The federal government has extended its lease on a downtown Milwaukee property used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to federal lease records and the building’s owner.
The property at 310 E. Knapp St. is owned by the Milwaukee School of Engineering but will remain in use by the federal government through at least April 2026, with options to extend through 2028, said JoEllen Burdue, the college’s senior communications director.
“We do not have immediate plans for the building and will reevaluate next year when we know whether or not the government wants to extend the lease,” Burdue said.
The lease was originally scheduled to expire in April 2025.
With a new ICE facility under construction on the city’s Northwest Side, the downtown lease extension raises the possibility that the federal government is expanding local immigration infrastructure or enforcement. This would be consistent with other forms of expansion in immigration enforcement, statewide and nationally.
“I’m upset and concerned about what this means for my immigrant constituency. For my constituents, period,” said Ald. JoCasta Zamarripa, who represents the 8th District on the South Side.
Immigration infrastructure
The Knapp Street property is used by ICE as a field office for its Enforcement and Removal Operations, according to ICE.
This includes serving as a check‑in location for individuals under ICE supervision who aren’t in custody and a processing center for individuals with pending immigration cases or removal proceedings.
The Vera Institute is a national nonpartisan nonprofit that does research and advocates for policy concerning incarceration and public safety.
The most people held by ICE at a given time at that Knapp Street location during the Biden administration was six. On June 3, 22 people were held there – also exceeding the high of 17 during President Donald Trump’s first administration, according to data from Vera Institute.
The office generally does not detain people overnight but can facilitate transfer to detention centers that do.
The functions carried out at the Knapp Street office mirror those planned for the Northwest Side facility.
A new ICE field office is expected to open at 11925 W. Lake Park Drive in Milwaukee. (Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)
City records show the West Lake Park Drive property will be used to process non-detained people as well as detainees for transport to detention centers.
The records also state that the property will serve as the main southeastern Wisconsin office for immigration officers and staff.
The U.S. General Services Administration, the federal government’s real estate arm, initially projected the new site would open in October. However, a spokesperson said there was no update and did not confirm whether that timeline still stands.
Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, responded to NNS’ requests for comment.
Rise in immigration enforcement
As local immigration enforcement grows, so does enforcement throughout the state and the rest of the country.
The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse is a nonprofit at Syracuse University that conducts nonpartisan research.
Not only are more people being detained, but they are being detained for longer, said Jennifer Chacón, the Bruce Tyson Mitchell professor of law at Stanford Law School.
A July 8 internal memo from ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons instructs agents to detain immigrants for the duration of their removal proceedings, effectively eliminating access to bond hearings.
Eighty-four of 181 detention facilities exceeded their contractual capacity on at least one day from October 2024 to mid-April 2025, according to a July report from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.
The Dodge County Jail, which ICE uses to detain people apprehended in Milwaukee, is one of the facilities that exceeded its contractual capacity. On its busiest day, it held 139 individuals – four more than its 135-bed limit.
In addition to Dodge County, Brown and Sauk county jails have also entered into agreements with ICE to house detained immigrants, according to records obtained by the ACLU of Wisconsin.
ICE’s unprecedented budget
Noelle Smart, a principal research associate at the Vera Institute, notes that it remains unclear whether increased immigration enforcement drives the need for more detention infrastructure or expands to catch up with more infrastructure.
But, Smart said, with ICE’s unprecedented new budget, the question of which one drives the other becomes less relevant.
Trump’s proposed ICE budget in 2025 was $9.7 billion – a billion more than ICE’s 2024 budget. An additional $29.85 billion was made available through 2029 for enforcement and removal as part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
“We know this administration intends to vastly increase the number of people subject to arrests and detention, and we expect to see increases in both given this budget,” Smart said.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
In 2023, Arian Rice became a private pilot at age 18.
Now 20, he’s working toward his goal of flying commercial planes and encouraging Black children to explore their dreams.
“After getting the news about getting my license, I can look back and say that I didn’t sit and wait for somebody to do it for me,” Rice said.
Currently, Rice is participating in the aeronautics program at Gateway Technical College to fly commercial planes.
While there, he will complete 125 hours of training to receive his Airline Transport rating, the highest level of pilot certification issued by the Federal Aviation Administration.
First time in a cockpit
Rice was 11 when he was first introduced to aviation. His nana, Isha Kinard, took the family to Burlington to experience the Young Eagles flight program, eat breakfast and explore airplanes.
There, Rice was given the opportunity to fly a plane for the first time.
“I wasn’t scared at all, and when we took off, it felt exhilarating,” Rice said.
During the one-on-one flight, the pilot allowed Rice to take control of the plane, teaching him how to steer and turn.
“I remember we were by a pole, and the pilot tells me to turn around it,” Rice said.
Rice’s aviation journey had just begun.
“I saw a sense of purpose in his eyes as he shared his experience,” Kinard said.
Not old enough for flight school
Rice said his biggest challenge was finding additional flight training. He wanted to train at Spring City Aviation at Milwaukee’s Timmerman Airport, but the minimum age to fly an aircraft solo is 16.
“It was hard, but I didn’t let my dream of aviation die out,” he said.
From ages 13 to 14, he participated in free aviation training through the Young Eagles Sporty’s Learn to Fly course. There he learned the fundamentals of aviation.
In addition, he watched videos on YouTube.
Rice’s mom, Dahneisha Gavin, home-schooled Rice and said he’s good at being a self-learner.
“He can see something and adapt to it,” Gavin said.
Rice mowed lawns and sold fireworks during the summer to pay for the training.
“When we were at the breakfast that day, there was a man that spoke life into not only my son, but us as a unit. He said if we wanted him to fly, we would all have to work together,” Gavin said.
Kinard, Gavin and Rice’s dad, James Sims Robinson, searched for scholarships, pitched in financially and provided other support.
Winning a scholarship
In 2023, mentor and former flight instructor Sean O’Donnell encouraged Rice to apply for a $10,000 EAA Ray Aviation Scholarship, which he won.
“Sean understood my limitations with getting training, and in his spare time, he saw an opportunity for me and forwarded the information to me,” Rice said.
Rice said he was the only Black applicant, which motivated him to work harder.
“Most of the applicants already had the experience and come from families with pilots,” Rice said. “They saw I had worked to do the 10 hours of training, and that stood out to them.”
A generational trailblazer
After passing written exams and completing training hours, Rice received his official private pilot license at 18. He is the first pilot in his family.
Gavin said flying with her son for the first time was one of the proudest moments of her life.
“Arian showed me that he belongs to the sky. It’s not just about flying airplanes. It’s about breaking barriers and creating a legacy to show other young people in Milwaukee that anything is possible,” Gavin said.
Rice said he has moments when he thinks about his first experiences leading up to now and thanks his nana for it.
“My nana invested in my future just by bringing me to that breakfast,” Rice said.
Rice said he believes that Black people aren’t exposed to other careers enough.
“Blacks are always being pushed into music or sports. My license gave me a freeing feeling because some families become too complacent when there isn’t a push,” he said.
For more information
For children looking to go into aviation, Rice suggests reading books about planes at a library and researching resources.
“It’s out there, but you just need to read what’s in front of you,” he said.
Kinard encourages parents to start small. “Break the dreams down into smaller achievable steps and support their efforts to learn and grow along the way,” she said.
Last week’s storms destroyed Sabrena Henderson’s Milwaukee home, leaving her family displaced.
Not only did the basement of her Garden Homes rental unit flood, destroying her washer, dryer and freezer, but the heavy rains collapsed her ceiling.
While she does have renters insurance, she said, it’s been a long process of trying to apply for assistance, file claims and figure out next steps.
“It’s only thanks to my family that we are not homeless,” she said. “But we can’t stay in our house, and we are waiting for the landlord to do their part.”
Additionally, Henderson is a breast cancer survivor who is still in cancer care and should not be anywhere near her home. Mold buildup could be dangerous for her immune system, she said, making cleanup another major concern.
Henderson’s family is one of thousands trying to put their lives back together.
Impact
Two American Red Cross shelters have been set up in Milwaukee at Holler Park, 5151 S. 6th St., and Washington Senior Center, 4420 W. Vliet St., to assist temporarily displaced individuals.
Jennifer Warren, the regional communications director with the Red Cross, said on Sunday, Aug. 18, the shelters housed 39 people.
She said since the shelter has been set up, the Red Cross has served over 1,400 meals and snacks. Workers handed out 3,400 emergency relief supplies.
Vickie Boneck, the director of marketing and communications with IMPACT 211, a central access point for people in need, said her organization is supporting local emergency management offices by collecting reports of property damage caused by flooding.
Days after the storm, calls for flood-related assistance continue.
As of the afternoon of Aug. 18, over 16,500 flood-related service requests had been made to 211 from Milwaukee County and the surrounding counties of Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington. About 85% of those requests originated from Milwaukee County alone.
According to 211 data, the highest concentration of service requests came from Milwaukee County’s Northwest Side and the West Milwaukee area, particularly from ZIP codes 53218, 53209 and 53216.
ZIP code 53218, where Henderson’s home falls, reported the most significant impact, with 1,851 damage reports. It also led in utility disruptions, with 2,562 reports, and had over 850 reports of structural damage.
Of the data collected, approximately 6,000 referrals were for storm-related assistance, helping connect residents to county emergency services, disaster food programs, cleanup supplies and other recovery resources.
What’s next
Milwaukee County’s disaster teams are assessing damage. The Salvation Army has teams out handing out water and snacks to those impacted.
Benny Benedict, the emergency disaster services director for the Salvation Army of Milwaukee County, said people are still trying to understand the full impact of the floods.
“It takes a while to figure out basically what you’re dealing with, and it seems that this flood is definitely very significant,” Benedict said.
