Jun 76 min read

FP FIVE: WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES

Updated: Jun 11

The Family Promise Five is a weekly update that focuses on the FIVE topics, issues, events, volunteer opportunities or needs of Family Promise Waukesha County. This communication will update, inform and advocate for families who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of experiencing homelessness. Here is the Family Promise Five for June 7, 2024.

Our mission is to help low-income families and families experiencing homelessness achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response.

The Family Promise Five for June 7 are:

WALK A MILE IN THEIR SHOES
SHELTER DIVERSION MEETING RECAP
A HOME FOR EVERYONE
5TH MOST COMPETITIVE RENTAL MARKET
THE GREEN TEAM!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

The United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties Resource Development Team met with Joe and Maria. The purpose was to learn more about the programs offered by Family Promise of Waukesha County.

POLL OF THE WEEK

A lack of affordable housing is an obstacle to housing. Would you favor an ordinance that requires landlords to accept subsidies like Section 8 vouchers?

1. WALK A MILE IN THEIR SHOES

Understanding someone else's life experience starts with the humble act of listening to them.

Advocacy

Our weekly Wednesday meals are off to a great start. Over the past three Wednesdays, families from the Apartment Shelter Program came together for food and games. What is striking about these evenings is the innocence of the children and the closeness of the families. Their interaction with one another was kind and sweet. Yet, hanging over the room was an understanding of the challenges the families face and the long-term impact experiencing homelessness will have on the children. For a moment though, there is joy, happiness and community. The kindness of strangers has a transformative effect. These have been positive events for the families and staff.

Unfortunately our staff had a couple of other, different experiences recently as well. These encounters included complaints about “those people” who are "lazy, disrespectful and just need to get a job." Another chafed at the idea that we would provide financial assistance for rent to prevent homelessness. From their perspective this is enablement. One commented that they were fearful for their safety when they are around people who are homeless.

These encounters stand in stark contrast to one another. The perception and biases in the second paragraph does not match our reality. Unfortunately the attitudes in the second story are too common. A Not In My BackYard (NIMBY) attitude, based on prejudice and fear, is not the reality we experience - at least not regularly. NIMBY is a significant obstacle to solving the problem of homelessness. It is one reason why affordable housing remains unaddressed.

The best way to break through our bias, whatever it might be, is to step outside our comfort zone and engage with groups who are different from us. To 'walk a mile in their shoes'. Our approach is to meet others with humility, openness, understanding and a willingness to learn about them. These are the values that a community response to homelessness embodies. It is also what makes a community response to homelessness powerful and transformative.

With all of this in mind we invite you to make, serve and participate in our Wednesday meal. Or find another way to interact with families experiencing homelessness. While the Wednesdays in June are already chosen, we do need additional help in the coming months. Click on the image below to sign up for a time to serve a meal to the families.

Thank you to the Oconomowoc Rotary Club for making and serving the meal this past Wednesdays and to the groups who are signed up for meals in June. They are:

June 12 St Theresa, Eagle
June 19 Oakwood Church
June 26 Our Savior Lutheran Church, Oconomowoc

It is our preference that all volunteers who have client contact complete the online training. To complete the Family Promise online training use this link: https://family-promise.coassemble.com/unlock/fD6QseW

NOTE WELL: All volunteers must have a criminal record check completed.

BACKGROUND REFERENCE CHECK

Questions: info@familypromisewaukeshawi.org

2. SHELTER DIVERSION MEETING RECAP

First Diversion Meeting Provides Overview of the Program

Mission

Thank you to those who participated in our first Shelter Diversion Meeting. 27 individuals attended the meeting at the Library. The majority of those were service providers, followed by community members/volunteers and law enforcement. Asked who else should be involved in developing the program, the group suggested: those with lived experience of homelessness, school social workers, landlords, donors, government officials, and those involved in the court system.

The slide show below is a guided introduction to Shelter Diversion narrated by Joe Nettesheim. We invite you to check it out to learn more about this new endeavor. Family Promise of Waukesha County is a sub-recipient of a five year grant provided by the Wisconsin Balance of State. They were the recipient of a grant from the Bezos Day 1 Fund.

