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As children continue to enter foster care across Milwaukee, agencies working the front lines say the greatest need isn’t funding or policy promises, it’s people willing to open their homes. Especially to teenagers.

We spoke with Jakob Eisen, director of social services, and Karen Steinbach, treatment foster care supervisor, with La Causa’s Treatment Foster Care program, to understand what becoming and supporting foster parents can look like. 

Shortage of foster families

Children placed in foster care range from newborns to young adults, sometimes remaining in care until age 21 or older if they are still in school. 

Steinbach said what youths share is trauma because being removed from home, even for safety reasons, is itself traumatic.

“These kids come to us during the worst moments of their lives,” she said. “They need adults who are patient, empathetic and willing to stay even when things get hard.”

Data shows a desperate shortage in Milwaukee of people willing to take in adolescents. 

In 2024, there was an average of 515 children aged 12 years or older in out-of-home care. Of these older children, 275 (53%) were placed in a family-like setting, 146 (28%) were placed in congregate care, and 94 (18%) were in other care.

Ninety percent of children aged 12 and under were placed in family-like care. 

Steinbach said teenagers often cycle through dozens of placements, a history that can fuel mistrust, anger and difficult behaviors.

“There’s a myth that teens are harder or more dangerous,” she said. “But if you’ve been in 30 or 40 homes and every one of them asked you to leave, why would you believe the next one will be different?”

She said behaviors like running away, breaking property, withdrawing emotionally or acting out are often trauma responses, not defiance. And younger children show it, too. 

Foster parents are asked to look past those behaviors. 

“That’s the hardest part of the job,” Steinbach said. “And also the most important.”

What does it take to become a foster parent?

Becoming a foster parent is a serious commitment, and the licensing process reflects that. 

Prospective families must pass background checks, provide references, complete home safety inspections, participate in interviews that explore everything from parenting experience to mental health history, and meet other state requirements.

“It’s personal,” Steinbach said. “We ask hard questions because we’re asking you to care for children who have experienced significant trauma.”

There are different levels of foster care. Treatment foster parents, who care for children with higher behavioral or emotional needs, receive additional training and support. 

Eisen said most foster parents work full-time jobs. What helps them succeed as a foster parent is preparation and support from employers, family, friends and agencies themselves.

“We ask people upfront: Who’s your village?” Steinbach said. “Because no one does this alone.”

Removing stigmas of fostering

Some community members hesitate to engage with foster care because they believe the system “takes” children from families. Eisen said that perception misses critical context.

“No child is removed without legal authority,” he said. “Every case goes before a judge. There are statutory thresholds, multiple layers of review and ongoing court oversight.”

In most cases, he said, parents retain legal rights and decision-making authority. Foster care is intended to be temporary, with reunification as the primary goal whenever it can be done safely.

“We don’t want to keep kids,” Steinbach said.  “The best outcome is getting them home.”

Their goal is to help foster parents work alongside birth families to support them as they complete court-ordered steps.

“When foster parents and birth parents can work together, kids do better,” she said. “And reunification happens faster.”

How you can help, without becoming a foster parent

Not everyone can foster, but Steinbach and Eisen stress that everyone can help.

Support can be as simple as providing respite care or babysitting, helping with school pickups or transportation, bringing meals or offering child care so foster parents can attend training. 

“These small things are huge,” Steinbach said. “Sometimes a foster parent just needs an hour to grocery shop or take a shower.”

Community members can also help by challenging stigmas when they hear them, sharing accurate information and encouraging others to consider fostering.

“Even planting the seed matters. Most people think about fostering for years before they ever make the call,” Eisen said.

Prevention and support

While foster care agencies work daily to recruit and support families, leaders say long-term solutions lie in prevention. Investing in mental health care, addiction services, transportation, supervised visitation and family support can help keep children safely at home.

“If we could work ourselves out of a job, we would,” Eisen said. “But until then, we need people, not perfect people, just people willing to show up.”

For children in foster care, that willingness to “show up” can mean the difference between another disrupted placement and the first adult who truly stays in their lives.
For more information on becoming a foster parent, you can look here and here.

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

‘No one does this alone’: Milwaukee seeks more foster parents and supporters is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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After they’ve tried church, therapy, self-help and meditation, and never quite found what they were looking for, people in Milwaukee come to see Angela Smith.

