinvestment in urban communities.”
“Over time, the ideas of what neighborhoods are good, and which are bad have reinforced themselves,” she said. “Journalist Jane Jacobs referred to what has happened as a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
These dynamics play out in brutal fashion even today.
“There are just a lot of households in crisis,” said Deb Heffner, the housing strategy director for Community Advocates, which provides services and assistance to residents in need. “Rental assistance is just a Band-Aid fix for the actual issues.”
The organization has provided rental assistance funds to over 15,000 people since 2020 and has around 4,000 people waiting for assistance.
Mike Bare, the research and program coordinator for Community Advocates, said housing and health are linked.
“You can draw a straight line from housing issues to suicides,” Bare said. “So what people might see as an individual housing problem becomes a public health issue and that becomes all of our problems.”
A report done by the Community Advocates Public Policy Institute said housing issues can lead to chronic stress, and that chronic stress can have severe health consequences.
“Constant, chronic exposure to elevated levels of these hormones can harm health in many ways,” the report said.  This includes chronically elevated blood pressure, which contributed to stroke and heart disease; chronically high blood sugar, which can lead to obesity and diabetes; and chronic immune system suppression, leaving people more vulnerable to infection, cancer, and autoimmune disease.
Experts say past policies have shaped the state of affordable housing now.
“Though they can’t be enforced, some of those (restrictive) covenants are still in the books,” said Bethany Sanchez, the director of the Fair Lending Program at the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council. “This is the legacy of our past choices.”
It has been a disruptive legacy.
“There was a point when Milwaukee had the strongest Black middle class in the country,” said U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee. “Now it’s deemed the worst place in the country for Black children to grow up.”
Moore pointed to disappearing jobs, a lack of transportation to available jobs that pay living wages and predatory lenders as other reasons for the crisis.
“You can point to rising rent but it’s a lot less than rent in New York or California,” she said. “We have to look at what’s unique to this community.”
Bare said these things have happened in other places, but  they just happened here earlier, and Milwaukee has yet to recover.
“Macroeconomic factors like deindustrialization hit Milwaukee 10 to 20 years before it hit other cities,” he said. “That means we had an earlier failure of the housing market and loss of equity in families.”
In addition, the city has new housing barriers. Bonds pointed to unfair renting practices.
“Rent is extremely high in low-income areas,” she said. “And other research shows private equity firms who are allowed to buy a bunch of property and tend to evict tenants at a much higher rates than local and even out-of-state individual landlords.”
Bare and Heffner said the lack of available units is also hampering recovery.
A report by the Community Development Alliance, a group of community development funders and practitioners that collaborate on neighborhood improvement efforts in Milwaukee, identified the need for 32,000 additional Black and Latino homeowners and 32,000 rental units for families making $7.25 to $15 per hour.
The report from 2019 said in the city of Milwaukee, 55.8% of white people are homeowners, while 37.5% of Latinos are homeowners, and only 27% of people who are Black are homeowners.
Milwaukeeans have been making efforts to address the issue for years.
In 2018, the City of Milwaukee launched its 10,000 Homes Initiative to improve affordable housing opportunities for 10,000 households in the city in 10 years.
A report by the Wisconsin Policy Forum, said there are more than 70 organizations in the city serving people’s housing needs.
“While housing is the primary focus for some of those organizations, it is one of the multiple areas of focus for most,” the report noted. “Most responding organizations reported having partnered with at least one public sector organization within the last three years to provide housing services and/or to develop affordable housing.”
Organizations have been offering solutions to address these issues.
The Community Development Alliance identified a series of solutions in its 2021 report outlining an affordable housing plan for the city. These included post-purchase homeownership counseling and an acquisition fund to build affordable rental homes.
A 2020 Public Policy Institute report suggested a series of policy changes in its report on the health of renters. These included policies to preserve existing affordable housing and to expand tax-incremental financing for affordable housing developments.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum report also suggested solutions to housing challenges such as developing more affordable and mixed-income housing near employment centers.
“We just want to put the information in front of people,” said Joe Peterangelo, the senior researcher for the Wisconsin Policy Forum. “Hopefully, it informs and influences a conversation.”
(Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story unclearly stated the demography of homeownership in Milwaukee).
The Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council is working on providing access to more low-income families in the city.
And the Rental Housing Resource Center, which streamlines a series of housing services and service providers into one space and process, is open every day at
728 N. James Lovell St. to help people navigate their immediate housing needs. You can call them at (414) 895-RENT (7368).
Legal Action of Wisconsin is working to reduce how long evictions are on someone’s record.
Resources to consult if you’re worried about eviction
El alquiler en aumento, los salarios estancados y la falta de unidades disponibles han dejado a los habitantes de Milwaukee navegando una crisis de vivienda asequible. Esta crisis, dicen los expertos locales en vivienda, es un legado de las decisiones políticas pasadas de la ciudad.
Aunque la ciudad fue reconocida recientemente por no tener personas sin hogar, también ha sido el centro del escenario por su brecha de propiedad de vivienda, su oneroso nivel de desalojos y su escasez de viviendas.
La combinación ha dejado a muchos habitantes de Milwaukee sin opciones.
Esto era evitable.
Anne Bonds, profesora de geografía en la Universidad de Wisconsin-Milwaukee, dijo que estamos viendo el resultado de la línea roja, el proceso discriminatorio de negar servicios a los residentes en función de la raza o el origen étnico, y los convenios raciales se desarrollan en tiempo real.
“A la gente le gusta atribuir la segregación de la ciudad a las personas que viven donde se sienten cómodas y otras razones socioeconómicas”, dijo Bonds. “Pero la realidad es que los vecindarios son así por diseño”.
Ella dijo que las prácticas y políticas racialmente restrictivas canalizaron las inversiones a los suburbios, donde incluso ahora, el crecimiento del empleo que sostiene los salarios continúa ocurriendo fuera de la ciudad, lo que lleva a “una concentración de desventajas y una desinversión general en las comunidades urbanas”.
“Con el tiempo, las ideas de qué vecindarios son buenos y cuáles son malos se han reforzado”, dijo. “La periodista Jane Jacobs se refirió a lo que sucedió como una profecía autocumplida”.
Estas dinámicas se manifiestan de manera brutal incluso hoy en día.
“Hay muchos hogares en crisis”, dijo Deb Heffner, directora de estrategia de vivienda de Community Advocates, que brinda servicios y asistencia a los residentes necesitados. “La asistencia de alquiler es solo una solución curita para los problemas reales”.
La organización ha proporcionado fondos de asistencia para el alquiler a más de 15 000 personas desde 2020 y tiene alrededor de 4000 personas esperando asistencia.
Mike Bare, coordinador de investigación y programas de Community Advocates, dijo que la vivienda y la salud están vinculadas.
“Se puede trazar una línea recta desde los problemas de vivienda hasta los suicidios”, dijo Bare. “Entonces, lo que la gente podría ver como un problema de vivienda individual se convierte en un problema de salud pública y eso se convierte en todos nuestros problemas”.
Un  informe  realizado por el Instituto de Políticas Públicas de Defensores de la Comunidad dijo que los problemas de vivienda pueden provocar estrés crónico y que el estrés crónico puede tener graves consecuencias para la salud.
“La exposición constante y crónica a niveles elevados de estas hormonas puede dañar la salud de muchas maneras”, dijo el informe. Esto incluye presión arterial crónicamente elevada, que contribuyó al accidente cerebrovascular y la enfermedad cardíaca; azúcar en la sangre crónicamente alta, que puede conducir a la obesidad y la diabetes; y supresión crónica del sistema inmunológico, lo que deja a las personas más vulnerables a infecciones, cáncer y enfermedades autoinmunes.
Los expertos dicen que las políticas anteriores han dado forma al estado actual de la vivienda asequible.
“Aunque no se pueden hacer cumplir, algunos de esos convenios (restrictivos) todavía están en los libros”, dijo Bethany Sanchez, directora del Programa de Préstamos Justos del Consejo Metropolitano de Vivienda Justa de Milwaukee. “Este es el legado de nuestras elecciones pasadas”.
Ha sido un legado disruptivo.
“Hubo un momento en que Milwaukee tenía la clase media negra más fuerte del país”, dijo la representante federal Gwen Moore, demócrata de Milwaukee. “Ahora se considera el peor lugar del país para que crezcan los niños negros”.
Moore señaló la desaparición de trabajos, la falta de transporte a los trabajos disponibles que pagan salarios dignos y los prestamistas depredadores como otras razones de la crisis.
“Puede señalar el aumento de la renta, pero es mucho menos que la renta en Nueva York o California”, dijo. “Tenemos que ver qué es único en esta comunidad”.
Bare dijo que estas cosas sucedieron en otros lugares, pero aquí sucedieron antes, y Milwaukee aún no se ha recuperado.
“Los factores macroeconómicos como la desindustrialización afectaron a Milwaukee entre 10 y 20 años antes de que afectara a otras ciudades”, dijo. “Eso significa que tuvimos una falla anterior en el mercado de la vivienda y una pérdida de equidad en las familias”.
Además, la ciudad tiene nuevas barreras habitacionales. Bonds señaló prácticas injustas de alquiler.
“El alquiler es extremadamente alto en áreas de bajos ingresos”, dijo. “Y otra investigación muestra que las firmas de capital privado pueden comprar un montón de propiedades y tienden a desalojar a los inquilinos a tasas mucho más altas que los propietarios individuales locales e incluso fuera del estado”.
Bare y Heffner dijeron que la falta de unidades disponibles también está obstaculizando la recuperación.
Un informe de  Community Development Alliance , un grupo de financiadores y profesionales del desarrollo comunitario que colaboran en los esfuerzos de mejora de vecindarios en Milwaukee, identificó la necesidad de 32,000 propietarios negros y latinos adicionales y 32,000 unidades de alquiler para familias que ganan entre $7.25 y $15 por hora.
El informe de 2019 dijo que en la ciudad de Milwaukee, el 55,8% de los blancos son propietarios de viviendas, mientras que el 37,5% de los latinos son propietarios de viviendas y solo el 27% de las personas negras son propietarios de viviendas.
Los habitantes de Milwaukee han estado haciendo esfuerzos para abordar el problema durante años.
En 2018, la Ciudad de Milwaukee lanzó su Iniciativa 10,000 Hogares para mejorar las oportunidades de vivienda asequible para 10,000 hogares en la ciudad en 10 años.
Un  informe  del Foro de Políticas de Wisconsin dijo que hay más de 70 organizaciones en la ciudad que atienden las necesidades de vivienda de las personas.
“Si bien la vivienda es el enfoque principal para algunas de esas organizaciones, es una de las múltiples áreas de enfoque para la mayoría”, señaló el informe. “La mayoría de las organizaciones que respondieron informaron haberse asociado con al menos una organización del sector público en los últimos tres años para brindar servicios de vivienda y/o desarrollar viviendas asequibles”.
Las organizaciones han estado ofreciendo soluciones para abordar estos problemas.
La  Alianza de Desarrollo Comunitario  identificó una serie de soluciones en su informe de 2021 que describe un plan de vivienda asequible para la ciudad. Estos incluyeron asesoramiento sobre propiedad de vivienda posterior a la compra y un fondo de adquisición para construir viviendas de alquiler asequibles.
Un informe del Public Policy Institute de 2020 sugirió una serie de cambios de política en su informe sobre la salud de los inquilinos. Estas incluyeron políticas para preservar las viviendas asequibles existentes y para expandir el financiamiento incremental de impuestos para desarrollos de viviendas asequibles.
El  informe del Foro de Políticas de Wisconsin  también sugirió soluciones a los desafíos de la vivienda, como el desarrollo de viviendas más asequibles y de ingresos mixtos cerca de los centros de empleo.
“Solo queremos poner la información frente a la gente”, dijo Joe Peterangelo , investigador principal del Foro de Políticas de Wisconsin. “Con suerte, informa e influye en una conversación”.
(Nota del editor: una versión anterior de esta historia indicaba de manera poco clara la demografía de la propiedad de vivienda en Milwaukee).
El  Consejo Metropolitano de Vivienda Justa de Milwaukee  está trabajando para brindar acceso a más familias de bajos ingresos en la ciudad.
Y el Centro de recursos de viviendas de alquiler , que simplifica una serie de servicios de vivienda y proveedores de servicios en un solo espacio y proceso, está abierto todos los días en
728 N. James Lovell St. para ayudar a las personas a navegar por sus necesidades inmediatas de vivienda. Puede llamarlos al (414) 895-RENT (7368).
Legal Action of Wisconsin está trabajando para reducir la duración de los desalojos en el registro de alguien.
Recursos para consultar si te preocupa el desalojo