For more details visit our Shelter Diversion webpage

Year to date Program Statistics

3. A HOME FOR EVERYONE

FP Team speaking at housing conference on alternative shelter models.

FORMATION

Courtney Rutkowski, Maria Mundt and Joe Nettesheim will be making a presentation about the Apartment Shelter Program at A Home for Everyone Conference (AHFE) being held in Madison on July 17- 18. AHFE is Wisconsin's premier statewide affordable housing conference. Don't miss this opportunity to hear from experts on industry issues, attend breakout sessions offered in five different tracks, and network with colleagues for two days in Wisconsin's capital city.

Partnering with Brenda Konkel from Dairy Drive Campground, their presentation is titled Alternate Shelter Models. This session will be held July 17 from 11 am- 12:15pm.

Alternative Shelter Models:

This session will delve into two alternative shelter models: Family Promise of Waukesha County’s apartment shelter model, and Madison's Dairy Drive Campground. Learn about how these models respect agency and dignity of the person and family. Learn how to replicate these models in your community.

Hope you can join us. Early bird discount ends June 9.

Learn more about the conference here.

A HOME FOR EVERYONE CONFERENCE

POLL OF THE WEEK

A lack of affordable housing is an obstacle to housing. Would you favor an ordinance that requires landlords to accept subsidies like Section 8 vouchers?

0%Yes, we need to give low income families a chance
0%No, landlords should be able to make this determination.

4. MILWAUKEE/WAUKESHA RENTAL MARKET

Milwaukee/West Allis/Waukesha Corridor one of the most competitive rental markets in US

Community

Milwaukee- West Allis- Waukesha corridor is the fifth most competitive rental market in the United States according to a study by Forbes based on data from the US Census Bureau and Zillow. Reasons cited for the competitive nature of the rental market were:

A vacancy rate less than 4% (dropping from over 7% last year)
High percentage of renters vs. homeowners
rental prices
year over year price changes

The study found that the Milwaukee area tied with Boston for the greatest increase in rent over the past year. Rent increased on average by $200 a month.

Unfortunately it is unlikely that this is surprising to anyone. The housing market continues to be difficult for all especially low-income families.

Milwaukee Waukesha Rental Market

5. THE GREEN TEAM

Seeking volunteers to help maintain our yard and gardens.

Volunteers

Maintaining the grounds around the Family Promise of Waukesha Day Center is important for being a good neighbor and making a positive first impression on clients and donors. We need help! It is our hope that there would be a group of volunteers who would come to the Day Center on a monthly basis.

Tasks would include:

weeding flower beds, driveway and backyard
mowing the grass in the parkway
planting and maintaining flowers
trimming hedges

If you would like more information about ways to get involved and support families experiencing homelessness please contact Joe Nettesheim

Five Plus: Gratitude!

"Gratitude is a big thing. It puts you in a place you are humble."

-Andra Day

THANK YOU: EWALD FLEET SOLUTIONS

Thank you, Dan and Patti Ewald for sharing a picnic table with us. A nice step up from our previous table that was broken.

THANK YOU: ABUNDANT JOY YOGA

Thank you to Abundant Joy Yoga for supporting Family Promise of Waukesha County with Yoga on the Green on June 1.

GOLF GRATITUDE

Over the next few weeks we will thank all of our golf outing sponsors. Please use their services and let them know you appreciate their support of families experiencing homelessness.

ACE SPONSORS

Dorothy J Thomson Fund/Tim and Lisa Smits and Family

The Thomsons companies manage the Meadows. Tim Smits is the president of the Thomson Companies. It is their openness to Family Promise of Waukesha County that allowed us to start the Apartment Shelter Program. We are thankful for their partnership.

American Transmission Company

ATC has sponsored Family Promise Giving Day and our end of year campaign in addition to the Golf Outing. Recently they provided snack packs for families in the Apartment Shelter. Thank you to ATC for families experiencing homelessness.

Kirk Larsen and Kristin Cherek

Kirk is the brother of a board member. Living in Florida they have not had an opportunity to visit Family Promise. Their generosity is based on the recommendation of Kirk’s sister!