Teams from partner agencies are also on site to help residents clean homes and basements.
Both the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross are accepting monetary contributions to help those impacted as on-site donations are too much to manage at the moment.
“Today it might be the masks that everyone needs, and then we get thousands of them, and next thing you don’t know, the need is baby formula, and all we have are masks,” he said. “So the monetary donation, we don’t have to sort it, it’s very fluid, and the Salvation Army takes great care in making sure that we’re just meeting the critical needs.”
Benedict said in his experience, this will be a case of long-term recovery for many of those impacted.
“Preliminary numbers are showing that there is a significant number of destroyed homes,” he said. “So, we know that the unmet needs are going to be quite large. That could be everything from just cleanup kits, flood kits, help getting the house mucked out, basically rebuilding, and then there’s going to be needs for household items that were destroyed.”
How to get help
Residents who wish to report property damage may contact IMPACT 211 and speak to a community resource specialist. That is also the best way to access information and referral to programs and services that may help in the aftermath of this storm. If people just want to report property damage, the best way is to complete the online form 211 Wisconsin.
The Milwaukee Police Department is still undecided about whether to expand its use of facial recognition technology, an MPD spokesperson said.
“We are in continued conversations with the public related to FRT (facial recognition technology) and have not made any decisions,” the spokesperson said.
MPD has been in discussions with the company Biometrica, which partners with police agencies and others to provide the technology.
Meanwhile, opposition to the technology continues to grow.
In July, the Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission unanimously passed a resolution opposing MPD’s use of facial recognition. The Equal Rights Commission is a city body working to promote equality in the city’s institutions and the broader community.
Tony Snell, chair of the commission, sent a letter to Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman urging him to reject the technology. Copies were also sent to the Milwaukee Common Council, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission.
The Equal Rights Commission’s overall goal is to help the city limit the risk of discrimination against people, Snell said.
The resolution also noted a lack of publicly available data on positive outcomes in other cities that have adopted the technology.
In May, 11 of the 15 members of the Milwaukee Common Council sent a letter to Norman opposing facial recognition, citing the risk of misidentification – particularly for people of color and women – and the potential for harm to the community’s trust in law enforcement.
Additional concerns raised in public testimony to the commission – by community members and civil groups – included the potential sharing of immigration-related data with federal agencies and the targeting of individuals and groups exercising their First Amendment rights.
What MPD says
The Milwaukee Police Department considers facial recognition technology a strong investigative tool. (Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)
MPD has consistently stated that a carefully developed policy could help reduce risks associated with facial recognition.
“Should MPD move forward with acquiring FRT, a policy will be drafted based upon best practices and public input,” a department spokesperson said.
Facial recognition technology is a potent investigation tool to quickly and effectively generate leads, said Heather Hough, MPD’s chief of staff, during the Equal Rights Commission public meeting about the technology.
But Hough emphasized facial recognition’s role as one tool among many used by MPD.
“The real work is in the human analysis and additional investigation by our detectives, by our officers,” Hough said.
She also presented case studies, including a March 2024 homicide, in which facial recognition from a neighboring jurisdiction helped identify suspects.
Biometrica, the company MPD is considering partnering with, stressed how facial recognition’s potential errors can be reduced.
Kadambari Wade, Biometrica’s chief privacy officer, said the company is constantly evaluating and re-evaluating how it does its work, looking for ways to ensure it is more accurate.
She said she and her husband, Biometrica CEO Wyly Wade, are aware of concerns about racial bias and work to address them.
“Wyly is a white man from Texas. I’m a brown-skinned immigrant,” she said.
Kadambari Wade said they want to make sure their services would work as well on her as they do on him.
Wade also denied any current or future plans to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We do not work with ICE. We do not work in immigration,” she said.
What’s next?
Since the passage of Wisconsin Act 12, the only official way to amend or reject MPD policy is by a vote of at least two-thirds of the Common Council, or 10 members.
However, council members cannot make any decision about it until MPD actually drafts its policy, often referred to as a “standard operating procedure.”
Ald. Peter Burgelis – one of four council members who did not sign onto the Common Council letter to Norman – said he is waiting to make a decision until he sees potential policy from MPD or an official piece of legislation considered by the city’s Public Safety and Health Committee.
Snell’s main concern is for MPD’s decision to be fair and just.
“Regardless … you want to be part of the process in order to eliminate, or to the extent possible, reduce risk of discrimination to people,” Snell said.
In a county where one in four adults read at or below a third-grade level, Literacy Services of Wisconsin is doing what it can to help break down adult literacy barriers.
“We are here to provide educational opportunities for those who maybe either didn’t feel engaged in traditional classrooms or are just looking to improve their skills now,” said Holly McCoy, executive director of Literacy Services of Wisconsin.
On July 16, the organization opened its new headquarters, at 1737 N. Palmer St., in the Brewer’s Hill neighborhood. Literacy Services provides free help to Milwaukee-area adults looking to continue their education, including GED prep, help in the transition to college and more.
More space brings bigger opportunities
The organization’s new headquarters includes several classrooms, space for virtual learners and a lounge.
Students can learn directly from Milwaukee Area Technical College professors teaching on site in the new dedicated MATC classroom.
The new Literacy Services of Wisconsin headquarters in Brewer’s Hill includes a Milwaukee Area Technical College community classroom where students can prepare to transition from “community to college,” Executive Director Holly McCoy says. (Photo by Alex Klaus)
MATC works with Literacy Services to help students transition from “community to college,” McCoy said. Classes typically build the necessary literacy and numeracy skills to succeed in college courses. Last year, 63 students transitioned from Literacy Services to a post-secondary school.
“We are kind of known for GED, whereas, like when people think of MATC, they think college,” McCoy said. “We kind of create the bridge.”
Literacy Services is also raising funds to develop a GED testing room with four stations. As the organization works to raise funds, it did receive good news recently as a $235,000 freeze in federal funding was lifted.
Frozen funds had presented major challenge
Literacy Services was one of many adult education programs waiting on federal funds frozen by the Trump administration. The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, which supports adult education programs, covers about 10% of Literacy Services’ budget.
McCoy said before the funds became available that losing them would have a “tremendous impact” on her organization’s programming.
“We’ve thought about these things and we definitely don’t want to see a disturbance to our students,” McCoy said.
‘Open to the community’
Holly McCoy, executive director of Literacy Services of Wisconsin, cuts the ribbon during the grand opening ceremony for its new headquarters in Brewer’s Hill. (Photo provided by Literacy Services of Wisconsin)
As the headquarters moves from downtown to Brewer’s Hill, McCoy looks forward to growing roots in a more accessible and centralized location.
“I love the fact that we are in a neighborhood,” McCoy said.
“This location matters. It’s not tucked away. It’s in one of Milwaukee’s most historic and visible neighborhoods. It’s accessible, it’s walkable, and, most importantly, it’s open to the community,” Hill said. “Having invested in partners like LSW here creates an effect.”
Mayor Cavalier Johnson said the new location opens doors for Milwaukee adults who want to grow, learn and thrive.
“Here in our city, we believe that it’s never too late to finish your education, to earn a diploma, or even to pick up a brand-new skill,” Johnson said. “Literacy Services is making all of that possible, and I’m proud that Milwaukee is a place where opportunity doesn’t stop, it actually expands. It grows.”
Alex Klaus is the education solutions reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.
Michael Adams, president of JobsWork MKE, ignored the warning signs his body gave him before having a heart attack on Jan. 29, 2024.
He now encourages Black men to pay attention to their health and trust the health care system.
“I think Black men aren’t trusting the system due to economics and the feeling of not being in control of the situation,” Adams said.
Ignored warning signs
Before his heart attack, Adams woke up vomiting with a burning throat. He took an Alka-Seltzer hoping it was indigestion.
Later that day, he gave a presentation at the Medical College of Wisconsin for work. During the presentation, his symptoms got worse. He experienced severe sweating, shortness of breath and body aches.
“I try to stay as active as I can, but I couldn’t understand why I’m walking across the street from the parking lot to the building out of breath,” Adams said.
Friendship and health
Timothy Grove, a network senior director of Trauma Informed Strategy and Practice at Wellpoint Care Network and a friend of Adams, was with him that day. He noticed before the presentation while walking with Adams that his friend was struggling.
“The way he was talking about his symptoms made me think it was important to encourage him to get checked out right away. I was also concerned about my friend and wanted him to be OK,” Grove said.
After the presentation, Grove took him to the doctor before he was sent to the emergency room.
Adams described Grove as a good friend for being there for him.
“Tim got on my nerves because I wanted him to drop me off and leave. Through it all, he was there, and stayed until I was OK,” Adams said.
Black men and hospitals
When he was admitted to the ER, hospital staff tried to calm Adams to prevent distress before they told him he was having a heart attack.
“Black men don’t listen to themselves. We don’t go to the ER because we don’t want all that comes with it,” Adams said. “At the end of the day, we are dying because we don’t listen to ourselves and our body.”
According to a study by the Milwaukee Health Department, the top cause of death for Milwaukee men is heart disease.
Michael Adams works out during a water exercise class at Noyes Pool on July 11. Adams goes to Noyes Pool three days a week, swims laps and is trained by a lifeguard and private swim coach. (Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)
Understanding a heart attack
Adams discovered there was 95% blockage in one of his arteries. The day after his heart attack, doctors inserted a stent to open his artery and help restore blood flow.
“I came to the realization that over a year I haven’t felt right and my circulation has been off all along,” Adams said.
Adams experienced cramps and had inconsistent blood pressure readings.
After the stent was inserted, Adams was prescribed medication, and it was recommended he attend water physical therapy because of its low impact on the body.
