SUMMER 2017 NEWSLETTER

building neighborhoods together

Milwaukee Habitat to Transition From Building in Washington Park to a New Neighborhood... FIND OUT WHERE INSIDE

every mother needs to know her children have a safe place to call home.

from the director

Delores & Her Son, Gamontay, On Move-In Day May, 2017

Take a moment to think about your neighborhood. What made you want to live there? Was it to have a safe place for your children to grow up? Was it to be near amenities like public parks or good schools? Was it to find a community where residents took pride in their homes and cared about their neighborhood?

work into the Harambee neighborhood. With 50 Habitat homeowners already living in the Harambee neighborhood, we look to replicating our successes from Washington Park, while creating affordable homeownership opportunities in an area of our city where the average family earns less than $20,000 per year.

At Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity, we believe a decent place to live means more than a stable roof over your head. Our goal is to revitalize neighborhoods into vibrant, safe and inviting places to live for current and future residents.

Though our target area will be changing, our Neighborhood Revitalization strategy remains the same: partnering with non-profits, foundations, businesses, the City of Milwaukee, and people in our community on a holistic approach to neighborhood development. As we did in Washington Park, we will build block by block to create safe, sustainable communities through affordable homeownership, home repair and community development programs.

With your help, we adopted the strategy of Neighborhood Revitalization in 2013, focusing our efforts in the Washington Park neighborhood. Today, more than 225 families are raising children, finding stability, and realizing financial independence in Washington Park thanks to supporters like you. Crime has decreased 48% on the blocks where we’ve built and property values are stabilizing. Building upon these successes, over the next three years we will expand our revitalization efforts in the neighboring communities east of Washington Park. Throughout this three-year plan, we will develop relationships and finalize plans to transition our

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the dedication of our volunteers, and determination of the homeowners we partner with, together we can build strong neighborhoods in our community.

In Partnership, Brian Sonderman

Capitol Dr.

neighborhood revitalization

The average family earns less than $20k per year.

$17 million invested in the neighborhood since 2013 through home construction, repair & community development.

HARAMBEE NEIGHBORHOOD

48% decrease in crime on the blocks where we’ve built.

In need of stability: 58% of residents rent.

Burleigh St.

More than 215 homes built and rehabbed in the neighborhood.

98 buildable lots in this neighborhood.

bo

N. 35th St.

nA ve .

WASHINGTON PARK

N. 27th St.

Lis

53 buildable lots in 12 block radius.

50 Habitat homeowners already in this neighborhood.

North Ave.

MILWAUKEE

NEIGHBORHOOD

45 Habitat homeowners already in this neighborhood.

Vliet St.

Holton St.

Milwaukee Habitat to Transition Into Harambee Neighborhood

I-43

NEIGHBORHOOD TRANSITION KEY Washington Park: 2013-2018*

Washington Park pool facilities renovated.

2100 block of North 38th St. went from 38% homeownership to 90%.

Washington Park Expansion: 2018-2021

Speed humps installed throughout the neighborhood.

Harambee: 2021+ I-94

*Select projects will continue in the Washington Park neighborhood after 2018.

Kandice helps to build the walls of her future kitchen as her neighbor’s wall is raised.

Building Blocks

building a better life

For A Stronger Community

Kandice came to Habitat for Humanity following a tough breakup with her longtime boyfriend. Kandice has been renting for eleven years, and as a couple the two were able to provide a safe home for their kids. But, when Kandice abruptly had to find a new home for her three children, her lone income forced her to move the family in with her mother. Since then, Kandice has been sharing a bedroom with her two daughters, while her son is staying in a room with Kandice’s younger brother who still lives at home. In Milwaukee, more than half of renters are living in unaffordable housing, spending 40%, 50% and in some cases more than 70% of their income just to put a roof over their heads. Imagine seven cents of every dollar you earned being used solely for housing. Often times little is left over for education, basic amenities, and other necessities for a decent life. Many of the families Milwaukee Habitat has served found that even when they wanted to escape their unaffordable, overcrowded, or unsafe rentals, traditional homeownership wasn’t possible due to lack of access to affordable home loans or inability to afford large down payments.

Thanks to your support, together we are making it possible for families in need of affordable housing to achieve the dream of homeownership.

Determined to provide her children with a stable home, Kandice made a resolution. “My main goal in 2017 was to buy my own home,” she said. This June, more than 350 volunteers joined Kandice on site during Habitat’s week-long Blitz Build. When she arrived on the build site for the first time Monday morning, seeing nearly 100 volunteers ready to help raise the walls of her future home, Kandice was moved to tears. Overwhelmed by the generosity of those volunteers she said, “As a kid, my family moved around a lot from duplexes to homes, and to this day my mom still rents.” Because of their support she says, “I’ll become the first person in my family to own a home.” A very special volunteer joined Kandice as she began work on her home. Brewers All-Star Ryan Braun, joined by pitcher Matt Garza, helped install siding after speaking to a large crowd of volunteers on site saying, “Having a family of my own gives me an even greater appreciation of what it means for what an organization like Habitat does in making sure everyone has a decent place to live.” Brewers Community Foundation was the presenting sponsor of the June Blitz, kicking off a build season where Milwaukee Habitat will serve 35 families in need of safe, affordable housing through new construction, home rehab, and critical home repair. From Kandice and the 34 other families’ lives we’ll change this year, it’s your support that makes it possible for them to achieve the strength, stability, and independence they need to build a better life for themselves and their families. Brewers All-Star Ryan Braun installs siding during the June Blitz Build.

