Reading Time: 4 minutes

On the streets of Milwaukee, Carter Wilkins and his mom, Carlicia Wilkins, can be spotted picking up aluminum cans or handing out bagged lunches and hygiene items. They do it as an act of kindness for the homeless and to help grow a new organization called Carter Can Collect Community Initiative Inc. 

In March, Carter, 9, founded Carter Can Collect Community Initiative Inc., a nonprofit that focuses on environmental awareness. The organization uses collected aluminum cans to help fund and support individuals experiencing homelessness in Milwaukee. 

“I was so happy when I turned in my first bag of cans,” Carter said. 

The idea started when Carlicia Wilkins was on a car ride.  She was reflecting on the passing of Carter’s dad in 2020 and about experiencing homelessness three years ago and sleeping in her car.

“This is our reality five years later, and I wanted to figure out how I can continue to make Carter’s life better,” Carlicia said. “He’s a gamer and asks for (Fortnite) V-Bucks, so I figured I could teach him responsibility and how to make his own money while gaining a purpose because it’s not about the money for us.” 

Carlicia wanted to show Carter how to use the money to help others. 

According to the Milwaukee Coalition on Housing & Homelessness, about 885 Milwaukeeans were experiencing homelessness in 2024. 

“Homelessness can be on the street, sleeping on somebody else’s couch, living in someone’s basement or living out of your car,” Carlicia said. “If you are somewhere that’s not yours, then that’s homelessness.” 

After discussing the idea with Carter, he wanted to get started as soon as possible.

Day-to-day collecting

Carter, a Sherman Park resident, typically spends an hour after school collecting aluminum cans from sparkling water, energy drinks, beer and more while his mom pays him $10 an hour out of her own pocket.

“We pick a block and go around neighborhoods,” Carter said.

Once a month Carter and his mom take the collected cans to All Scrap Metal Recycling Inc., 3330 W. Fond du Lac Ave., to recycle them for cash.  

“Everything that we need is already around us,” Carlicia said. “We throw things away when it could really bring financial gain.”

Carter said he recently made $73 after filling five bags of aluminum cans in one month. The bags weighed 90 pounds. 

“My goal was about 60 pounds of cans at first,” he said.

Preparing food and essentials for the homeless

Once he receives the cash, Carter goes to local stores to pick up food and hygiene items to make care kits and cold bag lunches for the homeless. 

The kits typically include dental products, socks, wet wipes, deodorant, hair care, towels and soap. 

The lunches include water, fruit, a snack and sandwich. 

At the beginning of April, Carter and Carlicia gave away 25 bag lunches and 20 care kits to the homeless across Milwaukee’s North and South Sides. 

“I was nervous at first when I did my first aluminum can turn-in, but the more I started collecting, then I got more comfortable,” Carter said.

Witnessing the impact

Dier Vaughn, a family friend who volunteers to help the organization, said he’s never seen a duo like Carter and his mom come up with a concept like this. 

“You don’t see many young kids who are motivated to give back to their own community,” Vaughn said. 

From picking out the organization’s name to shopping for essentials, Vaughn has witnessed the process since day one. 

“I really love how Carter and Carlicia actually go out to talk to people to see what they want and need instead of buying what they think people need,” he said. 

Vaughn said Carter has qualities of a community activist and always has a willingness to listen and show empathy.

Carlicia describes Carter as a go-getter since she’s been giving him the space to lead with the initiative.

“He’s getting better at telling other youth about his initiative,” Carlicia said. “I’m learning to let him be a kid and have a voice with entrepreneurship at the same time.” 

The initiative was meant to teach Carter and other youths about work ethic, financial literacy, communication skills, responsibility and more. 

For youths eager to make a difference in their community but are unsure of where to start, Carter said the first step is being open to trying new things. 

“You don’t have to try everything, but at least try one thing,” he said.

Helping out the new organization

Carter and Carlicia said their long-term goal is to find more youths ages 9 through 14 to help Carter on his mission. 

“Carter’s big cousins joined him and were so excited that they couldn’t stop,” Carlicia said.

Youths who join him will receive a reward like monetary pay or get treated to a social outing like roller skating, Chuck E. Cheese and more. 