A new lifestyle
Before his heart attack, Adams, a native of Milwaukee’s North Side, lived an active lifestyle, teaching martial arts and hiking regularly.
Now, Adams attends Noyes Pool three days a week. He swims laps there and is trained by a lifeguard and private swim coach.
“People always tell me ‘sorry for the heart attack,’ but I have a different perspective on it, and the best of life opened up to me since then,” Adams said.
Adams has lost 40 pounds and is glad he’s eating higher-quality food such as lean beef, vegetables and fruits. He also cut salt from his diet and drinks only water.
Michael Adams, who lived an active lifestyle before his heart attack, now swims regularly and has improved his diet. (Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)
Witnessing transforming moments
Adams’ daughter, Lauren, proudly supports her father’s decision to make health a priority as a Black man.
“I tell my dad all the time that one day he’s going to break my heart by passing away. To know that he’s taking his health so seriously, I love that,” she said. “I’m an only child, and my dad is my favorite person.”
Heart disease runs in their family, Lauren said. Both of Michael’s parents died from heart disease.
Since his life-changing medical emergency, Michael has met other individuals who also experienced heart attacks. Some are members from his church, All Saints Catholic Church.
“When I was released to go to church, the men came up to me and said ‘Welcome to the club,’ ” he said.
Feeling a part of the process
Adams felt cautious about the steps he would have to take with his health. He felt the need to attach himself to his health care providers so he could trust the work they’re doing.
His initial doctor, Ian Gilson of Froedtert Hospital, retired after 20 years of caring for him.
“I liked that doctor because he understood Black anatomy really well,” Adams said.
Benjamin Tobin, a Black doctor at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, is his current provider.
Adams appreciates how his health providers are making him feel seen and heard.
“As Black men, we often get dictated to on how our health should go. My health providers made me a part of the plan, and I just signed off on it,” Adams said.
He urges Black men to take their health seriously.
“I survived, and I want other people to understand that you can, too,” Adams said.
The Social Development Commission, or SDC, is facing new developments with its funding, board and lawsuits.
Here is what you need to know.
Questions raised about vendor payments, leadership at board meeting
Amy Rowell, executive director of COA Youth and Family Centers, attended the SDC’s board meeting on July 17 to ask the board about the status of an unpaid invoice. In March, NNS reported programming changes at COA, which serves families in the Amani, Riverwest and Harambee neighborhoods of Milwaukee.
Rowell said SDC owes more than $153,800 in reimbursements related to the Workforce Innovation Grant, which COA has requested from the agency multiple times since last August.
“It’s been putting a pretty significant hardship on the organization because we paid the invoice and now we’re just waiting for reimbursement,” Rowell said.
Jorge Franco, chair of the board and interim CEO of SDC, told Rowell that SDC would follow up with her but did not have an estimate of when the invoice would be paid.
SDC Commissioner Pam Fendt thanked Rowell for her comments and voiced concern about Franco’s leadership.
“I would like to make a public statement at this time that I do not feel that the board has been staffed by the interim CEO in a way that allows me to have input on budget or funding decisions,” Fendt said.
Commissioner Walter Lanier agreed, adding that the board should focus on how to govern more effectively.
“I think it’s extremely high priority, top priority, for us to do that and I think we need to make some changes to make that happen,” Lanier said.
Jorge Franco, chair of the board and interim CEO of SDC, speaks during a public hearing hosted by DCF in April. (PrincessSafiya Byers / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service)
Federal review of community action status
The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families in May planned to remove the SDC’s community action agency status, effective July 3. Removing that status would make SDC ineligible for millions in Community Services Block Grant funding and hinder the organization’s path to relaunch services and secure other funding.
However, that decision is on hold while the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, conducts a review of the state’s hearing and decision-making process and evaluates if it followed federal guidance.
The Department of Children and Families has sent documentation to HHS to examine for the review, according to Gina Paige, communications director for the department.
State moves forward with plans to replace SDC
The Department of Children and Families continues to look for agencies in the state that could possibly use the remaining block grant funding to be an interim provider of anti-poverty services in Milwaukee County if the state’s decision is upheld.
“DCF has received applications from interested community action agencies and is currently in discussions with relevant parties,” Paige said.
The state is preparing to move quickly to resume services if HHS upholds its decision and the de-designation is completed, she said.
“I think we’re likely going to see more of, like, the food services turned back on, probably some of the rental housing assistance, just because there’s some established networks there that folks will be able to leverage to get those turned back on,” Paige said.
The department is requesting applications from existing community action agencies to serve the unserved county because of the Wisconsin CSBG State Plan, which requires the state to see if an existing agency can take over services before creating a new community action agency.
Additionally, the future of the program is uncertain because President Donald Trump proposed eliminating CSBG funding in his budget for 2026.
If Congress decides to continue CSBG funding, the state will consider starting a process to select one or more permanent community action agencies to serve Milwaukee County, Paige said.
Foreclosure hearing scheduled
A new motion in the foreclosure lawsuit against the Social Development Commission’s property corporation could result in a judgment by October.
Earlier this year, Forward Community Investments Inc. filed a lawsuit against SD Properties Inc., the tax-exempt corporation that owns SDC’s buildings. The lawsuit resulted from SD Properties defaulting on mortgage payments on its North Avenue buildings, and it now owes over $3 million in loan obligations, interest and other costs, according to court records.
In June, the attorneys representing Forward Community Investments filed a motion requesting a summary judgment hearing, which has been scheduled before Circuit Court Judge J.D. Watts for 11 a.m. on Oct. 6 in Room 414 at the Milwaukee County Courthouse, 901 N. 9th St.
A summary judgment hearing asks the court to grant judgment in favor of a party based on the lawwithout a full trial, according to William Sulton, SDC’s attorney.
“That is something that is common in foreclosure cases and other cases,” Sulton said. “It’s not something that surprised us or alarmed us.”
Before the summary judgment, there will be a scheduling conference in the case on July 24 at 9:30 a.m. in Room 414 of the courthouse.
Board changes and vacancies
Milwaukee Area Technical College appointed Michael Rogers, MATC’s vice president of student engagement and community impact, to its seat on the SDC board.
Commissioner Vincent Bobot’s term expired on June 1, but he remains as the chair of the SD Properties board.
Bobot was serving his third term as an elected commissioner for SDC’s District 6, in the southern portion of the county, and briefly served as the agency’s CEO and board chair last fall.
He said on July 17 that he is not sure if he plans to run for re-election.
Many appointments have been made to the SDC board in the last few months, but the board now has vacancies in all six elected board seats.
Lanier focused on filling vacancies, board consistency
Before the meeting, Lanier, the SDC commissioner, said he believes that working on the board’s governance, such as filling vacancies and holding elections to get community representation, will put the board in a better position to address the organization’s challenges.
“I think once we finish some of our transitions and get the board fully active, the board will be able to be moved forward in a more effective way,” he said.
States with weak gun laws, including Wisconsin, experience more firearm deaths among children ages 0 to 17, according to a study published in the June issue of JAMA Pediatrics.
“We cannot accept that harsh reality as normal,” said Nick Matuszewski, associate executive director at WAVE Educational Fund, a statewide grassroots organization dedicated to preventing gun violence. “This study provides dramatic evidence that when lawmakers step up and take action, they can save young lives.”
The study, authored by national public health researchers using data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, found that in Wisconsin, which was categorized as one of 28 states with the most permissive gun laws, child firearm deaths increased by 15%. The most affected group nationally was African American children.
The study examined a period of time before and after a 2010 Supreme Court ruling that expanded local and state control over firearms laws.
After that ruling, many states enacted new and more permissive firearm laws, according to the report. The study looked at all types of firearm deaths, including suicides, homicides and unintentional shootings.
In 2015, Wisconsin ended its 48-hour waiting period to purchase firearms, said Tyler Kelly, policy and engagement senior associate at WAVE.
Kelly said many neighboring states and others across the country have strengthened their laws on background checks.
“In Wisconsin, we have no red flag law, weak storage laws and a lack of a waiting period for buying a firearm,” Kelly said. “All have been shown to save lives.”
Reaction from state leaders
State Sen. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, said the findings of the study are no surprise to anyone who lives in Milwaukee.
“We see the consequences of this inaction in every child that dies and every family that grieves,” Johnson said. “Most of the kids killed by gun violence in Wisconsin come from right here in our city.”
New Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said during a recent interview that 24 students in the district were victims of homicide this school year. Most were shot.
New legislation, same old story
Johnson is among a group of Democratic elected officials who are pushing their Republican counterparts to move forward the Safe Summer package of legislation that would revamp the state’s gun laws.
“I’m always hopeful, but if I’m being realistic, over and over again, Republican leadership has refused to debate common-sense gun safety proposals,” Johnson said. “Even a hearing would be a step forward at this point. I don’t believe that’s too much to ask.”
Championing the legislation is Democratic State Rep. Shelia Stubbs of Madison. She experienced a mass shooting at a school in her district in December 2024.
“That day was a really difficult day for me. As a parent, I cried,” she said. “I don’t know how many more people must die from gun violence in the state of Wisconsin.”
The Safe Summer package includes four bills. They would reinstitute the 48-hour waiting period to purchase a firearm; create an extreme-risk protection order, also known as a red flag law; ban ghost guns; and institute universal background checks for all firearm purchases.
“We need better gun laws to keep guns out of the wrong hands,” Stubbs said.
Gov. Tony Evers included similar measures in his last budget request, but they were removed by Republican lawmakers on the Joint Committee on Finance.
NNS reached out to several Republican elected officials from Wisconsin for comment, but they did not respond.