Presented By

Gala

Lindsay Building 126 S. 2nd St., Milwaukee

Gala Chairs

Kelly & John Seaman DeeDee Pellegrin Chris Bauer

special thanks

to our 16’/17’ sponsors & volunteer groups SPONSOR & VOLUNTEER GROUP • • • • • • • • • • •

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Accunet Mortgage Anon Charitable Trust Aqua Foundation Argosy Foundation Associated Bank Badger Meter Foundation BMO Harris Bank Brookby Foundation Brewers Community Foundation Catholic Financial Life Church Coalition - Christ King Parish - Emmanuel Community UMC - Wauwatosa Avenue UMC City of Milwaukee CoreLogic Insurance Solutions David & Julia Uihlein Foundation Dorothy Inbusch Foundation EXIT Realty Horiz ons Evan & Marion Helfaer Foundation First Weber Foundation First Weber Realtors FIS Fiserv Forest County Potawatomi Foundation Green Bay Packers Foundation Habitat AmeriCorps Alums Holz Family Foundation HUD Hupy and Abraham S.C. Habitat Young Professionals Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation Johnson Controls Komatsu Mining Corporation

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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Kohl’s Lowe’s MGIC Martin Family Foundation Mortenson Construction Northwestern Mutual Foundation Parklawn Assembly of God Church Park Bank Foundation Pieper Power PNC Foundation Presbyterian Church Coalition - Crossroads Presbyterian Church - Immanuel Presbyterian Church - Presbytery of Milwaukee Project Reinvest Ralph Evinrude Foundation Ray & Kay Eckstein Charitable Trust Rexnord Robert W. Baird & Company Sargento Schoenleber Foundation St. James Catholic Church Stackner Family Foundation Stormy Hill Foundation Thrivent Financial Travelers UPS US Bank University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee We Energies Wells Fargo Manpower Group YouthBuild (MATC) Wangard Investment Real Estate

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Milwaukee College Prep School Milwaukee Collegiate Academy Milwaukee County Disability Services Division Milwaukee Habitat Board of Directors Milwaukee School of Engineering Milwaukee Succeeds Nathan Hale High School New Horizons for Learning Northwestern Mutual Number 1 Stunnas Operation Dream, Inc. Pewaukee High School Plunkett Raysich Architects Project Excel Prospect Management Company Reading Corps Reinhart Foodservice Riverside High School Robotics Team Rotaract Milwaukee Silver Spring Neighborhood Center Social Development Commission Spire Engineering St Thomas More High School Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Team Rubicon University School of Milwaukee WCTC Child Development Center Whitnall Park Lutheran Church Wisconsin International Academy Wisconsin Junior Classical League Youth Service Corps (East Side Child and Youth Ministry)

VOLUNTEER GROUP • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

128th Air Refueling Wing Alverno College Bader Philanthropies, Inc. Boston College Alumni Association Brookfield Congregational Church Cardinal Stritch University Cayen Systems Christian Faith Fellowship Church City Year Core Creative Inc. Divine Savior Holy Angels High School Eastbrook Academy Elmbrook Church Empower Retirement First Congregational Church- Port Washington GRAEF Harley-Davidson ICON Venue Group Institute of Industrial and System Engineers Illingworth-Kilgust Mechanical Junior League of Milwaukee Levi Strauss & Co Life Navigators Local Initiatives Support Corporation Marquette University Messmer High School MillerCoors Milwaukee Area Technical College Milwaukee Brewers Milwaukee Bucks Milwaukee Center for Independence

CRAIG HAHN – PRESIDENT

Community Volunteer

DAVID FEISS – VICE-PRESIDENT

Milwaukee County Circuit Court

DANIEL KIERNAN - SECRETARY

Wells Fargo

PAUL OUWENEEL – TREASURER

Wipfli LLP

BERTHENA BRISTER

Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative

JIM LAMBE

Community Volunteer

ROB MYERS

Mortenson Construction

ERNEST NICOLAS

Rockwell Automation

NICOLE POLLEY

Enthermics Medical Systems

CORRIE M. PRUNUSKE

Johnson Controls

DR. RENITA ROBERSON

Holy Redeemer Christian Academy

MIKE SCHOEN

Community Volunteer

KELLY SEAMAN

First Weber

CECILIA SMITH-ROBERTSON All Saints Catholic Church