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Ricardo Pimentel
May 10, 2022


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5 things to know and do the weekend of May 13 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
May 13, 2022
It’s Friday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about. If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please submit your news by clicking here.
Magic Mike actor Victor Rivers, from the movie “Blood In, Blood Out” will be taking photos and signing memorabilia at this meet and greet, running from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 14 at 1225 S. Cesar E Chavez Drive.
Spring time means spring cleaning, including in community gardens. Cherry Street Community Garden is looking for volunteers to help clean up garden beds and get them ready for the season. The cleanup runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 14 at 1431 N. 23rd St. Sign up here.
Muskego Way Forward and Milwaukee Christian Center have organized a resource fair for youth of all ages, with free food, activities and live music by DJ Stretch of True Skool. There will be information about summer programs and internships as well. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 14 at South Division High School, located at 1515 W. Lapham Blvd.
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VIA, formerly known as Layton Boulevard West Neighbors, is hosting a plant sale from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 14 at 1530 S 38th St. Everything is between $1 and $6. There will be a purchase limit of $30 from 10 a.m. to noon. Afterward, you can return to purchase more plants. Questions? Email Kevin Solis at kevin@viacdc.org.
An indoor shopping experience curated for Black women looking to network and support Black women-owned businesses. The event also features music, giveaways, raffles, photo opportunities and live demonstrations. The event runs from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 15 at 5235 N. 35th St. RSVP to receive a welcome drink here.
The UW-Milwaukee Afro-Caribbean Jazz Group will be performing outdoors starting at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 15 on the patio of Riverwest Pizza, located at 932 E. Wright St.

author: Sam Woods


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52069641545_6dbc773bd1_b | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 12, 2022