Republican leaders in Wisconsin and Second Amendment advocates have said over the years that gun violence is tied to a lack of accountability for criminals and not gun ownership.
Stubbs and others disagree. She said the Republicans in Wisconsin refuse to discuss gun control legislation.
‘We need better gun laws’
“We need better gun laws to keep guns out of the wrong hands,” she said. “It’s important to talk about the gun safety legislation to regulate access to firearms and promote responsible gun ownership.”
Kelly said polls have found that the majority of Wisconsinites support stronger gun laws, including universal background checks and waiting periods to purchase guns.
“If you’re using the gun for the right reasons, you shouldn’t have a problem waiting two days for it. “People in crisis shouldn’t be able to get a gun at the snap of their hands.”
Stubbs said another major issue that the legislation would resolve is closing a loophole that allows private sales of firearms without background checks.
“Those are transactions that do not get vetted,” she said.
A universal issue
While proposed gun laws often become a partisan issue in Wisconsin and around the country, Stubbs hopes that changes.
She said Democrats are looking for a Republican co-sponsor for the bills, calling gun violence a universal issue that affects everyone.
“At the end of the day, many of my colleagues are parents. They have loved ones. Gun violence has impacted all of us in one way or another,” Stubbs said.
Her hope is that something gets done before the next tragedy.
“I hope it doesn’t take something more to happen before we do something,” she said. “We want everyone to have a safe summer. Enough is enough.”
As she sits on her living room sofa surrounded by a large cutout, framed photos and a houseful of other reminders of her son Javon, Andrea Wilson, 41, can’t help but lose hope that her son’s murder will ever be solved.
“Nobody’s ever going to be held accountable,” she said. “It just feels like no one is going to be held responsible for his murder.”
It’s been nearly a year since she’s heard from Milwaukee homicide detectives and more than 16 months since Javon, 21, was hanging out with a group of friends when someone opened fire on them. They took him to St. Joseph’s hospital, where he died from a gunshot wound to his stomach.
Losing her firstborn is bad enough, she said, but not having justice makes it harder. Wilson is not alone in her struggles. In Milwaukee, hundreds of families share the unenviable bond of having a loved one murdered, with no one held responsible for it.
Unsolved murders in Milwaukee
From 2020 to 2024, 901 homicides occurred in the city of Milwaukee. Over 350 of those murders remain unsolved, based on homicide clearance data provided by the Milwaukee Police Department.
The homicide clearance rate refers to the percentage of cases cleared through arrest or because an arrest is impossible because of certain circumstances such as death, divided by the total number of homicides. Clearance rates also factor in murders solved during a calendar year for incidents that occurred in prior years.
The clearance rate in Milwaukee fluctuated between 50% and 59% from 2020 to 2023. The year Javon was murdered, in 2023, 59% of 172 murders were cleared.
Last year, when homicides dropped in the city by 30%, the clearance rate rose to 78%. Unsurprisingly, the clearance rate was lowest during the peak of the COVID pandemic when the number of homicides exploded in Milwaukee.
Javon’s story
Javon was a fast talker and good kid who excelled at wrestling and other sports in school. He was also extremely bright, graduating from West Allis Central High School with a 3.9 GPA. Offered two college scholarships, he chose instead to attend MATC and pursue his dreams of being a rapper and entrepreneur.
The day he got shot began like any other. He went to play basketball, came home to shower, and he let his mother know that he was heading out again.
Then there was a knock at the door, and she learned Javon had been shot and was in the hospital.
As she arrived, she asked about his condition.
All the hospital staff would tell her, she said, is that they were waiting for detectives to arrive.
“I should have realized then that he was already dead,” Wilson said.
Wilson said her son wasn’t the intended victim but got caught up in someone else’s beef.
After he died, she said, she called detectives for two weeks straight, even providing the names of potential suspects.
“It didn’t matter. They called it hearsay,” Wilson said. “I feel like I know who murdered my son.”
MPD stated that it continues to seek suspects in Javon’s homicide.
‘There’s no stopping them’
Janice Gorden, who founded the organization Victims of Milwaukee Violence Burial Fund 10 years ago, said it’s common for mothers to conduct their own investigations in their loved one’s murder.
“Sometimes they have way more information than the detectives do,” she said.
Sadly, she said, many become consumed with trying to solve the murder themselves.
“They drive themselves crazy trying to find answers to who killed their loved one,” she said. “I try to help but I can’t. I just listen to people like that because there’s no helping them. There’s no stopping them.”
Since Javon’s death, Wilson said she’s gone through thousands of emotions, one of them being severe depression. Her mother, who helped raise Javon, her first grandson, is equally devastated. Javon also had a special bond with his little brother Shamus, who’s 8 years old.
Shamus keeps a large cutout of Javon’s high school graduation photo in his bedroom and even grew out his hair to mimic his brother’s dreadlock hairstyle. Wilson said Shamus has struggled with anger issues since his big brother was killed.
“He doesn’t know how to adjust his emotions,” she said. “It’s been a very downward spiral for all of us.”
Brenda Hines founded an organization in her son Donovan’s memory to help other grieving families. (Edgar Mendez / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service)
‘I never knew it would happen to me’
Like Wilson, Brenda Hines knows the pain of losing a son to gun violence.
Her middle child, Donovan, 23, was shot and killed while driving a car near North 29th Street and West Hampton Avenue in 2017. His case also remains unsolved.
Hines said Donovan was never afraid to travel somewhere new without a plan other than to make it. She said she isn’t sure whether her son was killed in an ongoing dispute over a car or whether it stemmed from a woman.
“I know there were people at the funeral home and at his vigil who knew,” she said.
Hines has worked as a Salvation Army chaplain since 2014, heading to crime scenes to help other families deal with tragic incidents such as murders.
“I never knew it would happen to me,” she said.
Since Donovan’s death, she’s turned her pain into action, opening the Donovan Hines Foundation of Exuberance to honor her son and to help other families by providing mental health, grief counseling and other support.
She also hosts an annual vigil to honor homicide victims in Milwaukee, part of a national series of events. Many of the families she’s met along the way are also waiting for justice for their loved one’s murders.
“It really tears the family apart,” she said. “It’s like an open wound that is still bleeding. The tears flow every day.”
Hines says she can’t tell families she knows exactly how they feel.
“Every situation is different. But, I can tell them I understand,” she said.
Solving murders
James Hutchinson, captain of the Milwaukee Police Department’s Homicide Division, said his team of 33 detectives remains committed to solving a case even as the days grow into years.
“If someone comes in and says we have info on something that happened five years ago, we’ll take that info and follow up,” he said. “From the first two weeks, to a month, or months or years down the line, we’re equally as committed to solving a murder as we were today.”
Many families, such as those of Hines’ and Wilson’s, question whether every stone gets turned in an investigation.
“I don’t know if they did their due diligence,” Wilson said. “I don’t know if they care.”
Hines, who has worked closely with officers during her time as a chaplain, said she respects the challenges police officers face.
“They don’t have enough evidence,” she said.
Still, she can’t help but feel that more could have and should be done.
“I’ve met personally with detectives because they won’t call back,” she said. “It’s a bad process.”
Though it may not be much solace to the hundreds of families in Milwaukee still hoping for justice, Hutchinson said he and the detectives in his unit take each case personally. They know that the victim’s family and friends are devastated by their loved one’s murder.
“It’s heartbreaking,” he said. “Making a death notification is one of the hardest parts of this job.”
Hutchinson said resources in his department were spread thin when murders exploded in the city during the pandemic, which increased the challenge of building a case.
The biggest challenge, though, he said, is that witness cooperation isn’t what it used to be.
“It’s changed for the worse,” Hutchinson said. “There wasn’t a no snitching campaign back then.”
Wilson admits that witnesses to her son’s murder were reluctant to talk to police. She tracked down suspects on her own and offered those names to officers. That wasn’t enough to warrant charges, police told her. She needed her son’s friends to step up.
“At this point y’all should tell what happened,” she told them. “Somebody needs to be held responsible.”
How Milwaukee compares nationally
Thomas Hargrove, founder of the Murder Accountability Project, the largest database of unsolved murders in America, said Milwaukee homicide clearance rates are similar to what he saw nationally, especially during the pandemic.
Many cities have struggled to solve murders since then. Part of the challenge is resources.
“When you have enough resources, good things happen. When you don’t, bad things happen,” Hargrove said. “When you have over 200 murders, your system is off.”
He also said it’s also much harder to get a conviction now than it was 20 years ago, which can create friction between the district attorney’s office and local police.
Although police might make an arrest in a homicide case, that doesn’t mean that charges will be filed.
Police, Hutchinson said, only need probable cause to make an arrest. The burden of proof at the district attorney’s office, which files homicide charges, is higher.
“They have to be able to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said. “Many times we will make an arrest for probable cause, but we can’t get to that level.”
What often happens, Hutchinson said, is that officers will bring a case to the DA’s office or discuss what evidence they have and then have a dialogue about whether more is needed to file charges.
While that can bring some frustration, admits Hutchinson, it is better than arresting the wrong person.
“My worst nightmare I would have in the world is to have the wrong person held accountable for a crime,” he said.
Milwaukee County District Attorney Kent Lovern acknowledges that the work to hold someone accountable for murder can be burdensome on families seeking justice.
“Obviously there is a significant gap between the evidence needed to make an arrest versus the evidence needed to successfully prosecute a case,” Lovern said.
The reason for caution and continued dialogue with officers in hopes of building a strong case is because there’s no room for error.
“We really have one opportunity with a particular suspect to bring forward charges, and we want to get it right. Not only for the person charged, but the victim’s family and the integrity of the system,” he said.
Regardless, said Hargrove, the more murders that remain unsolved, the worse it is for everyone.
