Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Your neighborhood. Your News.

Milwaukee NNSnewsMilwaukee NNSSearch
Subscribe to NNS today!
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
    • Arts and Recreation
    • Community
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Health and Wellness
    • Housing
    • Public Safety
    • NNS Spotlight
    • Special Report
  • Posts From Community
    • Submit a Story
  • Community Voices
  • How To
  • Multimedia
    • NNS Local Video
    • Photos
    • NNS on Lake Effect
    • NNS WGLB 1560 Radio
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • About
    • Staff
    • Partners
    • News 414
    • The neighborhoods we cover
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Diederich College of Communication, Marquette University


Language: English English Spanish Spanish

You are here: Home / Home / Carousel / Solar-powered address plaques bring light, break down barriers in Burnham Park

Solar-powered address plaques bring light, break down barriers in Burnham Park

October 29, 2015 by Edgar Mendez 1 Comment

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Pastor Jim Anderson helps Maribel Hernandez assemble her address plaque while she holds her baby, Elizabeth. (Photo by Adam Carr)

Pastor Jim Anderson helps Maribel Hernandez assemble her address plaque while she holds her baby, Elizabeth. (Photo by Adam Carr)

Jim Anderson, pastor at Mision Cristiana Bethel Church, 1601 S. 33rd St., has heard all the radio reports and news stories about how Milwaukee is one of the most segregated cities in America.

“I always wanted to do my small part to help break down the cultural barriers here,” Anderson said.

So three times a day he walks his dog, a small papillon, around the neighborhood, greeting and attempting to engage his neighbors, many of whom speak only Spanish, in small talk.

Carmen Mora and her daughter place the numbers on her home’s plaque. (Photo by Adam Carr)

While walking his dog this summer he noticed a car moving slowly down his block before the driver got out for a closer look at the address plaques on some of the homes.

Anderson wondered, “What if that had been an ambulance answering an emergency call and they couldn’t tell which house needed help.”

What began as an idea to improve public safety by installing lighted address plaques ended up being the bridge he’d been envisioning since moving back to the city from Minneapolis about three years ago.

When all was said and done, residents of 19 homes on South 33rd Street between Mitchell and Lapham worked together to install solar-powered oval shaped plaques that light up their homes and the block at night.

That might not seem like a big deal until you consider that Anderson speaks very little Spanish, which is the native language of more than half the residents on the block. Luckily, he had two eager partners in husband and wife Glenda De Leon and Julio Rayzoga, who are his neighbors.

With some translation from Jonaton Zuniga, community outreach manager for Layton Boulevard West Neighbors, a nonprofit serving the area, the neighbors went door to door explaining the goals of the “Address Plaque Block Project,” and asking others if they were willing to participate.

“If the neighbors spoke Spanish we’d talk to them, and [if they spoke] English, he (Anderson) would,” said De Leon, in Spanish.

One of the first stops they made was to Carmen Mora’s gray and blue two-story home. Mora, who is bilingual, said she was thankful that others on her block came to her with an affordable idea that would benefit the neighborhood.

Nineteen homes on South 33rd Street in Burnham Park now feature solar-powered address plaques. (Photo by Adam Carr)

Nineteen homes on South 33rd Street in Burnham Park now feature solar-powered address plaques. (Photo by Adam Carr)

“The idea was good and the price too good to pass up,” said Mora, who’s been living on the block for 14 years.

Neighbors paid $10 for each of the $50 plaques, according to Zuniga. The Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the city’s Neighborhood Improvement Development Corporation (NIDC) donated $1,000 to cover the remaining cost of the project.

According to Beth Lee, director of fund development and communications at LBWN, grants including those from NIDC have resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in investment in three Layton Boulevard West neighborhoods, including Burnham Park.

More importantly though, “initiatives like the address plaque project truly result in a collective impact that creates long-term neighbor connections,” Lee said.

De Leon agreed. “My husband and I met our neighbor Juan, who we’d seen walking around but had never talked to,” she said. She added that meeting him and other neighbors during the project makes her feel safer on her block.

As for Anderson, he’s just glad to do his part to introduce neighbors to one another.

“I’m just one guy but I want to share with my neighbors the keys to this block,” Anderson said.

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

Filed Under: Carousel, Community, Home, Layton Boulevard West, Neighborhoods, News, South

About Edgar Mendez

Facebook |  Twitter | More stories from Edgar

Edgar is a senior staff reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. Mendez is a proud graduate of UW-Milwaukee, where he double majored in Journalism and Sociology, and of Marquette University, where he earned a master’s degree in Communication. As an accomplished journalist, Edgar’s awards include a 2018 Regional Edward R. Murrow award, several press club awards and a Society of Professional Journalists’ regional award for columns dealing with issues such as poverty, homelessness and racism.

Comments

  1. Brian Bohmann says

    April 19, 2016 at 12:51 pm

    The lit plauques are a great idea. I want to buy some. and I think others will too, without the Zilber subsidy. Yes WE can do a lot of these things without paternal hand holding. How do I get them ?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Recent News

Community First hires two developers, makes plans to serve more residents

OPINION: An open letter to the police chief: Surveillance and profiling are the not the building blocks for police reform

Post from Community: Looking for a job? Here are some opportunities.

Advertisement
Give today to support our mission. Donate to Milwaukee NNS.
Advertisement

News

  • Arts and Recreation
  • Economic Development
  • Education
  • Health and Wellness
  • Housing
  • Public Safety
  • NNS Spotlight
  • Special Reports

Engage with us

  • Posts from Community
  • Community Voices
  • Submit a Story

About NNS

  • Milwaukee NNS Staff
  • Partners
  • News414
  • The neighborhoods we cover
  • Careers
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS feed

Communities

Contact

mailing address
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Diederich College of Communication
Marquette University
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Johnston Hall 430
Milwaukee, WI 53233

email
info@milwaukeenns.org

phone & fax
PHONE: 414.604.6397 FAX: 414.288.6494


Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service is a project of Diederich College of Communication and Marquette University.
© 2020 Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. Terms of use.
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee WI 53233 • info@milwaukeenns.org

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in