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New Common Council President José Pérez draws on past experience to meet current challenges | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
May 13, 2022
As the first Latino Common Council president in Milwaukee’s history, José Pérez knows this distinction comes with added pressure.
“I feel it and welcome it. It’s an awesome honor to be the first,”  Pérez said. “But it won’t mean much if I don’t do a good job.”
Pérez, 53, was voted in unanimously by peers on the Common Council on April 19, succeeding Cavalier Johnson, who was elected mayor earlier that month.
Among the many challenges the Pérez faces in his new role, he said, are to re-energize and refocus the council to tackle major issues, including reckless driving, public safety and the aging infrastructure in the city.
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“These are topics that cross all boundaries that we need to unify on,” Pérez said.
He is also tasked with guiding the council to address the city’s growing fiscal crisis. Pérez said costs have gone up while revenue has decreased. Balancing the budget with federal dollars, such as pandemic aid, is not sustainable, he added. One solution, he said, is for an increase in shared state tax revenue or to create a new sales tax in the city.
We need to “work with the state and figure out how they can be more helpful,” he said. “I don’t want to cut any core services.”
Local and state leaders have pushed officials for years to increase the amount of state tax revenue that comes back to Milwaukee, where most of those taxes are collected. They’ve also requested a change in state law that would allow municipal taxes as a means to generate revenue.
JoCasta Zamarripa, alderwoman for the 8th District, said Perez has the ability to help bridge the fractured relationship between the city and state. She’s seen him do it before at the city level.
“He’s that member who will reach out and talk to all of us,” she said. “Even when there might be bad blood, José’s good about setting that aside for the good of the council and the good of his constituents.”
Pérez, who is married and has two teenagers,
said the ability to build relationships, even when people have philosophical or personal differences, goes back to the fundamentals of organizing.
He first honed that skill as a volunteer community organizer working on landlord and other issues for Milwaukee Inner-City Congregations Allied for Hope, or MICAH, an interfaith organization that addresses justice issues in Milwaukee.
“You make no assumptions about people; you sit down and learn what’s important to them,” Pérez said. “You go down the road with someone and build that relationship, then you ask them to either trust you or you’re figuring out how you can work together.”
Pérez, who dropped out of Pulaski High School in 1986 and quickly earned his GED, built relationships as an organizer for years before being drawn into politics. That trajectory began when he enrolled in Cardinal Stritch University in the mid- 1990s. At the time there was no political science major at the school, but Pérez took those classes anyways.
In between classes he spent one summer interning for U.S. Rep. Jerry Kleczka, D-Milwaukee, in Washington D.C., through the Hispanic Congressional Caucus Institute, and another as an intern for former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist.
Pérez then returned to his roots as executive director of MICAH, helping to establish the Good Jobs and Livable Neighborhoods Coalition, among other accomplishments. He also worked as a national field representative for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrialized Organizations, or AFL-CIO, and had positions with the Department of City Development in Milwaukee.
Around 2012, his taste for politics returned and he ran for alderman of District 12 on the city’s South Side. It was around that time that Jesús Salas, one of the most respected activists in the Milwaukee Latinx community’s history, first met Pérez. Salas said at the time he was going door-to-door on the South Side to drum up support to recall former Gov.  Scott Walker  when he noticed someone else hitting the pavement.
“He was knocking on doors, too,” Salas recalled. “I saw him on the streets daily talking to residents.”
Salas said he remains impressed by Pérez and said it’s obvious that his colleagues feel the same.
“Well, I think that was demonstrated by the fact that he was given the unanimous vote to become Common Council president,” Salas said. “They saw his performance during his time in the city and believed in him.”
Born in Milwaukee and raised on the city’s South Side by his Puerto Rico-born parents and grandparents, Pérez had a childhood much like many others in the neighborhood in the 1980s. He spent his time outside, played Little League baseball and shot hoops at different neighborhood playgrounds.
Joining Pérez in those pickup games was Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Pedro Colón.
“I want it on the record that I beat him at basketball in the seventh grade,” Colón joked.
Colón and Pérez both attended St. Matthews School, now Prince of Peace School, on South 25th and West Scott streets. Even then, he said, Pérez was intense and serious about the rules and fair play. He said he knew Pérez would be successful.
“He always had that poise, and he was smart and always had something to tell you,” he said.
Colón said while he was the type of kid who never crossed Greenfield Avenue, Pérez ventured into other neighborhoods to play pickup games. As he traveled into different neighborhoods on the South Side, Pérez became more exposed to street gangs, which peaked in the city in the ’80s and  ’90s.
“When we grew up, it was tough, all the gangs over there at Kagel,” said Perez about the neighborhood around South 12th and West Mineral streets. “We witnessed some stuff that was kind of wild, and when it got hairy, you made your way home.”
Pérez would eventually parlay those experiences into work developing gang prevention and youth development programs.
His grandparents were his greatest influence, however.
“I have to go back to the beginning and give credit for that to my grandparents, how hard they worked and how humble they were,” said Pérez, who split his time between his parents’ house on South 10th and Washington streets and his grandparents’ home on South Fifth and West Pierce streets.
His grandmother, Celine Arce, worked at a number of local factories, including a tannery, while his grandfather, José E. Pérez, made a career at Grede Foundries in the Walker’s Point neighborhood. Pérez said his grandfather worked on molds at Grede until his body would no longer allow it. He moved to doing janitorial work for the company until he retired.
“He kept his head down and took care of his family,” Pérez said.
With his values driving him, Pérez has his plate full when it comes to challenges.
Zamarripa said she sat down with Pérez and Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic recently to discuss issues related to neighborhoods without working streetlights.
“We can’t have them living in the dark,” Zamarripa said. “These streetlights are archaic and need to be replaced.”
On Tuesday, the Common Council adopted a resolution to allocate $10 million from the second wave of funding from the American Rescue Plan Act in addition to the $10 million from the first allocation to replace street lighting circuits in the city.
It’s just another example of the many areas where residents have struggled and city officials can come together to find solutions.
“The challenges are huge but José is the type of person who can build consensus to solve them,” said Colón, who called Pérez the most influential Latino in the state.
He also believes that, in his new role, Pérez will influence the next generation of Latinos to aspire to reach new heights.
“There are a lot of kids that are coming behind us and the influence is going to be huge,” he said. “It’s really the biggest thing that’s happened in a while in the Latino community.”
Pérez said he hopes to be an example for others.
“There’s nothing that you can’t do if you really want to do it,” he said. “I hope that I can be inspirational for people.”

author: Edgar Mendez


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Dwayne Burtin
May 12, 2022


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Dwayne Burtin
May 12, 2022


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5 things to know and do this week in Milwaukee: May 16 to May 20 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
May 16, 2022
It’s Monday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about. If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please submit your news by clicking here.
The American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, gave cities and counties hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government to spend on community needs. Learn about how those dollars are being spent at this information session organized by the African American Roundtable. The virtual session runs from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 17. Register to attend here.
Washington Park Wednesdays hasn’t officially started, but you can show support now and have fun doing it. Drinks, food, music and bowling are open from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 18 at Sanders Super Bowl, organized by Washington Park Wednesdays, located at 3827 W. Vliet St.
Hear from the next generation of storytellers as they speak on the theme of middle school at this StorySlam organized by Ex Fabula. Expect stories about mentors, schoolbooks, bullies and more. Doors open at 4:30 p.m., stories are told between 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 19 at Newline Café, located at 3618 W. Pierce St.
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Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa joins the first of a series of coffee with elected officials, organized by VIA Community Development Corporation. The event runs from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 19 at 5Wise Workshop, located at 3524 W. National Ave.
Teens ages 14 to 19 years old can get a free membership at Planet Fitness now through Aug. 31. More details here.
If you feel that your property tax assessments from the city are inaccurate, the deadline to appeal is 4:45 p.m. on Monday, May 16. Appeals can be filed online here. If you want to file a paper form, you can email a request for a form to assessor@milwaukee.gov, use the city’s Ask the Assessor web form or call 414-286-6565.


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39903428533_5e3e3b3858_k-2 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 15, 2022


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Legit landlords do exist. And Ihsan Atta is trying to prove it. | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
PrincessSafiya Byers
May 17, 2022
Good landlords exist.
Ihsan Atta, aware of a bevy of negative news about landlords emanating from coverage of the city’s housing crisis – including a spate of evictions – wants people to know that.
His company, Opus Corporation, owns residential and commercial properties in the Riverwest neighborhood and surrounding areas.
Atta contacted News414, the joint project between NNS and the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism that uses innovative technology and research techniques to deliver crucial information to residents, with that in mind. NNS then contacted him.
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His properties range from senior-based apartments to places where residents work with people with cognitive disabilities. They include the building that holds the George Floyd mural on North Holton Street and East North Avenue and the one that has a Brianna Taylor mural in the alley on North Holton and East Locust streets.
He said learning the culture of the neighborhoods where he owns property is one way he avoids trouble.
“Understanding the little nuances to each neighborhood makes it a little easier to handle issues that may arise,” he said. “For example, if I know my tenant lost a family member: Understanding that it is a cultural practice to have a lot of visitors after death, it is easier to address when their neighbor calls me concerned about traffic in her building.”
Atta said relationships matter.
“Having a relationship with the people you are working with just makes things easier,” he said. “Sometimes people are surprised to see the relationships I have with my tenants.”
Mattie Mallott was one of those people.
Mallott, 70, has been renting from Atta for the past 18 years and said she’d never had a landlord so professional and friendly.
“I rarely have problems, but when I do, I know it will be fixed quickly,” she said. “I don’t have to wait weeks or call Ihsan multiple times to get things handled.”
She said his professionalism is why she has rented from him for so long, but his friendly nature is the icing on the cake.
“He does things like getting us Christmas gifts every year,” she said. “And when my husband passed four years ago, not only did he show up to the funeral, but he also reached out to see if I needed a decrease or assistance with rent because he knew we’d lost a second income.”
Dorrian Malone, who has been renting from Atta for almost six years, shared Malott’s’ appreciation for the landlord.
“Ihsan is quick to handle any maintenance issue I might have,” he said. “And he is always willing to be patient and work with me if I need it.”
Atta said he is fortunate to have the capacity to extend grace to his tenants when they need it, but he understands that not all landlords can do that.
“I’m not a huge landlord, but I have other things going on, so I can be more flexible,” he said. “Not all landlords are as fortunate.”
Atta said some people don’t understand how the investment property business works. So when you mix that misunderstanding with the predatory landlords who get attention, you can get an unfair narrative about landlords.
“Like it or not, this is a business,” he said. “Property owners are paying increased utility cost and for labor when anything goes wrong or needs updating as well as paying for tools and equipment.”
He said no other business is expected to provide a service and get no returns.
“Most of us are good people just trying to make it,” he said. “But a small percentage of them make it look bad for all of us.”
Atta got into real estate 26 years ago. When he initially got into the business, he was fixing up houses and putting them back on the market, then he started investing in rental properties. Now Opus Corporation serves as a parent company for the investment property business, a construction and remodeling business and wholesale and retail vinyl and aluminum windows business.
Atta said he strives to make sure all his units are in conditions that he would be comfortable living in. He said he gets routine inspections done, communicates often and gives notice of any changes well in advance.
“I believe that anywhere can be a nice place to live,” he said.
To subscribe, text the word MILWAUKEE, MKE or NEWS414 to 73224.


