Photo courtesy of Street Angels
Shelly Sarasin (left) and Eva Welch (right) founded Street Angels, a nonprofit, volunteer-based organization in 2016.
For the past few years, Street Angels has restored the survivability and humanity of countless homeless and at-risk people in Milwaukee by providing them with basic, everyday necessities that they can’t find on the street. Eva Welch and Shelly Sarasin founded the nonprofit, volunteer-based organization together in 2016 and now manage it full-time.
Street Angels, Inc., Milwaukee Outreach’s mission is to meet people living outdoors and provide them with basic survival needs. They aim to build trust with the people they serve and guide them on a path towards permanent housing. Every week, Sarasin and Welch drive out to encampments scattered across the city: from MacArthur Square to the old “Tent City” that resided under the I-794 overpass and to different spots on the city’s South Side. They visit homelessness both where it’s visible and where it isn’t.
Four years ago, Sarasin and Welch met while volunteering for a winter warming room. “We spent the whole winter with a lot of people who were living outdoors,” Welch says, “and we created some friendships and bonds. We wanted to continue to check on them when winter was over.” The two started loading Sarasin’s car with food and meeting those in need where they were living, which was usually outside. Eventually, word spread about their work, and more people asked for help, so they went on Facebook to reach out to friends and family for assistance. Eventually, they upgraded from Sarasin’s car to a bus and found a space in which to prepare meals and supplies. “[Early Street Angels] was so home-grown; the meals were made in our kitchen,” says Welch, laughing at the memory.
In the early days of the organization, Sarasin had no prior experience with working with the homeless, but she says her experience of caring for others started with her father, who needed to live in a state-run nursing home because of his quadriplegia. “So, I understood the need for advocacy and being there for the most vulnerable,” she says, explaining that she treats each new person with the tenderness with which she treated her own father. “I took care of my dad when he was in a nursing home for eight years. There are so many people that I look at and think, ‘That’s my dad. This person could be my dad.’”
Work That’s a Passion, Not a Job
Before working co-founding Street Angels (located at 445 W. Oklahoma Ave.), Welch worked in a nonprofit food rescue mission. “I’ve always had a passion to help people,” she says. “I think that I found my place here.” Welch and Sarasin both agree that their work is a “passion,” and not a job. However, because the people they serve have experienced trauma and share that knowledge, their work comes with stress and challenges. “We’re both comedians, so that helps,” Welch said, laughing. Humor is one of the Street Angels’ tools to deal with heavy topics. “We try to keep everything upbeat and positive,” Sarasin says about keeping morale high. “We do that for our friends on the street, too. The last thing we want is to bring them down.” Another hurdle the two face is establishing trust, because some of the people they meet have previously been promised help but didn’t receive it.
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So, what can people do on their own to help the homeless or at-risk in Milwaukee? Welch just says to be nice. “Treat them as if they’re your neighbor,” she says. “Speak to them. Really, it just boils down to being nice.” “Homeless is just a definition,” Sarasin says. “Without a home. It doesn’t make people bad. They’re human beings, just like you and me.”
For more information about Street Angels, Inc., Milwaukee Outreach, send an email to info@streetangelsmke.org or visit streetangelsmke.org.