The next volunteer opportunity for youths to help Carter and Carlicia is 4 p.m. Friday, April 24. The youths can crush cans before they turn them in at the scrapyard. 

Also, Carter Can Collect Community Initiative Inc. is in need of board members, sponsors and community leaders. 

“We’re looking for people and local leaders who may know more about homelessness and can possibly give us more information,” Carlicia said. 

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For more information

Other ways residents can help Carter and Carlicia is by donating hygiene products and food or by saving aluminum cans at your home that they will come pick up. 

Items can be sent to Carter Can Collect Community Initiative Inc., P.O. Box 90104, Milwaukee, WI 53209

To get involved or for any questions, you can reach Carlicia at 414-506-2523 or email community@cartercancollect.com.

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Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

Meet a Milwaukee kid turning aluminum cans into cash to help the homeless is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Housing service providers are scrambling to maintain services for more than 100 households at risk of becoming homeless after the abrupt closing of the Green Bay nonprofit.

The post Northeast Wisconsin nonprofits look to fill housing void left by Newcap closure appeared first on WPR.

Reading Time: 5 minutes

A northeast Wisconsin anti-poverty nonprofit plans to close later this year amid serious financial challenges and the loss of a government contract.

For more than 50 years, Newcap has operated in 10 counties. It serves low-income residents and is funded primarily through state and federal grants.

The agency served more than 25,000 people in 2022. Its programs range from employment and job training to educational support, financial coaching, health and food assistance, housing services, home repair and case management, according to an annual report.

Housing advocates say Newcap’s closure could lead to northeast Wisconsin losing more than $2.7 million in federal funding and leave more than 100 households at risk of losing housing.

In a statement, Newcap interim Executive Director Deb Barlament said the organization has faced “significant financial challenges” in recent months and has implemented staffing reductions and other cost-saving measures in response.

“At this time, the organization anticipates closing its doors sometime this year,” Barlament stated. “A more specific timeline will be determined as we work through existing grant obligations and funder requirements.”

Barlament’s statement says the organization hopes to “responsibly wind down operations” and is “actively collaborating with other organizations and funders to help ensure that services continue to be available to the communities we serve.”

It comes after a 2025 financial audit by accounting firm Baker Tilly found the organization had a more than $2 million deficit in 2024. The audit raised “substantial doubt about the Organization’s ability to continue operating,” citing recurring deficits, negative cash flow and reduced liquidity.

The state is conducting “enhanced financial monitoring” of the nonprofit, which includes comprehensive financial and program reviews, as well as reviews of financial documentation.

In a statement, the Wisconsin Department of Administration said the state has been working with Newcap to address its use and repayment of Weatherization Assistance Program funds for the 2025-26 program year. The program provides home weatherization assistance to low-income individuals.

The audit shows that in 2024 Newcap spent about $5.1 million for weatherization programs.

“Approximately 28% and 26% of the Organization’s grants revenue and grants receivable, respectively, were generated by weatherization and emergency furnace programs funded by the Wisconsin Department of Administration,” the audit states.

On March 13, the DOA informed Newcap that it “could not in good faith” renew the nonprofit’s weatherization contract for the next program year “given the current financial situation at Newcap and outstanding funds the agency must repay,” according to the statement.

The statement does not specify why the agency needs to repay the funds, or the specific dollar amount of that repayment.

“Working with our federal partners to administer grant programs requires DOA to assess potential risks of grantees,” the statement read. “Though Newcap has recently taken steps to address overhead costs and operating cash flow, Newcap’s financial viability remains uncertain.”

The Department of Administration says it is working with Wiscap, a statewide network of anti-poverty nonprofits, and other agencies to ensure services continue to be provided in northeast Wisconsin.

Wiscap did not respond to requests for comment about what happens when a Community Action Program, or CAP, agency — like Newcap — closes.

Millions in funding at risk if federal contracts can’t be transferred

Carrie Poser is executive director of the Wisconsin Balance of State Continuum of Care, a nonprofit that coordinates housing and supportive services for individuals and families experiencing homelessness across 69 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties.

She said Newcap administers four U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grants, which provide support services to 134 households across its 10-county service area, with 84 of those in Brown County.

Poser said local service groups want to take over those federal housing grants. But she said HUD officials in Milwaukee and Washington, D.C., have told her they are not processing grant transfers.