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51989097973_a02d6e38fb_o | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 16, 2022


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Alverno tackles sobering statistic | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Alverno College
May 18, 2022
This May, as commencement ceremonies occur across the country, Alverno College will celebrate a special group of graduates while simultaneously addressing a sobering statistic in higher education.
According to the Council of Graduate Schools, graduation rates for doctoral degree candidates can be as low as 50%. In many cases, this figure represents students who have invested thousands of dollars in their doctoral degrees, and completed the required coursework and exams, but have not yet satisfied their dissertation requirements.
At an average length of 150 to 300 pages, a dissertation is no mere term paper. It represents years of academic study, and the amount of time and research it requires is a major factor for doctoral candidates who languish in “all but dissertation” status.
Milwaukee-based Alverno College is hoping to change that. Having launched an all but dissertation track in its online Doctor of Education program, the college is combining a dissertation-integrated curriculum with its own innovative approach to the Ed.D. degree. On May 21, the first cohort to complete the ABD track will graduate.
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“For many concentrations, our doctorate in education has been designed to provide dissertation support from day one, allowing students to complete their dissertations in lock-step with their coursework,” said Alverno Doctorate in Education Program Director Jim Heiden, Ph.D. “We recognize that students in our all-but-dissertation program are coming in at different points in their dissertation progress, and we truly meet each student, each adult learner, exactly where they are and provide them with rigorous, engaging, independent, interdependent, inspiring learning that leads them to the attainment of their doctoral degree.”
While completion times can vary by institution and discipline, it typically takes an average of five to seven years after starting graduate school to obtain a doctoral degree. Because it builds on a student’s previous coursework, Alverno’s accelerated, 30-credit, ABD program is designed to be completed in two with each year containing a fall, spring and summer semester.
Students enrolled in Alverno’s online ABD program will ultimately earn a Doctor of Education with a concentration in teaching and learning in higher education — one of three online Ed.D. concentrations offered by the college.
As with all of its degree programs at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate levels, Alverno’s ABD students benefit from the college’s award-winning, abilities-based assessment criteria. Alverno is a global leader in this respect and received the 2021 Trudy W. Banta Lifetime Achievement in Assessment Award, which recognizes national leaders in assessment work. Traditionally an individual award, Alverno was the first institution to receive the prestigious honor.
“At Alverno, we don’t use letter or number grades,” said Director of Graduate Programs Desiree Pointer-Mace, Ph.D. “We measure progress against the successful attainment of course outcomes. Each course has a very clear set of course outcomes, and as students progress, they get regular feedback from faculty and engage in regular self-assessment in relation to specific criteria.”
According to Pointer-Mace, it’s a transformative practice, particularly for ABD students. “They come to our education doctoral program, and without exception, they are delighted and surprised at how we upend their expectations of online learning because they didn’t expect to be on a first-name basis with their faculty, and they didn’t expect to have meaningful relationships with colleagues who live all over the country, and yet, they do.”
Josef Vice can vouch for that. “I never imagined I would have one-on-one meetings for an hour every two weeks with an advisor who would spend that time with me and help me with the specific issues I’m having and keep me on track.”
Vice, who lives in Georgia, has been stalled in ABD status since the 1980s. Now he’s hoping to complete Alverno’s Ed.D. program at the end of this year and ahead of schedule. “I have my first proposal defense next Friday, and that’s because of that combination of working with someone one-on-one and also with my committee,” he said. “I can’t believe that, in the last two weeks, they have read three revised drafts, given me extensive feedback each step of the way, helped me at every stage and supported me. On top of that, my classmates are cheering me on, and I’m doing the same thing for them, so it works very well, and it’s totally unique. I don’t know of any other program like this, and I looked high and low.”
Sharyn Warren is another Alverno student and an assistant professor in the business division of the School of Professional Studies at Alverno College. She’s also a member of the college’s first ABD cohort.
“My story starts in 2008, and as I’m meeting more ABD students, I’m learning that many of them have long histories of being ABD and not being able to finish.”
Warren completed her doctoral coursework in 2010 at another institution. Then life intervened, and despite attempting several times to restart her dissertation, it was 2020 before her path crossed with Alverno’s newly launched ABD concentration.
“They met me where I was,” she said. “That is an absolutely true statement. Alverno understands that learners are unique, and each person’s dissertation is different. This journey is one that requires commitment and time management, but it’s manageable. I’m happy, and I’m very excited to be an Alverno alumna soon.”
Warren will graduate this spring, and along with the rest of the class of 2022, she’ll don her cap and gown and wait expectantly for her name to be called. She’ll walk across the stage and smile as she accepts her degree, and in so doing, she’ll step outside the ABD statistics and into the esteemed percentage of scholars who hold a doctoral degree and a special place in the ever-evolving history of Alverno College.
About Alverno College
Founded in 1887 by the School Sisters of St. Francis, Alverno College promotes the academic, personal and professional development of its students in a collaborative and inclusive environment. Undergraduate programs for women are offered in more than 60 areas of study, and graduate programs in education, nursing, community psychology, school psychology, music therapy, music and liturgy, and business are open to women and men.
A leader in higher education innovation, Alverno has earned international accolades for its highly effective ability-based, assessment-as-learning approach to education, which emphasizes hands-on experience and develops in-demand skills. The college, Wisconsin’s first Hispanic-Serving Institution, ranks among the top schools in the Midwest for its commitment to undergraduate teaching and innovation by U.S. News & World Report. For two years, The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education named Alverno the country’s most inspiring college.
Based in Milwaukee, Wis., Alverno College is a four-year independent, Catholic, liberal arts college.