“The more murders you clear, the more murderers you get off the street, the more the murder rate will go down,” he said.
Trying to move on
As Hines reflects on the ripple effect her son’s murder has had on her family, she does the only thing she can to maintain hope.
“I have to have the peace of God,” she said. “He has taken care of the situation. I still get angry but I have to let God take control.”
Meanwhile, Wilson, who still talks to Javon’s friends regularly, visits his grave monthly, and she threw him a huge birthday bash in May.
She wonders whether it’s time to put away some of his photos. Among them are large poster boards filled with pictures that were on display during Javon’s funeral.
“I have to admit it is kind of depressing,” she said. “But it makes me feel like he’s still here with me.”
For more information
Anyone with any information about murders is asked to contact Milwaukee police at (414) 935-7360. If you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at (414) 224-TIPS (8477).
It allows for an individual to request federal agencies conduct a review of a homicide case investigation to determine whether it warrants a reinvestigation.
Homer Blow, a well-known radio personality and producer in Milwaukee, saw more than fireworks shoot off outside his North Side home on the Fourth of July.
He witnessed flames from a fire that damaged homes, destroyed at least one garage and engulfed two vehicles – the result of illegal fireworks.
“There were multiple people on multiple blocks setting off those really big fireworks,” Blow said.
Blow filmed firefighters working to put out flames just four houses down from his home on the 2900 block of North 53rd Street near Sherman Park.
Growing problem in Milwaukee
The incident is part of a growing trend in Milwaukee: fires caused by illegal fireworks on the Fourth of July. This year, there were seven fireworks-related fires on July 4, according to data provided by Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski.
In 2020, there was one. Five of the seven fires this year – including the fire on North 53rd Street – occurred on the north or northwest sides of the city, according to fire department reports.
Since 2020, there have been 17 fires on the Fourth of July linked to fireworks. That total could be higher because determining the precise cause of a fire is difficult, Lipski said.
“We do not always either know or have available to us the exact cause just based upon the realities of fire damaging/destroying evidence for all of these fires,” Lipski wrote in an email to NNS.
The fire on North 53rd Street also damaged this garage and destroyed several garbage carts. (Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)
‘I just needed to make sure my family was safe’
Shanise Sanders knows all too well the damage fireworks can cause. Her Northwest Side home erupted in flames last year on the Fourth of July.
Sanders said she and four family members were in their apartment at 6279 N. 84th St. when it caught fire.
“At the time, I had no fear – I just needed to make sure my family was safe,” Sanders said. “But it was definitely scary.”
Everyone made it out safely, Sanders said, but she and her family lost their home and all their possessions.
Illegal fireworks were used near the rear of the building, one of which reportedly lodged behind the electrical meter and exploded, according to information from the fire department.
Two years before Sanders’ fire, Christina Blake said her North Side home burned down on July 4 – with her daughter and grandchildren inside.
“They called me and said they see smoke coming from the wall,” Blake said.
According to Blake, a firework went between the sun porch and the house, where a socket was on the other side of the wall, resulting in an electrical fire.
“I wish people could know firsthand the damage it causes,” Blake said. “There should be more consequences.”
Fireworks banned in the city
The sale, possession and use of fireworks is illegal in the city without a permit approved by the fire chief, according to a city ordinance. Violators can face fines ranging from $500 to $1,000, and those who fail to pay may be jailed for up to 40 days.
The ban on fireworks came after the Milwaukee Common Council created a fireworks task force in 2006 to examine the impact of fireworks on public safety after a Milwaukee home was destroyed.
Ald. Mark Chambers Jr., who represents the district Sanders lived in, said in a statement that the fire that destroyed her home was entirely preventable, suggesting the Legislature revisit regulations surrounding these “commercial, high-grade explosives.”
Undeterred by the fire on July 4, people on North 53rd Street were setting off fireworks the next day, Blow said.
“I understand people want to light fireworks, but, I mean, you have to understand fire safety,” Blow said. “My whole thing is – what goes up must come down,” he said. “When those fireworks come down, they’re going to be hot.”
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
A program at Marquette University that trains Milwaukee-area teachers to incorporate the city’s untold stories – particularly those of communities of color – into their classrooms is losing federal funding.
The U.S. Department of Education sent a letter that stated it will not continue the grant, saying the program – called MKE Roots – reflects “the prior administration’s priorities and policy preferences and conflict with those of the current administration.”
The decision means funding will end this fall, leading to staff cuts and scaling back of programming.
It’s a loss for the teachers who participate – but one that will affect thousands of Milwaukee students, said Melissa Gibson, faculty director of MKE Roots.
“Students realize that their communities have this whole rich history of organizing and advocating, making our city not only what it is but also a better place,” Gibson said. “They feel more empowered to be their own community and civic leaders.”
‘A rich tapestry of cultural experiences’
MKE Roots is a professional development program for Milwaukee-area teachers that includes a weeklong summer training in which they visit local landmarks and meet with historians and community leaders.
Places this summer included America’s Black Holocaust Museum and Sherman Phoenix Marketplace.
Before the school year begins, teachers get help developing lesson plans that reflect what they’ve learned, then they meet at least four more times to collaborate.
There is also an online map with lesson plans and primary sources tied to Milwaukee neighborhoods.
“We are heralding the men and women – the legacies of our city’s past – so that our students understand that they are part of a rich tapestry of cultural experiences,” said Robert Smith, director of Marquette’s Center for Urban Research, Teaching & Outreach, which houses MKE Roots.
Milwaukee schools often teach local history through a curriculum that focuses largely on traditional narratives – such as beer barons and European immigrants, Gibson said.
“Students don’t know that Black Milwaukeeans have been here since the 1800s” before Wisconsin was a state, she said. “They don’t know how and why Mexican migrants came to Milwaukee in the 1920s. They don’t know that Wisconsin was one of the first states to pass anti-LGBTQ discrimination laws.”
“No matter where you are as a teacher, you do something like this, and it gives you perspectives that I think truly, as a teacher – especially today – you need,” said Jeffrey Gervais, a fifth-grade teacher at Hamlin Garland School who is participating in this year’s training.
The letter
In 2023, the Department of Education awarded MKE Roots a three-year grant for $1.27 million. However, on June 18, the department sent a letter to Gibson that stated it will not fund the program for the third year.
The letter gave four possible reasons for the decision: The program violates the letter or purpose of federal civil rights law; conflicts with the department’s policy of prioritizing merit, fairness and excellence in education; undermines the well-being of the students the program is intended to help; or constitutes an inappropriate use of federal funds.
It did not specify which reason – or reasons – apply in this case.
The Department of Education did not respond to questions about its decision, but Smith said he can only assume it is because of the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion, often known as DEI.
It calls for eliminating federal funding that supports “gender ideology” or “discriminatory equity ideology” in K-12 curriculum, instruction, programs or activities, as well as teacher education, certification, licensing, employment or training.
DEI or not DEI?
Smith rejects the idea that MKE Roots is a DEI program.
“The notion of DEI is fundamentally based on people having equal access to institutions,” he said. “What we are doing is actually attending to the various populations of students we serve.”
Smith also disputes the reasons listed in the letter from the Department of Education.
“None of the reasons are accurate relative to what we do with MKE Roots,” he said. “This is civics education at its purest – making sure our teachers have the tools to engage in important conversations with their students about Milwaukee, Wisconsin, their neighborhoods and communities, and their role in shaping those neighborhoods and communities.”
Smith and Gibson said they are appealing the decision.
Gibson said she is considering applying for a new Department of Education grant for civic education programs that develop “citizen competency and informed patriotism” especially among low-income students and underserved populations, according to the grant’s description.
It would require redesigning aspects of MKE Roots to put “founding documents in conversation with local context,” Gibson said.
“We would need to find a different funding stream to maintain what MKE Roots currently does,” she added.
Regardless of the outcome, she said, the work will continue.
“I was doing this work before I had funding, and I’ll do it after I have funding.”
When Joshua Liston-Zawadi’s wife, Symphony, delivered their fourth child, Harlem, at home, the 31-year-old felt excluded.
The midwife would check on Symphony frequently, but not him.
That experience prompted him to do something for the fathers.
In 2021, Joshua launched Dad Doula University to provide non-birthing parents with free workshops on emotional changes, pregnancy and personal growth.
“As you go through becoming a parent, no one educates the non-birthing people or men on how to navigate changes within yourself,” Joshua said.
Doulas are certified individuals who provide emotional, physical and informational support during the prenatal, birthing and postpartum process.
From struggles to lessons
Symphony and midwife Dr. Lakeeta Watts encouraged Joshua to take his struggles and turn them into lessons for others.
Symphony helped create curricula, co-facilitate sessions and coordinate, while Watts provided Joshua with certified doula training.
“To see him commit to supporting other families in his unique way has been a pleasure to watch and support,” Symphony said.
A male perspective
Watts noticed Joshua often stepping back to elevate women’s voices in different environments but reminded him that his perspective matters, too.
“I told him that even though that’s very honorable of him, we often lose the voice of men in these spaces as well,” Watts said.
Dad Doula University initially started as a virtual program via Zoom and Clubhouse because of the COVID pandemic.
The program eventually secured a spot inside the Sherman Phoenix Marketplace, 3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave., Milwaukee, where in-person sessions are held.
(Joshua said the virtual option is still being offered to dads seeking support abroad.)
“Any dad who needs support, regardless of where you are, I got you,” Joshua said.
A safe space for dads
Among the participants of Dad Doula University is 34-year-old Markus Thompson, a single dad of two daughters who joined the program to connect with other fathers.
Thompson described the program as a great emotional space to release anxiety, fears and self-doubt.