Smith is the owner and operator of The Zen Dragonfly. She uses African traditional methods to assist people in their physical, mental and spiritual healing. 

“I’m the person nobody knows they came to see,” she said. “People get to a point where nothing is working. And then they walk in here.”

Spiritual and life coaching

Smith, 63, is a hoodoo practitioner and rootworker, though most Milwaukeeans first meet her through “acceptable” titles like Reiki master, yoga instructor or life coach, she said. 

Smith’s healing work spans Reiki, tarot, bone readings, spiritual baths, shamanic journeying and herbal medicine.

Only later do many discover the deeper tradition behind her work.

Her healing practice, rooted in Black Southern folk traditions and ancestral veneration, welcomes anyone in need of help. 

Smith doesn’t promise miracles. And she doesn’t advertise cures.

“My job is to help people do their own healing,” she said. “I can break something open. I can clear a path. But you have to walk it.”

Still, people continue to arrive at her door, quietly and urgently, after prayer, therapy and everything in between.

“When you’ve tried all you can,” Smith said, “I’m usually where you come next.”

Tanisha Williams, a friend and healing guest of Smith’s, said Smith is talented in many ways but especially at helping people find what type of healing can help them. 

“She just knows how to appropriately assess someone and guide them with appropriate divination,” Williams said.

A lifestyle

For Smith, healing is more than work, it’s how she lives her life. 

Smith’s day begins with tending to her ancestors. She rings a bell, pours water, lights candles and reads Psalms. Then she welcomes healing guests.

“Never clients,” she said. 

Her home and workspace reflect her practice: altars in every room, artwork celebrating Black history and spirituality, herbs and botanicals curated with care. Friends and students have encouraged her to turn it into a visual book. 

She’s considering it.

She laughs when asked about the aesthetics: “I want you to walk into my house and know an African lives here.”

Matthew Nervig, a friend of Smith’s, said she guides others to be the same way so that they aren’t dependent on her. 

“She encourages everyone to pursue their own education and personal practice,” he said. “As opposed to keeping people dependent on her so that she can make money, she urges people to learn on their own and be really helpful and genuine. 

Serving Milwaukee

Smith said she did not intend to become Milwaukee’s spiritual triage center. 

For years, she hid her hoodoo practice, posting only glimpses of altars or crystals. But in 2018, she said she heard her grandmother’s voice say: “You can’t hide no more.”

Her public announcement cost her followers, but brought the people who needed her most.

“Word of mouth built this,” she said. “I don’t advertise. People come because someone told them, ‘When nothing else works, go see Miss Angela.’”

Nervig said Smith thrives at making people feel welcome once they find her. 

“She has a real desire for everyone interested in learning more to have the knowledge,” he said. 

Over the years, Smith has seen the city’s quiet desperation up close.

“There’s a lot of fear in Milwaukee,” she said. “A lot of being stuck. A lot of repeating cycles. And people don’t know where to go when the usual systems don’t fix it.”

Her School of Good JuJu launched during the pandemic and filled immediately. Smith said nearly all the students had the same story. They left church. They tried therapy. They tried being “fine.” And they were still searching.

Williams, who attended the School of Good JuJu, said it felt like a “meant to be” moment. 

“We all need a guide,” Williams said. “It’s like how they say, when the student is ready, the teacher appears.”

Smith believes the surge of seekers reflects a deeper shift.

“People are exhausted,” she said. “They’re tired of judgment. They’re tired of being told what to believe. They just want to heal.”

Her space offers something Milwaukee’s more formal institutions often can’t: privacy, acceptance, cultural understanding and spiritual agency.

“There’s magic here every day,” she said simply. “People feel that.”

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

How ‘Miss Angela’ became Milwaukee’s spiritual triage center is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Tim Scott was shocked when he was laid off in May as the executive director of Nearby Nature, an organization that works to reconnect Black people to nature by offering nature education classes and introducing residents to new outdoor experiences. 

Instead of letting the sudden change deter him, he doubled down on his commitment to help Milwaukee residents experience the outdoors. 

Scott is opening Urban Nature Connection, a community-based nonprofit dedicated to reconnecting Black and Brown communities with nature. 

The organization’s mission is to promote the physical, spiritual and mental health of outdoor activities such as birding, gardening, biking, hiking and fishing.

Finding a new purpose

According to Scott’s wife, Theresa Scott, he has always been an outdoorsman. 