author: Alverno College


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How to check your landlord’s background | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
PrincessSafiya Byers
May 18, 2022
This year started with a surge in eviction filings that caused a ripple effect impacting the court system, tenants and potential relocation attempts.
This was not the first time many Milwaukeeans have experienced eviction or had bad experiences with landlords and property owners.
But there are ways to check out landlords before renting, local housing experts say.
One of the methods is MKE Evict, a site that tracks evictions in the city. It was created by the Wisconsin Policy Forum and UEDA, to focus on effective ways to prevent eviction.
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According to MKE Evict, there have been more than 2,500 eviction filings this year alone.
It offers tips on how tenants can check the backgrounds of landlords and property owners when looking for a new residence.
There are caveats, however.
“It’s important to note that even if you take all of these steps, it may not paint the full picture of who the person or company is,” said Raphael Ramos, Legal Action of Wisconsin’s Eviction Defense Project director.
Legal Action advocates for low-income residents facing evictions and other legal difficulties.
Robert Penner, an organizer of the Milwaukee Autonomous Tenants Union, said a good way to start is by doing a quick Google search.
“Reading a few Google reviews can help you get a feel for the company you plan to rent from,” he said.
The Milwaukee Autonomous Tenants Union organizes to challenge evictions, makes tenants aware of their rights and sometimes takes on negligent landlords.
If you aren’t planning to rent from a large property owner, Penner said a property search is one way to go.
“You can check the property data on the City of Milwaukee website,” he said. “If you click the city assessor’s link, that’ll tell you about any code violations the home may have.”
Penner said the site will also give you the property owner’s name so that you can do a background check on them as well.
A property data search will tell you when code violations occurred and if they were addressed, as well as street and parking information for the area, schools in the area, the nearest fire and police stations and where you can vote.
Noting another avenue of inquiry, Penner said, “You can use CCAP to find information on evictions and other court records on the property owner.”
Anyone can access CCAP to find public court records through the site.
Ramos said you can check how often a landlord or property owner evicts by using the MKE Evict site.
The site has data on evictions from 2016 to now and can tell you how often an eviction has occurred and the outcome of the eviction.
“Fewer evictions are usually better,” he said.
Penner said to make this practice easy you should bookmark these tools on your phone or computer.
“I know it can be time-consuming,” Penner said. “But spending that hour or so doing a little research can be helpful.”
Ramos said tenant training programs through the Department of Neighborhood Services are helpful tools to use when renting.
The Milwaukee Autonomous Tenants Union connects tenants to resources and helps tenants educate and advocate for themselves
Both the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee and Legal Action of Wisconsin offer assistance to people facing evictions.
Rental Housing Resource Center is streamlining housing services for people in need of education, assistance or legal help.


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Post From Community: Join CFMKE today for mayor’s design award ceremony | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Rafael Garcia
May 18, 2022
MEDIA ADVISORY
Minority-Run Non-Profit Housing Agency Community First MKE Selected for
Mayor’s Design Awards for 37th Street School Apartments
Join us TODAY, May 18 for Award Ceremony
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What: 37 Street School Historical Senior Apartments, the former Washington Park neighborhood school that was converted into affordable apartments for seniors, was recently announced as a Mayor’s Design Awards recipient. Community First MKE (CFMKE), a Milwaukee minority-run non-profit affordable housing agency, is the developer of the project.
Who: Executive Director and Founder Rafael Garcia of Community First MKE
When: Wednesday, May 18, 2022 | 5 pm CST
Where: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning
2131 E. Hartford Ave.
Why: The Mayor’s Design Awards were designed to honor Milwaukee projects that have added value to their neighborhoods by restoring, constructing or enhancing their properties in a way that respects the urban fabric and contributes to the character of their surroundings.
Contact: For interviews or additional information, please contact Executive Director and Founder Rafael Garcia of Community First MKE at Rgarcia@cfmke.org or 414) 409-4192.
# # #
About Community First MKE
Community First MKE (CFMKE) is an affordable housing agency. Our mission is to improve the quality of life for Milwaukee residents and their neighborhoods by developing quality, safe, and affordable housing opportunities for individuals and families, while promoting self-sufficiency and neighborhood revitalization. We accomplish our mission by partnering with community members and partner organizations to provide critical home repairs and various long term, wrap-around support services, such as ongoing financial literacy and home maintenance training.
CFMKE was founded in 2011 to continue the mission of the YMCA-CDC of Metropolitan Milwaukee while serving the families and neighborhoods on the North side of Milwaukee. Since then, we have gone citywide and into Wauwatosa, performing the same work. We have spent the last 10 years educating and working towards the development of affordable housing.

author: Rafael Garcia


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Bill backed by Gwen Moore broadens Medicaid payouts for doulas and midwives | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Matt Martinez
May 19, 2022
In a move to improve access for mothers and families, congressional legislation would broaden Medicaid payouts available for doulas and midwives.
U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore originally introduced the “Mamas First Act” in 2019. The bill would require state Medicaid programs to cover doula and midwife services for expecting families, including care before, after and during the baby’s birth.
Currently, doula services are not fully covered by Wisconsin’s Medicaid programs. Doulas are certified birth workers who provide support services before, during and after birth for mothers and their families.
Medicaid is a state-provided insurance program that provides low-income residents with coverage for medical costs.
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Lyanne Jordan, executive director and visionary steward for Maroon Calabash, a local maternal health organization, explained that the difference between doulas and other birth workers is often the deeper relationship between the mother and the birth worker.
“Whereas when you go to a doctor’s office and they may know your name, they may know your personal history and information, but they may not know that your kid is taking piano or that your grandma just died,” Jordan said. “They may not sit with you and ask you, ‘Truly, how was your birth experience?’”
Midwives support clinical services for expecting mothers in addition to counseling and support. A certified midwife can perform medical tasks such as delivery and diagnostic testing, which distinguishes them from doulas.
The bill would provide funding for doulas and midwives across the country, but Moore said this presents a significant opportunity for Milwaukee, where maternal and infant health have been a consistent concern.
According to a recently released maternal mortality report, charting the years 2016 to 2017 from the state Department of Health Services, 85% of the state’s pregnancy-associated deaths occurred in urban settings. About 58% of those who died were enrolled in Medicaid at the time. A total of 80 deaths occurred from 2016 to 2017, the report said.
Roughly 52% of deaths in that time period were attributable to mental health issues, including substance abuse and overdoses. The report identified 97% of these deaths as preventable.
Moore said the legislation would help increase care to reduce maternal mortality. Moore, who used midwives during some of her own pregnancies, said that birth workers could provide a “support system” for mothers by helping to ensure they go to the doctor’s office and serving an advocate in the exam room.
Moore said since some women of color are not taken seriously in medical settings, having someone there to navigate is critical.
“There are so many women who are not assertive with health care professionals, and it has cost women their lives,” Moore said. “This is a real barrier – especially for women of color – to be taken seriously by some health-care institutions.”
Nicole Miles, manager of the Milwaukee Health Department’s Birth Outcomes Made Better Doula program, which provides doula services in the city, said imperfections within the current Medicaid payout system will need to be addressed for the legislation to be effective.
Midwifery services in the state currently have some coverage from Medicaid, but Miles said many midwives don’t receive the maximum allowable payment from the state for services. Certain requirements may need to be met to get payment and costs for services can vary, making it hard to ensure a livable wage for providers.
“Yes, it’s important that Medicaid is covering it, but at what cost?” Miles said. “You say this is valuable, but how much are you willing to give to this? … It has to be explicit.”
Miles emphasized the importance of training midwives and doulas in how to submit payment codes for Medicaid reimbursement and the specific requirements to receive the maximum allowances.
Miles said the legislation was a step in the right direction, especially since many private insurers change policies after Medicaid does.
Jordan said the need for financial support among doulas and midwives is great, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There’s so many Black and brown midwives I know who are juggling their own personal practice, their family life and fundraising for their clients,” Jordan said. “They’re out there hunting for dollars, asking their friends and families and communities to support families in birthing because the finances just aren’t there.”
Jordan said she wanted to see the legislation be more ambitious in its goals and felt more was needed to support birth workers in Milwaukee.
“Economic equity is a crucial part of ensuring that BIPOC middle-birth workers are being asked to care for the community at rates that are not exploitative, that are not harmful – rates that don’t lack equity and sustainability,” Jordan said.
If done correctly, Jordan said the legislation could be a great addition for a group of medical professionals who needs support. Providing more sustainable options for expecting families, including doula and midwife services, could lead to better outcomes she said.
“If people can mix and match and create the kind of experience that they want, that would be incredible,” Jordan said. “And then they’re doing so with birth workers that aren’t going to be burnt out in three years because they’re literally gifting their profession to the community and there’s no system of reciprocity.”
The bill was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on April 7. If it passes through the committee, it will get a vote on the House floor, inching another step closer to becoming law.
In case you missed it: NNS Spotlight: How Maroon Calabash is addressing Black maternal deaths by building on a history of midwifery


