OPINION: Now’s the time: What are your priorities for our community? | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Kristi Luzar
September 17, 2019
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Kristi Luzar is the Executive Director at the Urban Economic Development Association. She writes about the impact federal dollars can have and how community voices can be heard in future decision-making for those funds.
With so much talk about the possibility of a recession, we have a moment to remember who is so often most harmed in an economic downturn. Previous recessions have taught us that the most vulnerable, those with precarious employment, or loans against their modest homes, are most at risk.
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At the Urban Economic Development Association (UEDA) we know what can happen. In the wake of the 2008 recession we formed Take Root Milwaukee to encourage residents to “take root” in the community through affordable homeownership, knowledge about responsible lending, and opportunities for home repair. Since then we have helped hundreds of families and individuals buy, repair and maintain homes.
Many of the resources utilized in our community during the Great Recession came toMilwaukee via the federal government. Funding through programs like theNeighborhood Stabilization Fund (NSP) and American Recovery and ReinvestmentAct (ARRA) helped address the serious housing and employment needs in our City,and were deployed through programs administered by the Department of Housingand Urban Development (HUD). What many people don’t know is that communitiesacross the country receive funding every year from HUD that helps us address theripple effects of the 2008 recession and housing crisis that continue to impactus all.
Now,Milwaukee residents have a once-every-few-years opportunity to have a voice insome of this significant funding for our city, the very funding that oftenaddresses the fallout from tough economic times. The City of Milwaukee iscurrently developing its 2020-2024 “Comprehensive Plan” for HUD. This is acritical opportunity for residents and other stakeholders to weigh-in onhousing and business development priorities for the City.
UEDAis working with the City to engage the public in this planning process, and itis a chance we don’t want residents to miss! A very user-friendly survey isavailable at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ConPlanMKE,and we will be hosting a number of community meetings and focus groups inSeptember and October. More information on the HUD Consolidated Plan can befound at https://conplanmke.org/,and you can also view a list of upcoming events.
Join us inadding your voice! Let’s ensure that our community’s priorities are what HUDhears.