“He has always enjoyed walking or spending time in the park or outdoors,” Theresa Scott said. 

Tim Scott spent most of his career in construction work. 

He’s also done some coaching and marriage counseling but said he found a new purpose when he took the role at Nearby Nature. 

“This is my passion, this is my healer, I owe nature my life to tell you the truth,” Scott said.

His wife agrees. 

“I think this is a great second career for him,” she said. “It’s better for his mind and his body.” 

Scott said he now knows the importance of pushing nature as a healing mechanism, especially for those who don’t have access to mental health services. 

“We all experience trauma in different ways,” Scott said. “But we don’t all have access to the same mental health services. Being out in nature really saved me when I was experiencing my own crisis.” 

By connecting people with nature, Scott hopes to help others find their own healing. 

In addition to outdoor activities, the organization will focus on indoor gardening, programming and advocacy of green space.

Over the next few months, the focus will be on getting people outside even during the colder months.

“A lot of our work will be advocacy,” he said. “So, we will center advocacy through every season.”

Scott says he plans to partner with other agencies to host wellness events, community discussions and group walks.

To keep up with Urban Nature Connection, you can follow its Facebook page here.

“What he wants to do here is truly a movement,” Theresa Scott said.

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

‘I owe nature my life’: Milwaukee nonprofit aims to connect Black and Brown people to nature is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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As uncertainty surrounds Wisconsin’s SNAP program, also known as FoodShare, some community members are finding ways to support others in their time of need. 

Wisconsin’s FoodShare program serves more than 700,000 Wisconsin residents. FoodShare is funded through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. SNAP benefits across the country are at risk during the government shutdown.

After the Trump administration said it planned to to freeze payments to SNAP on Nov. 1, two federal judges on Friday ruled the administration must draw from contingency funds to keep aid flowing during the shutdown.

But those rulings may be appealed and benefits may be delayed.

Here are some things you can do if you live in Milwaukee and want to support anyone who might become impacted by FoodShare delays. 

What you should know

The Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee is in a position to provide resources to those impacted, according to Reno Wright, advocacy director for the nonprofit. 

“We do know that November payments are going to be delayed, but that eventually they will have access to those November benefits,” he said.

People can go to HungerTaskForce.org and access the “Get Help” page, and from there they will be able to find the nearest meal site or food pantry to them and their families, Wright said.

In the meantime, he said, FoodShare recipients should ensure their contact information is up to date to receive future updates.

You can also follow the Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ FoodShare update page. 

What’s being done

Food drive

The city of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Milwaukee Public Schools and other partners launched a citywide food drive to help residents impacted by the federal shutdown and a pause of FoodShare benefits. 

Collaboration to support food pantries

Feeding America of Eastern Wisconsin and Nourish MKE are collaborating with the groups to collect nonperishable food and monetary donations to support Milwaukee food pantries. 

Residents can visit the City of Milwaukee’s Food Drive page or Milwaukee County’s Food Assistance page for information on how to donate. 

Community fridges

Metcalfe Park Community Bridges has been organizing around food needs and access through advocacy and opening community fridges. 

To keep up with or support Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, you can follow the group’s Facebook page. 

Advocacy efforts

The Hunger Task Force’s Voices Against Hunger is encouraging people to urge the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, into helping. 

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture has the authority and the resources to prevent an interruption in benefits by using SNAP contingency funds, transferring funds from other departments and issuing clear guidance to state agencies. The tools to make sure families do not go hungry during this holiday season are available, and what is needed now is immediate administrative action and political will,” an email blast from the group stated.

Other efforts

Additionally, groups like the Hunger Task Force and Feeding America are gearing up to help those in need with donation campaigns and new trucks for food delivery. 

How you can help

Wright said the Hunger Task Force’s Voices Against Hunger is a statewide platform where information is sent out to let people know about things that are going on at the state and federal level, including federal nutrition programs like FoodShare. 

You can sign up for the group here and support the Voices Against Hunger efforts here. 

Shavonda Sisson, founder of the Love on Black Women Mutual Aid fund, took to social media to share concerns and ways to help. 

“We are all deeply concerned about the millions of families who will be impacted by the possible delays in SNAP benefits,” she said. “In times like these, community becomes crucial.” 