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46934948455_013dc395c4_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 18, 2022


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Post From Community: Veritas High School gives back to Feeding America | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Seeds of Health schools
May 19, 2022
NEWS RELEASE
For more information, or to schedule an interview, contact:
Marcia Spector, Executive Director – Seeds of Health, Inc.
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mspector@seedsofhealth.org
414-390-0841
www.seedsofhealth.org
Veritas High School Celebrates 20 Years of Education… By Giving Back to Feeding America
MILWAUKEE, WI (May 19, 2022) Veritas High School, a college preparatory school chartered by the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and part of Seeds of Health, Inc., is pleased to celebrate its 20th anniversary this spring. Veritas High School officially opened its doors to students in 2001 and has been educating Milwaukee’s urban youth ever since. As part of their celebration, Seeds of Health partnered with Feeding America challenging staff, students, and families to help raise money for meals for Feeding America.
The History and Mission of Veritas High School
This spirit of giving back is nothing new at Veritas, for weaving in character-building lessons and real-life examples with a solid curriculum were part of the vision for Veritas from the very beginning. Executive Director Marcia Spector explains, “After studying Wisconsin’s charter school law and understanding the need for a public high school program that would focus on addressing the diverse educational, emotional, and social development of Milwaukee’s urban youth, Seeds of Health decided to pursue opening its first non-instrumentality charter school. We envisioned a high school program that not only would give students an exceptional college-prep education but would also expose them to the values that build exceptional character.”
The Cornerstone of a Veritas Education
As the idea for Veritas was simmering, a conversation between Spector and George Goens (one of education’s most prominent voices) helped shape the cornerstone of what Veritas would become. Spector explains, “One day, while contemplating the meaning of life, George and I found ourselves remembering a quote from Mortimer Adler – ‘The ultimate end of education is happiness or a good human life, a life enriched by the possession of every kind of good, by the enjoyment of every type of satisfaction.’  It was then that we envisioned a high school with a challenging curriculum that would be complemented by the examination of Adler’s six essential questions: What is truth, goodness, beauty, liberty, equality, and justice. With that in mind, Mortimer Adler’s six essential questions were used as the cornerstone for the creation of Veritas High School in 2001.”
Principal Stephanie Nook sees these questions being lived out each day in the students at Veritas.  Nook, who started at Veritas in the fall of 2021, was drawn to the school because of the possibilities she can see in the students and staff. “This is a school that has historically demonstrated success with students and longevity with staff. I was excited at the prospect of joining Veritas and establishing culture with the staff and students here.” Nook is right about the longevity of staff – staff members tend to stay at SOH for many years. For example, Sherry Tolkan served as principal of Veritas for 18 years until her retirement and now serves as Director of Leadership and Program Development for all SOH schools.
Endless Possibilities at Veritas
Veritas is a rigorous community-based school that is continuing to evolve and expand while keeping its reputation for providing exceptional college-prep education. This is accomplished through the delivery of a challenging high school curriculum that includes honors courses and advanced placement courses in math, social studies, and foreign language. Veritas classes are designed to meet the needs of its students and community, such as classes like Spanish for Heritage Speakers and Spanish for Beginners. All work centers around the Veritas mission and central belief that strong relationships and character building are the keys to student success. The philosophy and the core values of Adler’s six essential questions serve as the foundation upon which relationships are initiated and maintained.
Nook has seen these core values in action. “I can honestly say the one constant here at Veritas is the community. This is a relationship-based school. Our students connect deeply with our teachers and one another. Care and support radiate through these halls and classrooms. It’s this palpable energy that keeps us going!”
Clubs, Sports, and Partnerships
Along with the rigorous curriculum, Veritas also offers after-school clubs and activities. In addition, Veritas further develops meaningful relationships and encourages character development through an outstanding mentor program in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee. After twenty years of hard work and commitment, relationships and character building are at the center of the Veritas mission and are inherent in a challenging curriculum that develops well-educated, well-rounded young adults.
Students Feel at Home at Veritas.
Perhaps the best measure of success of a school comes from the students themselves. Students said they chose Veritas for many reasons including: “the college prep classes,” “because the class sizes are small and students receive a lot of help from teachers,” and “Veritas is one of the top schools that’s recognized by many and will help students get into a good college.” Other students chose Veritas because it’s a family affair. Many students followed in the footsteps of siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and parents to pursue a Veritas education. Finally, many reported that they appreciated the available college prep and AP courses, and the fact that counselors talk to students and their families starting in 9th grade for post-high school planning.
Veritas Graduates Attract Local and National Attention
The rigorous coursework and careful planning and guidance from teachers and counselors at Veritas greatly benefit students. Veritas graduates are recognized on the local and national level for their academic achievements with yearly scholarship offerings.  As of this month, 2022 Veritas graduates have been offered over 8 million dollars in college scholarships.
Alumni Appreciate their Veritas Education
Veritas graduates are walking success stories, proving that the education and values taught at Veritas do pay off. Joselyne Lorelei Morales graduated from Veritas in 2014 and can’t say enough good things about her experience at Veritas. Morales says she owes her success to Veritas, “My college experience has been great!  I am student teaching in an elementary school for a quarter of the semester. After that quarter, I’ll go to Veritas high school to student teach for the rest of my last semester, and then I will graduate. I aspire to be an art teacher and help students by introducing self-love inside art. Another of my aspirations is to be an artist and a teacher as well. What I mean is to be an artist that will exhibit the artwork or sell as an independent artist. I wouldn’t have gotten this far without Veritas’s help. The teachers helped me to be successful in my studies and to be able to graduate to go to the path of the university. Veritas also helped me get into UWM with no stress in feeling not accepted in the UWM application. I am grateful for all the help Veritas gave me to go this far in my career path.”
Morales now has the opportunity to give back and influence future Veritas graduates – she’s been hired as the new art teacher to replace veteran teacher Vicki Cottrell. Cottrell is one of the original art teachers and will be retiring after 20 years.
Another alumnus, Xiong Her, recently moved to LA for his first year of Ph.D. study in Higher Education and Organizational Changes at UCLA. Her says, “Veritas has helped and prepared me for higher education. All the teachers were highly motivated and supportive of students’ learnings and dreams. Teachers always encouraged students to step outside of their comfort zone and challenged them to define themselves and their learnings. Veritas’ values and support guided my studies and helped me to become the scholar I am today. Thanks to all the wonderful teachers and staff of Veritas HS.”
Veritas Celebrates By Giving Back
In true Veritas fashion, the school is choosing to celebrate its anniversary in the spirit of giving back – to Feeding America. Veritas will wind down the school year with a get-together for Veritas staff, students, families, and alumni on June 18 at Veritas.  In keeping with the mission of “giving back,” a “hot dog with chips picnic lunch” can be purchased for $1.00 with all proceeds going to Feeding America of Wisconsin. Each $1.00 donation will provide 4 meals for Milwaukee families in need.  In addition, online donations to Feeding America in honor of Veritas’ 20th Anniversary are appreciated.  Information for donating can be found on the Veritas High School Website.
Seeds of Health will take a moment to have an official anniversary celebration in the fall when it hosts an Open House for families, students, alumni, and staff. All will be able to gather together and celebrate the past and future success stories that come from a Veritas education.
About Seeds of Health, Inc.
Founded in 1983, Seeds of Health, Inc. is the only K4-12 charter school agency in the state of Wisconsin serving approximately 1,300 students in four high schools and a K4-8 elementary program. In addition, Seeds of Health, Inc. has the WIC – Women, Infants, and Children Program. The five individual and unique education programs serve a broad range of student needs – from at-risk to college-bound. Seeds of Health is Milwaukee’s innovative “homegrown” answer to imaginative, collaborative, and cutting-edge education options, with the vision to positively impact the growth and development of urban children. For more information, please visit www.seedsofhealth.org.
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author: Seeds of Health schools


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Veritas-and-SOH-Logo.JPG | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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May 19, 2022


