Since 1999, LISC Milwaukee has hosted the Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innovation (MANDI). The MANDIs highlight the unsung heroes working hard to revitalize Milwaukee’s most distressed urban neighborhoods.
MANDI 2015 Finalists
Vulnerable youths find paths to self-expression at EXYOMKE
Express Yourself Milwaukee brings the therapeutic value of making art to the city’s at-risk youth population.
Collaboration, sustainability key to success of Gillespie Park
Residents near 14th and Wright played an active role in creating Gillespie Park, which city officials hope can be a blueprint for future sustainable projects.
Alice’s Garden director creates ‘place of hope, understanding’
Venice R. Williams fosters an environment at Alice’s Garden where people not only exchange gardening knowledge, but share their lives.
Brewers-funded pavilion provides rainwater for garden, gathering space
A rainwater pavilion in the gardens across the street from Guest House enables formerly homeless residents to grow food and learn marketable skills.
Benedict Center fights street prostitution with treatment, support
The Benedict Center Sisters Diversion Program, working in conjunction with police and prosecutors, offers an alternative to incarceration to stop the cycle of prostitution.
Developer recycles abandoned buildings into affordable housing
Todd Hutchison has worked for three decades to revitalize condemned, unwanted buildings, turning them into affordable housing units.
With Swing Park, city hopes to look forward, not back
Almost three years after a local group, in a “guerrilla act,” revived a once-forgotten public space under Holton Street by creating a swing park, the city has taken control of the space, but questions still remain.
Rotary Club ‘a powerful force for good in the community’
The Milwaukee Rotary Club is committed to improving residents’ lives while contributing to a healthy business environment.
Pan-African group helps refugees, immigrants adjust to U.S.
The Pan-African Community Association, an official refugee resettlement agency, offers support and a range of services to about 300 individuals and refugee families a year.