The publication in 2016 of Desmond’s prize-winning book brought to light a longstanding problem in Milwaukee, where the book is set. In Milwaukee County each year, nearly 16,000 adults and children are evicted from 6,000 rental units. Eviction rates are seven times higher for Black and Latino adults than for white adults.
“Eviction is associated with a wide range of harms to physical and mental health as well as educational achievement,” said Aisha Ware, paralegal and triage specialist at the Milwaukee Rental Housing Resource Center.
The center, a collaborative initiative supported by the Urban Economic Development Association, operates out of the offices of Community Advocates in downtown Milwaukee. The center was created in 2020 after two years of planning by the Milwaukee Eviction Prevention Task Force, which formed in 2018 in response to Desmond’s book. The center’s website went live in March 2021 and its walk-in offices in September 2021.
Over the years, the Foundation has worked to bring affordable housing within reach of all and has identified the issue as a key campaign priority because of its role as a major building block of life, health and wealth. It is a founding member and funding partner of the Community Development Alliance, which last year created Milwaukee’s first-ever collective affordable housing plan. In addition to supporting programs that advance affordable housing and increase homeownership, the Foundation has invested discretionary funds in eviction prevention strategies and programs, such as the center, which it supported with $150,000 in 2021.
The center is a comprehensive referral network connecting people — both tenants and landlords — to resources, education and services that help households prevent eviction and maintain safe and stable housing.
“Milwaukee has never had a tenant-landlord resources center,” said Kristi Luzar, UEDA’s executive director. “Landlords and tenants are usually adversarial. We want to create a space where both can connect to resources they can trust.”
The center provides tenants in crisis with information about legal services, temporary rent assistance and mediation services. It also helps landlords who want to help tenants who are struggling financially but are unsure how to do so.
The Foundation’s funding specifically supported Ware’s position and provided support for other implementation co-partners that are dedicating time and staff to the effort.
The center convenes nine co-partners, ranging from the city of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services to Hope House, a homeless shelter. A key copartner on the landlord side is the Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin, the region’s largest trade organization for landlords.
Since March 2021, the center has helped promote and facilitate the distribution of more than $100 million in temporary rent assistance funds to more than 5,900 households in partnership with Community Advocates and Social Development Commission. Its triage team has served more than 3,700 tenants and landlords with information and resources.
The center is also looking to create longer-term housing stability through systems change, addressing the chronic shortage of affordable housing in Milwaukee.
“Milwaukee housing prices aren’t extraordinarily high,” said Luzar. “It’s just that people don’t make enough money.”