That puts the 134 households currently using those programs at risk of losing their housing and becoming homeless, she said.

“We have humans that, for no fault of their own, look at returning to homelessness that we can prevent,” she said. “It’s not because we don’t have agencies. It’s not because we don’t have the ability to do the work.”

If those grants aren’t transferred, she said more than $2.7 million — including more than $1.6 million in federal funding to Brown County — could be permanently lost from the 10 counties Newcap serves.

“It will be harder for those communities to ever get new money in this way again,” Poser said. “It’s just harder to get a grant once you’ve lost one by HUD.”

She said Wisconsin Balance of State Continuum of Care plans to move forward with filing paperwork with the federal government necessary to transfer the grants, but she isn’t sure if the effort will be successful.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development did not respond to questions about the potential loss of federal funding to northeast Wisconsin.

Laurie Styron is executive director of CharityWatch, a Chicago-based independent charity watchdog. She said Newcap serves a large geographic area, so its closure is likely to put more strain on other area nonprofits and agencies that provide similar services.

“Help that someone in need may have received from Newcap could become fragmented and require people who are already struggling to seek out services from different agencies, rather than just one,” she said. “The remaining providers in the area could see longer wait lists and reduced quality of care.”

Newcap is also closing three year-round homeless shelters, two in Green Bay and one in Shawano, by March 31, Barlament said via email.

Tara Prahl is chair of the Brown County Homeless and Housing Coalition and director of social services for the nonprofit Ecumenical Partnership for Housing. She said Newcap’s closure, including the loss of two homeless shelters in Green Bay, could have “a significant impact to our community,” especially if the government funding Newcap was receiving doesn’t remain in the area.

“All of our homeless service providers are at capacity,” she said. “This is only going to hit a little bit harder for those that are already feeling this.”

Prahl also said Newcap’s closure makes it more important for the Brown County community to take steps to address homelessness and its housing shortage.

In Shawano, Newcap provided one of only two homeless shelters in the community. Shawano Area Matthew 25, or Sam25, provided the other.

Kendra Brusewitz, executive director of Sam25, said her shelter is only open from mid-October to mid-May as an overnight emergency shelter. She also said Sam25 has often partnered with Newcap.

“They help service the homeless families in our community year-round, so if we were full we could connect with them and get (people) services over there, or vice versa,” Brusewitz said. “Not having that partnership is a concern.”

CEO placed on leave no longer employed by Newcap

Newcap’s announced closure also comes after the organization placed its former CEO Cheryl Detrick on administrative leave in February. 

A Newcap official confirmed via email that Detrick is no longer employed by the organization. Of the 15 CAP agencies in Wisconsin with executive salaries listed in tax filings, Detrick had the highest compensation at $239,641 in 2024.

Detrick was placed on leave amid reports from WLUK-TV alleging the organization misused taxpayer dollars.

Two Democratic Green Bay-area state lawmakers issued statements last month calling for an investigation into the organization’s use of taxpayer funds.

In Barlament’s statement, she said Newcap is aware of “questions regarding accountability for what has occurred” at the nonprofit. She said the organization is “committed to doing everything we can to address the situation and move forward responsibly.”

U.S. Reps. Tony Wied, R-De Pere, and Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, sent a letter on March 12 to the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development calling for a federal investigation into Newcap.

“Money that should have gone towards helping Wisconsinites find safe and stable housing may have instead padded executive salaries and funded staff outings,” the federal lawmakers wrote. 

Poser said she’s contacted Wied and Steil’s offices for help getting HUD funding transferred from Newcap to different nonprofits but has not received a response. 

She said she’s reached out to the rest of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation for assistance in persuading HUD to allow for the transfers.

“We absolutely need a nonpartisan show of support around this issue,” she said. “Folks in need are in need regardless of what political party they belong to.”

This story was originally published by WPR.

Nonprofit closure could cost northeast Wisconsin $2.7M, put 134 households at risk is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Housing advocates say Newcap’s closure could lead to northeast Wisconsin losing more than $2.7 million in federal funding and leave more than 100 households at risk of losing housing.

The post Nonprofit closure could cost northeast Wisconsin $2.7M, put 134 households at risk appeared first on WPR.