“The men I was around were there during the times I felt alone,” Thompson said.
Throughout the program, Joshua taught Thompson about a birthing plan, a document created before labor to tell hospital staff one’s preferences on how the birthing should go.
“I teach men that it’s their job to be in charge of this process, and the only way they can do that is if they involve the person that they’re caring for,” Joshua said.
Thompson said the birth plan included things you’d never think of like whether the mother wants music during labor or how to advocate for her when she can’t herself.
“Raising children isn’t a one-parent thing,” he said.
Thompson is now a 2025 alumnus of Dad Doula University’s two-week program and encourages other dads to join.
At the end of the program, graduates get a certificate, take their first family photo and receive free baby essentials and a year’s supply of diapers.
For fathers hesitant about seeking support during pregnancy, Joshua lives by a motto that says: “If I’m not OK, then nothing I touch will be.”
After passing through the suburbs of Milwaukee, Eric “Shake” James realized there was a lack of bikes in Milwaukee’s underserved communities, prompting him to launch an annual bike giveaway called “Black on the Block.”
James gave away 500 bikes on June 21 at 1935 W. Hampton Ave., along with free resources and food for families.
James realized North Side children lacked exercise opportunities when he saw suburban children in Whitefish Bay and Oak Creek had tons of bikes and bike racks at their schools.
“Those kids are riding to school, but when you come to the inner city, the kids here are getting to school solely on buses, and childhood obesity is like a real thing,” James said.
The giveaway was organized by JAY Academy, his nonprofit organization that provides wellness, arts education, professional development and more to support Milwaukee youths.
Community support boosts efforts
Each year the quantity of bikes has increased by 100. To get the bikes, James partnered with local organizations like Bader Philanthropies Inc. and received donations from community members like UFC fighter Montel Jackson.
“Montel saw me at Walmart getting the bikes, and he just gave me $5,000 right there on the spot and told me he liked what I was doing,” James said.
Additional support came from Ald. Andrea Pratt and Mayor Cavalier Jonhson, who have visited the event before and helped promote it.
Those in need
During the bike giveaway, Dannetta Jones and her two daughters, 12-year-old Iyanna and 9-year-old Tianna, returned to get new bikes.
Dannetta hopes that her daughters and other children take care of their new bikes.
“Last year, their bikes got torn up fast,” Dannetta said.
Tianna felt bad when there was a hole in her tire after letting her cousin ride it, and no one would share theirs with her.
“I didn’t like that it was messed up, so I really wanted a new one,” Tianna said.
Tianna plans to visit her cousin’s house with her new bike.
More than just a bike
For Iyanna, she sees her new bike as a new form of transportation and a sense of independence as she typically goes to her local store and rides alone.
“I’m excited to have this new bike because I can go anywhere now without having to walk,” Iyanna said.
“It’s a gift that someone got for me and I’m thankful for it,” Iyanna said.
James finds joy seeing the children receive their bikes because he thinks it’s better than being on the phone or a video game.
“They got to get outside and start enjoying all these different things that the city of Milwaukee has to offer,” James said.
Better resources for a new generation
Alecia Ball is a McGovern Park resident who brought her three grandchildren to the bike giveaway. She has full custody of them because of the death of their mother.
Ball’s grandchildren had toys at home but no bikes. Initially, she aimed to purchase one for them, but found out about the event through Facebook.
Ball hopes that all the children actually use the bikes and have fun with them as they’re receiving resources she never had.
“When I was raised, we didn’t have any assistance like this, so this free giveaway makes a difference in the community,” Ball said.
Plans to improve
James has plans to expand the giveaway by arranging a neighborhood group ride for the children by next year.
In addition, James is seeking help to promote bike safety for the children by bringing back free helmets.
During the first year of the giveaway, helmets came with the bikes, but they were excluded in later giveaways because of costs.
“I’m trying to find somebody to deal with, with the helmet situation, because those run about $20 to $40,” James said.
According to James, “Black on the Block” is his second-largest event where hundreds of people are in line waiting for something good.
James wants parents to know that he understands their situation and wants what’s best for the children.
“I know it’s tough right now, but we’re going to fight our way through it together,” James said.
It’s tempting to begin a story about Emily Sterk with an anecdote about her advocacy around mass incarceration.
Or with her reflections on how her privilege plays into that work. Or with an exploration of how her religious faith intertwines with her concern for those caught up in the criminal justice system.
But she also loves musicals – and is a little embarrassed to admit how much she enjoys “Wicked.” She has a beloved tortoiseshell cat named Stevie and is fond of puzzles.
Having said all that, people are starting to notice how good she is at what she does, said Krissie Fung, associate director of Milwaukee Turners, the state’s oldest civic organization, where Sterk is completing a fellowship.
“People have heard her speak in public, and folks are beginning to look to her opinion,” Fung said.
This ability to gain trust within criminal justice reform circles is especially valuable as the organization grows, said Emilio De Torre, executive director of Turners.
“Having someone who can help us build stronger networks, have an informed leader in these different rooms – it expands our ability to educate others who don’t understand this and to empower people who are impacted but unsure of what to do,” De Torre said.
From the academy
During her final year of graduate school at Pennsylvania State University, Sterk – in her spare time – taught in two correctional institutions.
“That was one of the first times I felt like, ‘Oh, well, I should be doing something about this,’” she said.
Sterk arrived in Milwaukee last fall as a Leading Edge Fellow with the American Council of Learned Societies, a national program that places Ph.D. graduates at justice-focused nonprofits.
At Turners, she conducts research, participates in advocacy and develops policy ideas geared toward confronting mass incarceration.
‘Watching the watchers’
One area Sterk has focused on is civilian oversight of law enforcement.
At an April 15 meeting of the Milwaukee County Board’s Judiciary, Law Enforcement and General Services Committee, Sterk testified in support of a civilian board that would oversee the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office.
She told committee members that, in order to be effective and independent, such a board must have the authority to hire and fire law enforcement officers – including the sheriff – and have policymaking authority.
Sterk pointed to a 2024 audit of the county jail that, she said, “unearthed deeply troubling policies, practices and procedures that have long since been ingrained in the facility and its staff.”
She highlighted an instance in which an officer accused of misconduct was assigned to respond to the grievance filed against them.
With emotion in her voice, Sterk reminded supervisors that the audit devoted just three sentences to a suicide attempt that auditors personally witnessed during their visit.
Two weeks after this committee meeting, Sterk presented to the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission the findings of a six-month monitoring period of the commission’s activity – “watching the watchers,” as Fung put it.
The commission was significantly restructured in July 2023 after Wisconsin Act 12 stripped its ability to shape police policy, shifting that power to police and fire department chiefs.
However, Sterk is not hostile or self-righteous in her criticism. Care and sincerity are at the center of her approach – even for the offices and bodies she’s criticizing.
At the Fire and Police Commission presentation, multiple commissioners thanked the Turners and echoed the call to improve public engagement.
Currently, Sterk is fostering a collaboration on jail-based voting between the Turners and the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County. Here, too, her thoughtfulness has left its mark.
“The first thing she talked to me about was educating people about having respect for people who are incarcerated,” said Gail Sklodowska, the second vice president of advocacy and action for the league. “Like how we refer to them, how we talk about them. And I went, ‘Wow, I never even thought of that as a place we should start.’
“But she’s right.”
This combination of rigor, respect and resolve is rooted in deeper values, said Carlos de la Torre, Sterk’s partner and a rector at a church in Chicago.
“Amidst the work of justice, of restoration, of reconciliation, of liberation,” he said, “Emily knows that there’s a place for beauty in all this.
“The point of all this work is to offer people access to a good life, to the beauty of this world, to be free in creation.”
Sterk’s fellowship ends September 2026, but she is open to staying in Milwaukee after that – and so are others.
“I would love for us – and for Milwaukee – to keep her,” Fung said.
If you or someone you know is planning to drink for the holiday, there are safe rides being provided.
To help reduce drunken driving and encourage safer celebrations this Independence Day, Pemberton Personal Injury Law Firm is providing free Uber rides, worth up to $25, for eligible Wisconsin residents on the night of July 4.
How it works
The offer is available to Wisconsin residents from 4 p.m. on Friday July 4, to 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 5.
You just make sure you have an Uber account set up.
The Social Development Commission, or SDC, is asking the federal government to reverse a decision made by the state that could alter the anti-poverty agency’s funding options.
Here’s what we know.
The community action decision
The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families decided in May to remove the SDC’s community action agency status, effective July 3.
Although the department believes SDC has not been operating anti-poverty services since it shut down in April 2024, despite reopening in December, SDC’s leaders have said the state did not follow the proper process to make this decision.
Without this designation, SDC will not be eligible for a Community Services Block Grant, which is a small portion of its budget but significant to its efforts to pay back employees and rebuild its service programs.
How does a federal review work?
When a state decides to rescind community action status or the related block grant funding from a local agency, the agency can request a review from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services within 30 days.
SDC submitted a request for a review of the state’s community action decision to the department on June 9, citing concerns about due process.
The Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, will evaluate if the state’s determination process followed the guidanceon the termination or reduction of funding for entities eligible for the Community Services Block Grant, according to a spokesperson from the department.
The Division of Community Assistance, which is part of the Office of Community Services within the federal department, oversees block grant funding for community action agencies.
“I think that HHS is concerned about the process that was used to de-designate SDC, and so my expectation is that they will be talking to the state about the process,” said William Sulton, SDC’s attorney.
The Department of Children and Families received notification on June 11 from the Office of Community Services that SDC requested a review, but did not receive the request itself, according to Gina Paige, communications director for the department.
The review will be completed within 90 days of receiving all required documentation from the state, according to federal law. If not completed in the 90-day time frame, the state’s decision will be upheld.
