The Social Development Commission continues to provide solutions to the challenges faced by the thousands of low-income residents of Milwaukee County… that was the message at the April Community Brainstorming Conference Forum.

 Members of the Social Development Commission (SDC) Board and CEO George Hinton outlined agency activities for participants at the monthly gathering held at St. Matthew C.M.E. Church. Board Chair Gerard Randall outlined challenges that the agency has faced and adapted to during the past year. He said that SDC has used those challenges to refine and refocus its efforts.

Among recent initiatives at the agency described at the forum were two task forces looking at the issues of Healthcare and of Youth and Poverty.  The Healthcare group is in the process of forming and will draw on existing data linking poor healthcare with poverty. The group to be headed by CEO Hinton will draw up recommendations on how SDC can link with current efforts to address that problem. Commissioner Demond Means also described the Youth and Poverty Task Force which has begun meeting with community leaders. He noted that a pair of public forums to get community input will be held May 8 and 10.  That group plans to draft policy change recommendations by mid-summer that will be shared with policymakers on all levels of government.

Commissioners described to residents at the Community Brainstorming Forum how the agency is seeking partnerships with other organizations, agencies and businesses to increase SDC’s impact. Commissioner Jim Sullivan held up SDC’s work on the annual Milwaukee Fatherhood Summit as an example of working with other groups to provide valuable information and services to Milwaukee County residents.

Participants at the forum took advantage of the event to ask questions of SDC Commissioners as well as program staff representatives. They asked how SDC is involved in issues like helping formerly incarcerated residents transition back to their neighborhoods, senior issues, and job creation. SDC CEO George Hinton thanked the participants for their questions and suggestions, saying that the agency belongs to the community and needs its input so it can remain focused on the most pressing issues and challenges that it faces.