There are a lot of things you can say about Milwaukee, but groups working together on a large scale usually isn’t one of them.
The Reclaiming our Neighborhoods Coalition is working to change that.
The coalition, known as RON, is a partnership between the Milwaukee Christian Center, Muskego Way Forward, Sherman Park Community Association, Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative, Rooted & Rising Washington Park, Riverworks Development Corporation, Near West Side Partners, Amani United, VIiA CDC, Walnut Way, Dominican Center and Southside Organizing Center.
In all the years I’ve covered housing and homelessness, housing quality has come up as an issue that no one really knew what to do about.
So covering the RON Coalition was a unique experience.
I was able to sit through many meetings with organizers and then watch them take their plan from the office to the field, meeting their neighbors where they are. Then they shared the efforts of residents with the Common Council and asked for more support.
Leaders made it clear that with Milwaukee’s old housing stock, a lack of resources and predatory landlords, addressing housing quality is a difficult task.
I appreciated the opportunity to share how these groups were working together to try.
Read the story here.
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