Sisson’s tips on how you can help your neighbors: 

• Reach out to your local food bank to see if it is accepting donations of time, food or money. All are going to be crucial.   
• Share your favorite low-cost meal plans and recipes. 
• Share a simple list of free hot meal sites, pantry hours and community fridges in your city. Keep it updated and easy to reshare.
• Stock and restock community fridges and neighborhood pantry boxes.
• If you own or manage a business, create a pantry shelf or offer shift meals and grocery stipends.

Others advocates said you can:

• Keep up with your neighbors and help where you can. 
• Offer rides to pick up food for those in need. 
• Volunteer at your neighborhood food pantries.

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

How you can help neighbors in need if SNAP benefits are paused is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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As October comes to an end, the threat of missing FoodShare and WIC benefits looms for people across Wisconsin and across the nation. 

In an Oct. 10 letter, Sasha Gersten-Paal, director of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s development division, said: “SNAP has funding available for benefits and operations through the month of October. However, if the current lapse in appropriations continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million individuals across the nation.” 

Nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites receive food and nutrition assistance through FoodShare. 

Here are some things you can do if you live in Milwaukee and may be impacted by a lack of food resources in November.

Food resources 

If you or someone you know needs emergency food, call 2-1-1, or visit the IMPACT 211 website here. 

Hunger Task Forces’ Mobile Market : Operating as a grocery store on wheels, the Mobile Market provides healthy and affordable food options to families. The Mobile Market offers 25% off all items beyond Piggly Wiggly’s prices. 

To find out where the Mobile Market will be next, you can look at the Hunger Task Force website.

Community-powered fridges: In September, Tricklebee Café, One MKE and Metcalfe Park Community Bridges opened a community-powered fridge. Several more are planned to open. 

Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin provides a pantry locator and distributes food to partners across the region. 

UMOS operates a food pantry for residents in the 53207 and 53221 ZIP codes, as well as all first-time visitors. 

NourishMKE is a network of community food centers that provides a market-style experience for selecting and preparing food. 

Milwaukee Christian Center offers community services, including a food pantry. 

Tricklebee Café hosts a pay-what-you-can community café that provides meals.

Milwaukee County Senior Dining Program provides nutritious lunches to seniors 59 and older at various senior centers. 

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

SNAP benefits may not go out in November. Here’s where you can go for food assistance. is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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For over 30 years, Ruby Johnson-Harden and her husband fostered Milwaukee youths in need of temporary homes. 

Though fostering is time-consuming and sometimes challenging, Johnson-Harden said she understood the need for children to have a safe place to go and for their parents to get the support they need. 

“It is definitely hard to give children back even when you know the intention is to give them back,” she said. “But you think about it, and there is always another kid that needs somewhere to go.” 

Though the number of children being removed from their homes is decreasing, the foster care system in Milwaukee, and in Wisconsin in general, is under growing strain.

Advocates say the problem isn’t strictly a shortage of foster homes, but a mismatch between the needs of many children entering care and the level of support, training and resources that foster families have to provide what’s needed. 

Few feel equipped enough or are willing to take on teens and children coping with trauma, behavioral health challenges or emotional dysregulation, according to foster care advocates. 

Shortage of proper placements

“In Milwaukee, we have enough foster homes and other placement providers for children. Everybody is placed,” said Jill Collins, ongoing services section manager for the Division of Milwaukee Child Protective Services. “But we don’t necessarily always have the right match for children.” 

She said that because youths with mental health or behavioral needs are harder to place, some children are placed in group homes or residential care facilities where professionals are better equipped to meet their needs. 

According to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families’ data dashboard, 7,000 children are placed in out-of-home care annually. That includes kinship care, foster care and other residential facilities. 

The Division of Milwaukee Child Protective Services reported that at the beginning of 2024 there was an average of 1,743 children in out-of-home care. 

According to the dashboard, the older a child is when entering the system, the less likely it is for the child to be placed in a home. 

In 2024, there was an average of 515 children aged 12 years or older in out-of-home care. Of these older children, 275 (53%) were placed in a family-like setting, 146 (28%) were placed in congregate care, and 94 (18%) were in other care.

Ninety percent of children aged 12 and under were placed in family-like care. 

“I had few teens,” Johnson-Harden said. “Usually they’ve already been through so much that they are kind of set in their ways. It’s harder for them to open up.” 

DeShanda Williams-Clark, chief program officer at Pathfinders, works with many young people who are already a part of the child welfare system. 