As part of the request, SDC is asking the Department of Health and Human Services for direct financial assistance.
According to the CSBG Act, if a state violates the de-designation process – by terminating or reducing funding of an eligible entity before the state hearing and the secretary’s review – the Health and Human Services secretary is authorized to provide financial assistance to the entity affected until the violation is corrected.
SDC’s concerns
SDC raised two main concerns with the state’s determination process in the request, based on state and federal laws.
The first concern is that the public hearing on SDC’s community action status, held by the Department of Children and Families on April 4, did not meet the legal requirements of a “hearing on the record.”
“You’re supposed to be permitted to call witnesses and present evidence,” Sulton said. “… We were given seven minutes to make a speech, and that was it.”
SDC also says that both the Department of Children and Families’ secretary and the legislative bodies of the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County would have to sign off on the decision, based on a state statute that requires the legislative body that initially granted the agency community action status to approve rescinding it.
“They didn’t go out and get position statements from the city and the county’s legislative bodies,” Sulton said.
The department did not comment on these claims. (Paige previously said it has worked closely with the Office of Community Services and Milwaukee County to determine the process needed to move forward with de-designating SDC.)
Although Milwaukee County’s Office of Corporation Counsel submitted a letter to say it found no records of the Board of Supervisors taking action on SDC’s status as a community action agency, Sulton said that doesn’t mean there are no records.
He argues that this provision of the law, added in 1983, was put in place to protect SDC from arbitrary state action.
Funding deadline
In May, three state lawmakers asked SDC to consider voluntarily de-designating, which would allow the state and Milwaukee County to more quickly find an interim service provider to use SDC’s allocated funds in Milwaukee County.
The $1.18 million in 2024 block grant funding could be recouped by the federal government if not spent by Sept. 30, 2025, according to the Department of Children and Families.
However, Sulton said when he reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services before filing the review, an employee told him the 2024 funds had to be obligated by 2026.
“To the extent that anybody has the impression that this money has to be obligated by September or it’ll be lost, HHS says it’s not the case,” he said.
States and subrecipients usually have two years to distribute funds, but it depends on state-specific policies, according to HHS.
The state’s Sept. 30 deadline marks two years after the beginning of the 2024 fiscal year in October 2023, according to Paige.
Though Paige said that SDC’s request for review is perpetuating the lack of services in Milwaukee County, she added that the department plans to seek a six-month liquidation extension from the federal government.
“It’s quite possible that we’re gonna be on a really tight timeline to get that money out the door, so that’s why we’re hoping that we can work with the federal government and see if they can allow us an extension to expend it a little bit longer,” Paige said.
Board member changes
The SDC board added two commissioners in May – Milwaukee Public Schools appointed Michael Harris, and the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee appointed Peter Fetzer, an attorney at Foley & Lardner LLP.
In the last seven months, the SDC board has expanded from three to 10 commissioners, thanks to several appointments to vacant seats. The board is designed to have 18 members at full capacity.
Commissioner Lucero Ayala’s term has ended, according to Sulton. Ayala was nominated and selected last year to fill the remainder of Serina Chavez’s term as an elected commissioner.
As Wisconsin’s prison population climbs toward pre-pandemic levels, Senate Bill 153 seeks to expand alternatives to incarceration.
Wisconsin’s Treatment Alternatives and Diversion program was established in 2005 to provide counties with funding to create programs to divert adults with nonviolent criminal charges into community-based treatment for substance abuse.
Senate Bill 153 would formally expand the scope of these programs to explicitly include individuals with mental health issues.
Access to more funding
While some counties, including Milwaukee, already provide some diversion options for individuals with mental health needs, Senate Bill 153 could allow Milwaukee County to access funding not currently available.
“The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office has always supported the expansion of the Treatment Alternatives and Diversion program to include those individuals with severe and persistent mental health issues in addition to those with alcohol and drug dependency issues,” said Jeffrey Altenburg, Milwaukee County’s chief deputy district attorney.
He added that such an expansion would allow the district attorney’s office to focus most of its traditional prosecutorial resources on violent crime.
Bipartisan support
State Sen. André Jacque, R-New Franken, who co-authored the bill, said that the legislation enjoys broad bipartisan support as well as backing from those who work inside the criminal justice system.
“Folks that I’ve talked to – whether it’s probation and parole, law enforcement more generally – these are folks that see that it works because you don’t see repeat involvement in the criminal justice system,” he said.
“It is transformative and uplifting when you see the changes that people are able to make in their lives.”
Marshall Jones, currently incarcerated at Fox Lake Correctional Institution, hopes more lawmakers have that sort of mindset.
“If politicians were more proactive in helping people in the system address the underlying issues they have, then more people will be in a position to experience lasting, genuine change,” Jones said.
Research shows that treating the underlying causes of criminal behavior helps individuals rebuild their lives after incarceration and prevents future offenses.
“Most people who have mental health issues are already running or hiding from a fear they have,” said Aaron Nicgorski, a patient at a Wisconsin Department of Health Services facility.
“Providing treatment says ‘Hey, we understand you have an issue, here are some programs to get you on a path to a better future’ versus ‘Hey, we’re gonna put you in a cage to think about what you’ve done.’”
Diversion vs. incarceration
Over time, the criminal justice system has recognized that many people commit crimes because of economic or psychological factors rather than some sort of character flaw.
Diversion – the process by which people get “diverted” into voluntary programs and away from formal prosecution – has been used to address these factors.
“The whole idea is to divert them from the traditional system and get them placed with, hopefully, programs that can break the cycle of any criminal behavior,” said Nick Sayner, co-founder and chief executive officer of JusticePoint, a Milwaukee-based nonprofit organization that provides diversion-related services among other criminal justice programs.
Breaking that cycle is better for the public’s safety as well as the safety of the person being diverted, said Mark Rice, coordinator for the Wisconsin Transformational Justice Campaign at WISDOM, a statewide faith-based organization.
It’s also much more cost-effective to treat people in communities rather than to incarcerate them, Rice added.
Incarceration is not an experience that lends itself to improving a person’s mental health, he said.
“One man attempted to commit suicide; several other men had to be put on suicide watch; others mutilated themselves,” said Rice, referring to his time in the special needs unit at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility.
What’s next?
On May 8, the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety unanimously recommended Senate Bill 153 for passage. It is now awaiting scheduling for a vote by the full Senate.
As the Milwaukee Police Department moves to expand its use of facial recognition technology, a June report from the federal government finds this technology continues to disproportionately misidentify people of color.
Elected officials and civil rights groups have been raising this concern as a clear reason why MPD’s plan should be paused or rejected entirely.
MPD says there are ways to address this limitation.
The Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission on Wednesday, June 18, will hold a public meeting to assess potential discrimination-related risks.
The report
In 2019, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology released a major report evaluating how demographics affect outcomes in facial recognition systems.
The report found skin color and ethnicity often had an effect.
With domestic law enforcement images, for example, the system most often led to false positives – when someone is incorrectly identified – for American Indians. Rates were also elevated for African American and Asian populations.
On June 2, the agency issued a report showing that facial recognition systems were more likely to mistake people from predominantly darker-skinned regions for someone else. This included people from sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Caribbean, compared with people from Europe and Central Asia.
Higher rates of misidentifications for people of color raise concerns that facial recognition could lead to more wrongful stops and arrests by police.
MPD’s plan
MPD Chief of Staff Heather Hough, speaking during an April meeting of the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission, said the department has used facial recognition technology in the past in coordination with other police departments.
She stressed its crime-fighting benefits.
“Facial recognition technology is a valuable tool in solving crimes and increasing public safety,” Hough said.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson supports the use of this technology for the same reason, Jeff Fleming, spokesperson for the mayor’s office, wrote in an email.
“Identifying, apprehending and bringing to justice criminals in our city does reduce crime,” Fleming wrote.
During the commission meeting, Paul Lau, who oversees MPD’s criminal investigations bureau, said the department is considering an official agreement with a company called Biometrica.
“We anticipate this usually being used by our detective bureau in the investigation of major violent felonies,” Lau said.
Community response
Emilio De Torre, executive director of Milwaukee Turners, cited some of the 2019 federal findings in an op-ed, arguing that “entrusting facial recognition to routine policing is not public safety; it is an avoidable risk that history shows will fall hardest on Black Milwaukeeans.”
Milwaukee Turners is one of 19 organizations that sent a letter to the Milwaukee Common Council expressing concerns about surveillance technology. The letter urges the council to adopt an ordinance ensuring community participation in deciding if and how it is used.
Some members of the Common Council have come out in strong opposition to MPD’s plan as well.
“It’s both embarrassing and dangerous for false positives to occur at such a high rate,” Alderman José G. Pérez, Common Council president, told NNS.
Such flaws would likely lead to due process violations, he said.
Addressing flaws
Hough said MPD knows there are people in the community who are “very leery” of police using this technology, adding that their “concerns about civil liberties are important.”
“I want to make it very clear: Facial recognition on its own is never enough. It requires human analysis and additional investigation.”
MPD is committed to a “thoughtful, intentional and mindful” policy that considers community input, Hough said.
Lau said MPD will look into racial bias training provided by Biometrica, and people using the technology will need to have training on best practices.
The company says errors identified in 2019 stemmed from several flaws that can be countered with, for example, anti-bias training for analysts who review facial recognition alerts.
Who gets to decide?
Since Wisconsin Act 12, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman is free to develop any official policy he chooses. The Common Council has the only formal check that exists.
By a two-thirds vote – or 10 of Milwaukee’s 15 aldermen – the council can block or modify MPD policies. But it must wait for a policy to be officially implemented.
