From problem solving to staying civically engaged, Safe & Sound’s Resident Leader Training cohort is designed to empower community members to build their leadership skills.
Organizers prepared the latest group of participants to analyze safety risks and lead prevention-based neighborhood initiatives at the five-week cohort that ran in April.
Safe & Sound, 4422 W. Leon Terrace, conducts community organizing, works with youth and partners with the Milwaukee Police Department in five districts on the North and South sides.
It brought back the sessions because of positive feedback from the first cohort, according to Tony Harris, Safe & Sound’s neighborhood safety coordinator for District 5.
“It’s a good way to know the different advocates and pillars, not just in their neighborhood, but in Milwaukee as a whole,” Harris said.
Tools and resources for civic engagement
At the session about civic engagement and advocacy on April 23, staff shared tips with residents from Amani, Washington Park, Rufus King, Garden Homes and other neighborhoods on how to advocate for neighborhood change.
An approach Safe & Sound uses is to let community members know about upcoming Milwaukee Common Council Licenses Committee meetings or town halls about licenses for businesses in their neighborhoods, Harris said.
Jessie Reese, community health and wellness coordinator for Rooted & Rising Washington Park, said he learned a lot from the training about how residents can weigh in on liquor licenses or report nuisance properties.
“With the licensing, we’re able to have our own voices in our communities,” Reese said. “I feel like that’s a key tool that goes under the radar.”
The training also covered voting, starting petitions and using city resources.
Elaine De La Cruz, neighborhood organizer for District 4, said she was used to driving on crater-like potholes on Sherman Boulevard, only to discover one day that some had been filled because Bella Vazquez, neighborhood organizer for District 5, had reported them to the city.
“I didn’t even know that it worked, but she reported them and they were done in two days,” De La Cruz said.
Potholes can be reported by calling 414-286-CITY (2489), filing an online service request or by using the MKE Mobile Action app and submitting a photo or the address of the location of the pothole.
Learning about police
Police officers from the Community Partnership Unit in the districts that work with Safe & Sound explained the differences between the Police Department and Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, and answered questions about their jobs.
Sheriff’s deputies have jurisdiction over county buildings as well as Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, Milwaukee County Parks and expressways.
The Police Department has a larger staff but also receives a high volume of calls, according to the officers. The departments collaborate on some community events like National Night Out, work in coordination on critical incidents like shootings in a park and share other resources when needed.
They talked about Citizen Academy, a seven-week, hands-on course where people can experience how the Milwaukee Police Department trains officers, learn about legal rights when interacting with law enforcement and participate in demonstrations.
“Riding along with the police, seeing how they see things – I think that could bring the community a lot closer,” Reese said.
Other resources and grants
Safe & Sound plans to offer the Resident Leader Training cohort two to three times a year, but they also have other events and resources to support people who are interested in starting a block club or organizing a resident-led initiative.
The Good Neighbor Grant uses $400,000 from the City of Milwaukee to award block clubs, neighborhood associations or resident-led groups with funds for community projects like cleanups, gardens or events.
Yolanda Dickey-Roth, who started the Rufus King Safety Alliance, a community block watch, nearly a year ago, applied for the grant last year. She used the money to purchase cleanup supplies, snow removal equipment and salt, and even install dog waste stations and signs.
“We’ve been able to do some really good things,” she said.
A main part of the cohort training is to create a space for people facing similar issues in their neighborhoods to connect with each other and talk through ideas.
“Sometimes it feels like you’re alone doing this work, but it’s just good to be a part of a bigger community,” Harris said.
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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