Dominican Center Executive Director Britney Roberson addressed the elephant in the room at a monthly meeting with Amani residents in February. She told them the organization is working through a transition period as it restructures.
“When you have to make shifts and switches, it’s never easy,” she said. “But we are working through it. I’m thankful for the staff that have been here.”
Dominican Center, at 2470 W. Locust St., has served residents of Milwaukee’s Amani neighborhood for 30 years. Some staff positions were eliminated in January. Roberson said there are plans to hire for new positions, though they have not been finalized yet.
She said the hope is not to see a change in services during the transition and that the organization’s partnerships and commitment to the community remain the same.
“I think that every organization at some point has to go through a restructure,” Roberson said in an interview. “It is to support our growth and our development, and again, keep us here for another 30 years.”
Elizabeth Brown, president of Amani United, a resident-led community group, said residents have not received any details about the restructure and feel like the organization’s decision-makers are not communicating with them.
“They don’t feel like Dominican Center has been transparent with them,” Brown said.
Roberson said she’s been calling residents to let them know about the restructure and the resources that are still available at Dominican Center.
“I can understand if people feel a little apprehensive, but I feel like our responsibility to them is to keep them informed, and making sure that we’re staying connected,” she said.
Housing updates
Amanda Clark, Dominican Center’s housing coordinator, is stepping into a new role as housing and outreach manager.
Dominican Center and Amani United have been working with the Community Development Alliance and other partners on the Amani Homeownership Initiative.
The project aims to build 90 homes between Burleigh Street and Meinecke Avenue and North 25th Street and North 17th Street. By 2028, project leaders hope to have 60 entry-level homes built on vacant lots.
In addition, Dominican Center is looking to hire eight community outreach ambassadors that will be paid through a stipend.
“Those residents will be helping us get the word out to residents in the neighborhood about whatever we have going on,” Roberson said.
Outreach could include sharing resources or explaining the Tax Incremental District, or TID, that Community Development Alliance plans to apply for to partially fund new home construction in Amani, she said.
Teig Whaley-Smith, chief alliance executive for the Community Development Alliance, said Dominican Center remains an important collaborator.
Whaley-Smith said he doesn’t expect the restructuring of Dominican Center to impact the larger housing plans for the area.
“The grant agreements necessary to make the project happen are directly with the builders of the affordable housing, and directly to residents in the form of down payment assistance,” he said.
Dominican Center is also preparing for this year’s Reclaiming Our Neighborhoods, or RON coalition, survey. Residents will have the opportunity to be trained and paid to survey exterior housing conditions of properties in the neighborhood as part of that survey.
“We’re learning that a lot of our residents could use new roofs or new porches, and so (Amanda Clark will) be pushing a lot of that work forward,” Roberson said.
Other programs and activities
Roberson said Dominican Center has one paid volunteer working in its hydroponics lab and is trying to create a stipend position for a second interested resident.
“What I want to make sure we’re doing is we’re compensating people for any of the time that they are giving us because I think that’s important for our residents,” she said.
The Dominican Center board is also preparing to start a community engagement committee that combines board members and residents to ensure its promise of being resident-led, Roberson said.
Board leadership has not responded to requests for comment.
Anyone interested in learning more about the homeownership initiative can join the Amani Project Team’s next virtual meeting at noon on Monday, Feb. 23.
Dominican Center will host an Earth Day Clean Up on April 18 and a Housing & Economic Development Resource Fair on May 16, and is planning a bloom and groom sale.
Meredith Melland is the neighborhoods reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
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