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5 things to know and do the weekend of May 20 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
May 20, 2022
It’s Friday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about. If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please submit your news by clicking here at least two weeks in advance.
1. Marcus Mosiah Garvey Junior Garden Kickoff: Friday, May 20
The Marcus Mosiah Garvey Junior Garden, a garden rooted in history and youth empowerment, is looking for volunteers to haul dirt, plant beds and beautify the space. Stop by between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Friday, May 20 at 3052 N. 27th St. More information here.
2. Malcolm X Bike Ride: Saturday, May 21
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Honor the life and legacy of Malcolm X, who would have turned 97 years old this past Thursday, May 19, through communal biking around the Old North Milwaukee neighborhood and surrounding area. Bikers should meet at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 21 at the Uhuru Sasa (Freedom Now) Mural at 3120 W. Villard Ave. Route details here.
3. Grocery Giveaway and Cookout: Saturday, May 21
Dream Team United MKE, a coalition formed to respond to community needs related to COVID-19, will be hosting a grocery giveaway and cookout from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 21 at 1313 W. Reservoir Ave.
4. “It Takes a Village” Cleanup: Saturday, May 21
Those in the Milwaukee College Prep 38th Street community or surrounding neighborhood are invited to help beautify the area around the school from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 21. Meet at the Milwaukee College Prep 38th Street campus at 2623 N. 38th St.
5. Spring Festival at the MMSD West Basin: Saturday, May 21
The Northwest Side Community Development Corporation invites neighbors to its spring festival, which will feature “activities, plant giveaways, games, snacks, music, prizes, & more!” The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 21 at MMSD West Basin, located at 4350 N. 35th St.
BONUS: “On Site: Derrick Adams”: Block Party: Saturday, May 21
This lakefront block party builds on themes from the ongoing Milwaukee Art Museum exhibit about Derrick Adams, an artist who reframes historical Black narratives and examines the role of the media in shaping identity. Activities range from line dancing to gallery tours to spades tournaments. Food trucks will be present. Stop by between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 21 at 700 N. Art Museum Drive. This event will be held rain or shine.


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35425286083_bb7099b3f0_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 19, 2022


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The Healistry Summit takes aims at Milwaukee mental wellness | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Matt Martinez
May 20, 2022
A community event on Saturday  wants to give residents new tools to manage their mental health, drawing from experts around the city.
The Healistry Summit will focus on healing and coping methods for people of color during the pandemic. The event will also discuss the importance of mental health and mindfulness and destigmatizing services.
La’Ketta Caldwell is the founder of Keytalife, an organization that advocates and empowers youth to discover their purpose, and she is co-founder of Raising The Bar, a nonprofit that provides mentorship and opportunities for youth and adults. She said that the event is meant to provide a space for community healing. The work began during the pandemic with events tailored toward women to share their healing and coping strategies.
The event is a partnership between Keytalife, Raising The Bar, the All of Us Research Program, a health database from the National Institutes for Health, and Unity Gospel House of Prayer, a church on the city’s North Side.
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Caldwell said the goal of the summit is to bring together people doing powerful work inside the community who can speak to each individual.
“We’re stronger together,” Caldwell said.
The event is Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 1748 N. 13 St., at the Unity Event and Resource Center.
Those interested can register on Eventbrite. The event is free.
Caldwell said they hope to have roughly 70 people for the first event to make sure sessions can still be personal for attendees; they had roughly 40 signed up as of Thursday.
Harry Evans, founder of Heal Black Man, a group that engages Black men with yoga and wellness services, said that he hopes to share his tips with attendees on how to live a balanced life.
Part of that balanced life includes exercise such as yoga, and meditation, which allows people to take a break from their everyday lives and helps clear their minds.
Evans said sometimes participants are skeptical. Their preconceived notion might be that yoga isn’t “for them.”
Usually, they get over that quickly, he said.
“You can see it — it allows them to relax a bit, then we have a bit of dialogue after,” Evans said. “That’s the goal, getting men in the habit of expressing themselves.”
Lakesha Jones, a licensed professional counselor who will lead a breakout group for women at the event, said participants will engage in activities that encourage positive thoughts and affirmations.
It will also help people identify ways to manage their mental health, including an activity where participants will have a list of techniques and coping methods. They’ll identify which ones they would be willing to try.
“We’re going to help people add another tool to their toolbelt,” Jones said.
For breakout-session speaker Ed Hennings, the man he is today has been 25 years in the making. Since 2016, Hennings has become the owner of three businesses around the city and started his own motivational speaking engagements. In the 20 years before that, he was serving time in a 40-year prison sentence for first-degree reckless homicide.
When Hennings, a resident of 53206, speaks about it now, he talks about “the worst decision of his life.” He was drawn into a lifestyle with “intoxicating freedom” and a chance to earn money for himself. It was doubt in himself that led him down the path.
The 20 years that Hennings spent in prison were part of that process, he said. It helped him realize the truth about his goals, dreams and the strength of spirit he’d need to achieve them.
“I told myself that if I ever got a second chance, I wouldn’t need a third,” he said.
Hennings said one of the main messages from his session will be “unlearning” — as in unlearning bad habits and ways of thinking.
“You’ve got to clean house,” Hennings said. “If you don’t unlearn old habits, old tendencies and old perspectives, you’ll never make room for all the new things you’re learning.”
Part of that comes from the messages we get from the outside, he said. He’s intentional about surrounding himself with things that uplift him. He encourages everyone else to do the same.
“Everything I watch, read and listen to says ‘Ed Hennings, you can fly,’” he said. “And I believe it.”
Hennings said fear of failure was a major contributor to people’s unhappiness, and that overcoming it was critical.
“That’s the only guarantee I had, the effort I put in,” Hennings said. “I need to know I can give you 110%.”
For Bridgett Wilder, another summit speaker, adversity is like climbing a mountain. The way to the top is paved with rocky times.
“I’ve never seen any mountain I tried to climb where I benefited from going up the smooth side,” Wilder said. “I always slide right back down because there’s no grip. My brokenness gives me grip.”
Taking a lifetime of trauma and heartbreak, Wilder said she finds a way to spin her life’s trials into a positive. She is founder of Perseverance Health and Wellness, where she provides fitness and wellness tips to clients,
Wilder has faced many hardships. She lost her husband and 6-year-old daughter. She raised nine children on her own. When she was a teenager, she survived sexual assault.
But she has persevered and tried to find ways to heal from the trauma, and helping others see it in themselves.
“Many of us have trauma from childhood that we’ve suppressed, and we’re walking around chopped up, scattered from the inside,” Wilder said.
In her work now, she tries to help people understand the process of healing and recovering from grief. There is no perfect blueprint for it. There is no “timeline for grief.” Helping people navigate the stages and steps of healing is crucial, as it often takes time.
Recovering from traumatic events often helps people get mental clarity and more opportunities because of it, she said. Doing the work and trusting in the process is a major message.
“If you know within yourself that you’re doing okay, that’s what makes you operate authentically and unapologetically,” Wilder said.
Most of all, she tries to share her story to inspire others.