“They’ll come in if they don’t feel safe in their placements,” Williams-Clark said. 

She said the young people Pathfinders serves can have a number of nuanced concerns that can fall through the cracks. Some are experiencing homelessness or are survivors of trafficking and exploitation, she said. 

“(The youths) have given feedback and say, well, I don’t feel safe being at my group home because my group home is publicly listed,” she said. “Or we’ve had children say, ‘I know this family is receiving a check for me because they’re reporting that I have worse behaviors or that I need medication.’ ”  

What’s being done

The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families is working to reduce the number of children in out-of-home care through its Putting Families First initiative. 

The initiative focuses on keeping families together by supporting them in-home with resources and services. In situations where families can’t stay together, the initiative emphasizes relying on people already in the child’s or children’s network before resorting to foster care. 

As a result of this approach, there has been a decline in the number of children who are removed from their homes and taken into foster care, said Emily Erickson, director of the Bureau of Permanence and Out-of-Home Care at the agency.

“We have been focusing on solutions that are community-based, that can support parents in healing and growing while they continue to parent their children in their homes safely,” Erickson said. 

She said the program utilizes a mix of formal and informal support networks to help provide safety but allows children to stay in their homes because research shows a lasting negative impact once relationships are severed. 

Additionally, DCF funds the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness program for youths who have aged out of foster care. 

According to Williams-Clark, the program not only helps young people who have aged out of the child welfare system find housing, but it also supports them through the entire process. 

The program gives young people a choice regarding independent living, she said. 

“Then we give them wraparound care and support by making sure they have access to socially integrate into the communities that they want to live in, helping them to set goals for education and their academics, getting them connected to income and employment programs, and then just really working on those life skills,” Williams-Clark said.

How you can help

Advocates suggest several ways you can help. 

One way is to consider fostering. 

“The need is great. Especially for teens and siblings,” said Jane Halpin, a recruitment consultant with Community Care Resources, a private foster care agency.

She said it can become difficult because it’s time-consuming, but you won’t be alone. Community Care Resources offers around-the-clock support to those who foster through the agency. 

Williams-Clark said people need more education around fostering to help destigmatize the work of the child welfare system. 

Wisconsin Department of Children and Families officials suggested being a support system for family and friends who may be in need and considering specialized training to become a foster parent who can care for older youths or children with higher needs. 

They also encourage local organizations, churches and individuals to support foster families and children, not just through financial means but also by offering practical help and emotional support. They also encourage the use of community resources to support families before involving the child welfare system, to minimize trauma.

Johnson-Harden said the rewards of fostering are immense. 

“Fostering kids, to me, is about the joy of showing up for children in your community,” she said. “It’s about supporting a family and doing your best to lessen any trauma they’ve already experienced.” 

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

Fewer children are in foster care, but finding homes remains a challenge is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Those who utilize FoodShare and Medicaid may see some changes soon, the result of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” 

Here is what you need to know. 

Changes to FoodShare (SNAP)

Nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites receive food and nutrition assistance through FoodShare. 

Reno Wright, advocacy director for Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee, said that while no changes have been enacted yet, the bill calls for a series of modifications. 

Some include: 

• Expanded work requirements. The age range for adults required to meet work requirements will increase from 18-54 to 18-64. Parents of children age 14 and older will now also need to meet work requirements.
• Restrictions for new legal immigrants: Before the bill, many immigrants like those with refugee status were exempt from the five-year waiting period that some legal permanent residents face to qualify for FoodShare benefits. The new law removes these exemptions, effectively making many new immigrants ineligible for the food assistance program. 
• Stricter exemption rules: Some people like veterans, people who are homeless and former foster youths aged 18-24 are exempt from having to meet work requirements in order to receive SNAP benefits. The bill removes those exemptions. 

These changes will only be implemented once the Wisconsin Department of Health Services receives further guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Wright said current FoodShare recipients should ensure their contact information is up to date to receive future updates.

Changes to medical benefits

Approximately one in five Wisconsinites (or 1 million people) receive health care coverage and services through Wisconsin’s Medicaid programs. Almost half of Wisconsin Medicaid members are children.

The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee Minority released a statement indicating that 276,175 Wisconsinites will lose health care coverage under both the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid because of the new law over the next decade.

In Milwaukee County, 19,951 people are at high risk of losing health coverage. 