The state Legislature could pass a statewide ban or restrictions, and the Common Council could adopt an ordinance regulating or banning its use.
Alderman Alex Brower told NNS he will be doing everything in his power, as a member of the Common Council, to oppose MPD’s acquisition of facial recognition technology.
What residents can do
People will have an opportunity to share their opinions about MPD’s plan – for and against – at an upcoming meeting of the Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission.
Commission members will use testimony about facial recognition to help determine the discrimination-related risks it may pose, said Tony Snell, chair of the commission.
“We want to listen to as many people as possible,” Snell said.
The commission can make recommendations to the Common Council, the mayor, MPD and the Fire and Police Commission.
The commission meeting will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 18, at Milwaukee City Hall, 200 E. Wells St.
Those who wish to speak must register by emailing ERC@milwaukee.gov. Each speaker will have up to three minutes. People can also send written testimony to this email address so it can be included in the public record.
Despite arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the Milwaukee County Courthouse complex, many county officials want residents to know that courthouse services remain available regardless of citizenship status.
Israel Ramón, the Milwaukee County register of deeds, sees access to his office at the courthouse as a fundamental right of every resident in the county.
“I work for 950,000 people,” Ramón said.
What is a register of deeds?
When people think of essential county services, the register of deeds might not come to mind. But Ramón has a way of making his office sound impossible to live without.
If people want to drive a car, prove legal identity, apply for Social Security or access food benefits in Milwaukee County, among other tasks, they need documents maintained by Ramón’s office.
When Wisconsin became a state in 1848, the register of deeds was established as one of a handful of constitutional county offices – positions created by the state constitution and filled by local elections.
Like a sheriff or a judge, people needed a register of deeds to help organize aspects of their daily lives.
It’s the same today, Ramón said.
“Most of the time, people don’t think that my office impacts their lives. But from birth to death and throughout their tenure in the county – my office does it all.”
Ramón’s office issues birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates – documents known as vital records.
His office also records and archives real property documents for Milwaukee County. Real property includes real estate – the physical land and buildings – as well as the legal rights associated with owning, using and transferring it.
Altogether, Ramón said his office maintains an archive of about 12 million documents.
Access to courthouse complex
All residents of Milwaukee County, Ramón argues, deserve access to these records – regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or immigration status.
If, for example, an undocumented mother needs to obtain a birth certificate for her U.S.-born son to enroll him in school, she has the same right to that document as any other parent, according to Ramón.
These arrests also threaten access to the full range of services offered in the complex, said Alan Chavoya, outreach chair of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racism & Political Repression, a community group critical of the immigration policies of the Trump administration.
“People don’t realize that this complex actually houses so many different services,” Chavoya said. “The county supervisors are here. People pay some taxes here. I served jury duty here.”
“A restraining order – you’re supposed to be able to get help here to file one,” he added. “People who might need one but have mixed status probably aren’t going to come here to get one, right?”
ICE at the courthouse
The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution on April 24 calling on the county executive, chief judge and sheriff to work together to ensure access to courthouse services.
However, the resolution does not impose any new restrictions on immigration enforcement.
Ramón remains focused on what he can do. He said he will ask anyone not conducting official business in his office to leave, including ICE agents without a judicial warrant.
A judicial warrant allows officers to make arrests in both private and public areas, while administrative warrants – typically used for immigration-related arrests – permit arrests only in public areas.
As a constitutional officer, the register of deeds has authority over how services are provided, in accordance with state and federal laws, said a spokesperson from the Milwaukee County Executive’s Office.
Failing to remove barriers that prevent people from accessing his office, including fear of immigration enforcement, would mean failing to uphold the oath of office he took, Ramón said.
This includes legal documents such as power-of-attorney forms, which people fearing family separation can use to ensure someone else is able to legally care for their children or manage their finances.
But, again, Ramón makes clear that this service is for every resident of the county.
In addition to what he sees as his public duties, he draws on his personal background to underscore his commitment to accessibility.
He told NNS he is a U.S. citizen born in Mexico, the first Latino constitutional officer in Wisconsin and one of the first openly LGBTQ+ ones.
Gesturing to the LGBTQ+, U.S. and Mexican flags displayed on his bookshelf, Ramón said, “That’s who I am.”
For more information
Milwaukee County residents can request records in person, online or by phone, depending on the type of record.
As they hit the streets, members of 414LIFE, a community and hospital-based violence intervention program, know their efforts could literally mean the difference between life and death.
That theory was put to the test recently when 414LIFE members showed up to diffuse a neighborhood dispute that also involved law enforcement officers on Milwaukee’s North Side. If not for that intervention, Lynn Lewis, executive director of 414LIFE, believes the incident could have ended in tragedy.
“Frontline workers go into situations where emotions are high, where people are riled up and thinking about retaliation,” Lewis said.
As temperature rises, so can violence
Lewis said her 414LIFE team of 15 violence interrupters and outreach workers has hit the streets hard in recent weeks, responding to an uptick in violence.
“There have been about seven shootings and four homicides in the last 72 hours,” Lewis said during a community pop-up recently near Milwaukee Fire Station 5 on the North Side.
Reggie Moore is the director of violence prevention policy and engagement at the Comprehensive Injury Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin, which implements the program for the city of Milwaukee.
He said shootings over the past three weeks have kept the 414LIFE team busy.
Many of the shootings, he said, involved interfamily conflict or intimate partner violence. And while the violence typically rises with the temperature, Moore said, it’s the sheer volume of guns on the streets that presents the biggest problem.
“The presence of a firearm increases the risk of arguments or conflicts resulting in serious injuries or death,” he said. “People are losing their lives and freedom over a moment of anger.
“Our team along with our partners have been working around the clock responding to scenes and hospitals to support impacted families and neighborhoods.”
‘Life is bigger than just the hood’
Lewis said the group held several pop-ups recently along with staff from Credible Messengers, a Milwaukee County violence intervention program. One was at Tiefenthaler Park, 2501 W. Galena St., where a shooting occurred after a vigil recently.
“We talk to people in hot spots like that about the need to change up before they end up incarcerated or dead,” Lewis said. “We need to stop the bleeding.”
The interrupters are well versed in the street lifestyle, having lived through the same challenges that people in the community face now.
One message they share, whether it’s with youths or adults, Lewis said, “is that life is bigger than just the hood.”
They talk about goals and share resources such as information on jobs, food and other programs to help the people they serve build social capital and eventually change their attitudes toward gun violence, she said.
“Milwaukee, we need to stop shooting and start healing,” Lewis said.
Community violence intervention programs like 414 LIFE take a public health approach to reducing violence and improving community safety, Moore said.
He said the 414LIFE program, which was inspired by the Blueprint for Peace, is the longest community violence intervention program in Milwaukee.
“Our colleagues at Froedtert Hospital are also feeling the weight of these shootings just as much as our street teams on the front line,” Moore said. “Working in the streets and hospitals, 414LIFE has been engaging with families and others impacted by shootings across the city.”
The 414LIFE community team was involved in 49 conflict mediations in 2024, with nearly 90% being resolved, Moore said during a May 22 presentation on the program to the Common Council’s Public Safety and Health Committee.
The team spent 1,388 hours on conflict resolution activities and 2,678 hours on behavior and community norm change activities and worked with 25 youths in 2024.
Aside from mediations, team members also have active caseloads of individuals referred to them by hospitals, the Office of Community Wellness and Safety and individuals they’ve met during outreach.
Data from 414LIFE’s April monthly report shows that caseloads have increased recently, from 36 in January to 50 in April. The team has logged more than 1,200 hours so far this year on behavior change and public accompaniment efforts and more than 100 hours on direct violence intervention.
Evidence of the program’s effectiveness, according to Moore, is that last year’s 414LIFE priority neighborhood, Old North Milwaukee, experienced a 31% decrease in homicides and a 6% decrease in nonfatal shootings in 2024, based on data from the Milwaukee Police Department.
So far this year, homicides are down 50% and nonfatal shootings 43% in Old North Milwaukee.
During his presentation to the Public Safety and Health Committee, Moore said each homicide in Milwaukee costs the city more than $2 million in hospital, criminal investigation, incarceration and other costs, while each shooting costs the city over half a million dollars.
Who are 414LIFE members?
While lived experience helps 414LIFE’s street team talk the talk and walk the walk, it’s the extensive training the members receive that gives them the tools to walk into a volatile situation to prevent bloodshed.
Lewis said her team operates under the Cure Violence model, which works to reduce the risk of retaliation, revictimization and other community violence through credible messengers.
To strengthen those skills, each member goes through the Academy for Transformational Change training, which uses a community asset approach to serve neighborhoods most impacted by crime and incarceration.
Members also receive shooting response, Narcan, Stop the Bleed, Mental Health First Aid and other training, she said.
“The team is highly trained,” Lewis said. “They also have passion and grit.”
Challenges for violence interruption programs
While violence interruption efforts continue in Milwaukee, funding cuts, particularly at the federal level, threaten the future of violence prevention programming.
According to a report by the Council on Criminal Justice, the Trump administration has cut federal funding for community safety and violence intervention programming by more than $168 million.
David Muhammad, deputy director of the Department of Health and Human Services for Milwaukee County, addresses a crowd last month. (Edgar Mendez / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service)
“This work is under attack,” said David Muhammad, deputy director of the Department of Health and Human Services for Milwaukee County, during a pop-up event. “We have to fight for the resources we have.”
In addition to 414LIFE and other local community violence intervention programs, a key to help maintain the reduction of violence that Milwaukee has experienced over the past two years is residents, Moore said.
“Peace starts with the people, and we must ensure that firearms are securely stored and not accessible to individuals prohibited from having them,” he said.
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