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49631519018_c47c61580a_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 19, 2022


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Post From Community: United Way of Greater Milwaukee Waukesha County Announces Next Step in Milwaukee Broadband Partnership | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dan Herda
May 20, 2022
– United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County announced today the release of a request for proposal (RFP) to commission a Broadband Feasibility Study. The study will be focused on the feasibility of providing alternative broadband solutions to priority areas and provide a set of potential solutions and recommendations for possible private and public sector collaborations.
The cornerstone of this work is United Way’s Techquity initiative. Techquity looks to ensure digital equity and inclusion for every resident in our community.
United Way leads the Milwaukee Broadband Partnership, convening members of Greater Milwaukee’s governmental, commercial, healthcare, civic, and philanthropic sectors. Together, the partnership is building a multi-modal approach to align new and existing internet providers into a comprehensive network focused on equity, accessibility, and affordability for metro Milwaukee residents.
According to data from the 2019 US Census Bureau, at least 25% of Milwaukee residents do not have broadband access in their home. Existing broadband services are unevenly distributed, uncoordinated with community assets, and prohibitively expensive for low-income communities. Broadband has become a key discussion topic since COVID-19, as many have turned to online resources for schooling, job searches, and healthcare needs. The partnership’s objective is to achieve universal and equitable access to affordable, high-speed internet throughout Milwaukee.
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The partnership seeks to leverage local philanthropic and government resources with federal investments to transform the region and provide a national model for how other cities can bridge the digital divide.
Visit https://unitedwaygmwc.org/Techquity for more information on Techquity and details on how to apply as a prospective vendor for the Greater Milwaukee Broadband Feasibility Study.
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United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in our local community. Learn more at: http://www.unitedwayGMWC.org

author: Dan Herda


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What you need to know to feed your baby during formula shortage | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Matt Martinez
May 20, 2022
Leer en español: Lo que necesita saber para alimentar a su bebé durante la escasez de fórmula
Families with infants are facing a shortage of baby formula nationwide, as supply-chain issues and a voluntary recall have stalled production.
Here’s what you need to know.
Formula supplies have been hit since the beginning of the pandemic due to stockpiling issues and global supply-chain disruptions.
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The shortage is also spurred by a voluntary recall by Abbott Nutrition, a pharmaceutical company and formula manufacturer. In February, the company chose to recall its formula because of cases of rare bacterial disease, including cronobacter sakazakii and salmonella, that occurred after babies had consumed its powdered formula.
The company closed its facility in Sturgis, Michigan, as part of the recall. Recent investigations by Abbott said there was no link between its formula and the cases, and that the company would work to address concerns cited by the Food and Drug Administration to reopen the plant.
According to a statement from Abbott, the site will look to reopen in the next two weeks, but likely won’t have products on shelves for another six to eight weeks after that. The shortage is expected to last at least a few more weeks.
Recent guidance from Children’s Wisconsin said that if you are struggling to find baby formula, you should call IMPACT 211 by dialing 2-1-1. You can also text your ZIP code to TXT-211 for assistance. Operators may be able to help you locate stores or food pantries that have supplies. You can also use the Hunger Task Force’s interactive map or 2-1-1’s website to try to find food pantries near you.
A Facebook group, called Milwaukee Formula Parents, also provides a forum for parents searching for formula supplies. The group, administered by Cudahy resident and local mother Samantha Wiegele, has more than a 1,000 members. The site is regularly updated with new information.
Wiegele said the group needs more members to provide on-the-ground information on what’s happening in stores, particularly when supplies are restocked. She encouraged anyone interested to join the group and reach out to her on Facebook.
Kari Malone, director for the state’s Women, Infants and Children Program, said in an email that the state warned families against unsafe practices, such as trying to make their own formula or giving cow’s milk to infants under 1 year old. She also encouraged families to be careful about getting milk and formula from online sources and to be wary of scammers.
The guidance from Children’s Wisconsin also warned against adding more water to formula, as this can dilute key nutrients.
Families should also be diligent to ensure that they don’t feed their baby recalled or expired formula. To check if the formula’s lot number has been recalled, find it on the bottom of the can and check it with Abbott’s website. You can also find the expiration date on the bottom of the can.
Do not buy or trade for open cans of formula.
Malone said the state is asking families to only take what they need during this time.
“While a stressful time, families should purchase only the infant formula they need in the immediate and avoid stockpiling,” Malone said. “This will help ensure other families have access to critical formula for their infants and allow manufacturers and retailers adequate time to restock shelves.”
Malone also noted that some retailers are limiting the amount of formula that families can buy. This includes Target, CVS Health and Walgreens.
Malone encouraged families to reach out to their pediatricians if they need help finding formula or any medical advice during this time.
Abbott recently pledged to offer rebates for alternatives to its products until Aug. 31. The rebates for WIC recipients will ensure that families in the program can receive alternative supplies free of charge if their state has an exclusive contract with Abbott. Wisconsin WIC has used Similac products since 2021, an Abbott product.
Any WIC recipients with questions should contact their local WIC offices, which can be found on this webpage. Wisconsin’s general line for WIC support is 800-722-2295.
The state Department of Health Services provided a list of alternatives for Abbott products in low stock because of the recall.
Malone said specialty formulas, for children who cannot use regular formula, have been particularly difficult to find for some families and offered the following alternatives.
For Similac Alimentum, the following are alternatives:
For Elecare Infant, the following are alternatives:
For Elecare Jr, the following are alternatives:
Dalvery Blackwell, executive director and co-founder of the African American Breastfeeding Network, encourages women who have infants younger than 6 weeks old to consider re-lactating if they are able and said her organization could offer support in doing so. She can be reached at 414-617-3441.
Erin Ballard, a branch leader with La Leche League Milwaukee West, a Wauwatosa-based chapter of a nonprofit organization that provides lactation support, said her organization can help families connect with resources and offer support for lactation.
To find a local group from Wisconsin La Leche League, visit this map. The Milwaukee West branch can be reached via email at lllmilwaukeewest@gmail.com. Ballard can be reached at 414-807-9789.
Area health systems also offer support. Children’s Wisconsin offers lactation consultation services, which can be reached at 414-266-1757. Ascension Wisconsin also offers services and can be reached at 414-585-1440.


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52080391998_4b4801c429_k | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Dwayne Burtin
May 19, 2022


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Post From Community: AfroCharts connects music lovers around the globe | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Anna Lardinois
May 22, 2022
Leonard Novati’s story is an interesting one.
Novati was born in the eastern African country of Burundi, one of the poorest countries in the world. He, his parents and his eight sisters fled the war-torn country and ended up in a refugee camp in nearby Tanzania. The family of 11 struggled to survive in a two-room tent without electricity, water- or any other modern convenience.
But they had music.
The family had a small radio. They would spin its dials and discover songs from around the world. From American rappers to folk music plucked out on an ikembe, the sounds filled the tent- and filled their hearts with hope.
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Music was Novati’s first love. He met his second love when his family moved to Milwaukee in 2007.
The family received a second-hand MacBook. It was the first computer Novati ever touched, and he was entranced. He spent hours exploring the laptop and eventually taught himself how to code software. It was a creative outlet that filled him with joy and led him to pursue a career in technology.
After completing a degree in computer science from Florida’s Stetson University, Novati returned to Milwaukee to begin his professional career. But his love of music never left him.
Novati worked on the weekends as a DJ, spinning everything from merengue to trap music. “But, when it comes to African music, I was not getting booked,” he said. “So, I’d go out and I try to see if I can introduce African music to the people. I did it. Some of them liked it because everybody’s looking for new sounds.”
Today, Novati is a software engineer at Northwestern Mutual. And he is the founder and visionary behind AfroCharts.
Launched in 2020, AfroCharts is the one only music sharing and streaming platform for African artists.
“If you ever wondered how music from all 54 African countries sound like, AfroCharts makes it easy for anybody to find and listen to African music by countries and genres,” Novati said. “Rwanda and Burundi, they’re so close, they’re like siblings, but the music is so different. And Nigeria and Ghana- the music is so different.”
Inspired by the popular streaming site, which does not feature African music, Novati said, “Spotify is like our grandfather.  We learn a lot from them.” Like Spotify, AfroCharts collects advertising revenue and offers a premium subscription version of their free streaming service. The company adds to the revenue stream by allowing artists to sell their music directly to listeners through the AfroCharts platform, charging a transaction fee to the artist for each sale.
AfroCharts is a bootstrapped business, started with little more than Novati’s technical skills and a few thousand dollars. Despite its humble beginnings, the platform has quickly grown to offer its 300,000 users music from over 11,000 African artists. And those numbers grow daily. The company has no formal marketing plan but has racked up an impressive 7 million listeners since its launch.
Today, Novati is focused on growth. He is currently planning a pre-seed funding round with the aim to hire staff. “My long-term goal is to turn AfroCharts into a music technology company offering different services to both artists and entertainment businesses,” he said. “Right now, we are focusing on streaming and looking to raise money to hire sales and marketing personnel to help turn this platform that people love into money.”
To listen to the music of Africa, check out AfroCharts here.

author: Anna Lardinois