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services and a webinar from the National Press Foundation helped explain what’s going to change. 

Some changes include: 

• Expanded work requirements: Recipients will now have to do 80 hours a month of qualifying activities like work, school or volunteering. 
• Restrictions for new legal immigrants: Refugees and other people in the U.S. for humanitarian reasons are generally exempt from the standard five-year waiting period to receive Medicaid benefits. The bill removes that exemption.  
• Recipients have to be requalified for coverage and services every six months. 
• Cost-sharing requirements will expand. 

According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, these changes will force working people off the program because of red-tape work reporting requirements; increase medical debt and uncompensated care; increase Wisconsin’s uninsured population; and prevent Wisconsin from innovating and designing the best program for the state. 

These changes are set to take effect in late 2026. 

What’s being done to help

Alyssa Blom, a communications manager with the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services, said that while the full impact of the Medicaid cuts is still unclear, the department is supporting those impacted. 

“We are concerned about how they may affect access to programs and services, especially for the most vulnerable in Milwaukee County,” she said. “Our priority is to continue supporting Medicaid recipients and ensuring continuity of care, while preparing for potential changes ahead.” 

Wright said the Hunger Task Force has an advocacy group called Voices Against Hunger. It is a statewide platform where information is sent out to let people know about things that are going on at the state and federal level, including federal nutrition programs like FoodShare. 

You can sign up for the group here.

What you need to know about changes to FoodShare (SNAP) and Medicaid is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Elizabeth Brown faced five years of housing troubles, homelessness and other barriers. But she can now say she’s a homeowner. 

Brown, 51, always wanted to be a homeowner but said it just hadn’t happened for her. Just a few years ago, Brown was choosing between feeding her children and paying her rent. After moving into a home in Milwaukee near North 20th Street and West Auer Avenue that quickly fell into disrepair, she decided it was time to make a dream a reality. 

“I just couldn’t do that anymore,” she said. “I knew I didn’t want to deal with landlords anymore.” 

Brown purchased her home through Acts Housing and moved in June 27.  

Brown is a mother of nine children, four of whom she still takes care of. She is a community organizer and the current president of Amani United, a neighborhood group.

“I love that she has this house now,” said Doris Brown, Elizabeth’s mother. “It feels like she’s reached the beginning of being settled, like she deserves to be.” 

The journey

Brown’s homebuying process took about two years. But she spent even longer preparing for it.

“It was hard because one day I was trying to survive,” she said. 

Two of Brown’s children are school-aged and two more are in college. As she prepared to buy a home, she was working to support her children and serving her community through her work as a leader for Amani United. 

Brown has spent significant time giving back to the community. She said when it came to the process of buying a home, it was that same community that supported her. 

Amanda Clark, housing coordinator for the Dominican Center, which often works in partnership with Amani United, has known Brown for eight years. She said she was excited to witness Brown become a homeowner. 

“I don’t think anyone is more deserving than Elizabeth,” she said. “Elizabeth acted as a pilot so that we can, as a community, help other residents access homeownership without as many barriers.” 

Overcoming barriers

Brown said there were many days when she just wanted to give up on becoming a homeowner. 

One challenge, she said, was simply saving the money needed to purchase her home. 

“When you are working with programs and following steps toward your goal, life is still happening,” she said. “I was homeless for six months during this process because the home I was living in just became unlivable.” 

She said there were times when she’d have to rent hotel rooms to meet her and her children’s hygiene needs or rent other places to cook for them. 

“There is always something else you need to do,” Brown said. “You think you’ve taken all the steps, then a coach will say, ‘oh you need to do this and this.’ ”

While she bought the home through Acts Housing, she said other supports, like staff from the Community Development Alliance, Milwaukee Metropolitan Community Church, Northwestern Mutual and LISC, were helpful in her journey.

A fresh start

Brown said buying a home feels like the beginning for her. 

“I’m happy, and my children are so proud of me,” she said. “But there is so much more I want to do.” 

Brown said homeownership is possible for anyone who wants to achieve it, so long as communities care. 

“It was a long fight,” Brown said. “But I’m a firm believer everything happens for a reason, and I had my experience so that I can help others do what I did.” 

A Milwaukee woman’s long journey to homeownership is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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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.”

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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.

Thousands of Milwaukee residents still feel effects of storm wreckage is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.