The Milwaukee Rescue Mission broke ground on a North Campus expansion in November 2017.
Society has created a negative image of citizens who fall flat on their bottom and end up living on the streets, even if many of us are only a few paychecks away from being homeless. The plight of homeless people is serious year round but becomes especially moving during the bitter winds of a Wisconsin winter. Fortunately, a variety of organizations and community members are fighting the symptoms of the problem by providing shelter for the homeless.
Milwaukee Rescue Mission
Located at 830 N. 19th St., the Rescue Mission is a Christian-based organization working in Milwaukee since 1893. It started as a homeless shelter for men but has expanded into a safe haven for all. Through their Joy House, they provide shelter, meals and life skills classes for women and children until they’re able to get on their feet. Likewise, the Mission’s Safe Harbor program provides men not only with food and shelter but the tools for building lives of self-sufficiency. Both the women and men’s shelters are open 24/7.
Vice President of Programs at Milwaukee Rescue Mission, Dan Brown, says people tend to think they’re better than the homeless because of economic differences. “Many of them are people who are simply in need,” he explains. “They aren’t bad people and we are simply trying to meet that need.”
Queens of Faith
Milwaukee Entrepreneur-activist Bianca Williams also provides transitional living for the homeless. Her Queens Of Faith organization provides housing in several properties in the neighborhood near North 34th Street and Highland Boulevard. “We gotta do more,” she says. “We shouldn’t have any homeless people out here.”
Williams is a mother and focuses her efforts on single women and children “because it hurts her to see a mom with her kids on the street struggling for their next meal.” But for her, providing a meal isn’t enough. The homeless need someone to be there for them physically and emotionally, and they need someone to talk to, she says.
According to Williams, the women assisted by Queens of Faith range between 18-30 years of age. Many come from domestic violence and human trafficking; some are repeatedly homeless from lack of work and education. She adds that helping the homeless will create a positive rippling effect. “They’re still human—once they get on their feet, I believe they will help someone else,” Williams says.
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Salvation Army
“A small percentage of people want to be homeless and that’s heartbreaking to encounter people like that,” says Major Tim Meyer, the Salvation Army’s Milwaukee Divisional Secretary. For the vast majority of homeless people, Meyer defines his objectives as “meeting human needs without discrimination. If you’re hungry, then we try to meet that need.” It doesn’t end with food. The Salvation Army also provides childcare and helps people look for work and find affordable housing. Residents of their homeless shelter receive a room, three meals a day and are assigned a social worker who will help during their stay.
Meyer says that one of the problems facing the homeless is knowing where they can go to receive help. The Salvation Army has several “Corps” (churches and community centers) with a warming center open during business hours, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., also on Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon during service.
Catholic Worker Movement
The Catholic Worker Movement is another organization helping Milwaukee’s homeless by providing them housing, food, clothing and furniture. The Catholic Workers operate five houses on the 1100 block of North 21st Street near Highland Boulevard in which they minister to the needs of others: Casa Maria takes in single mothers and their children while Lazarus House takes in single women; Sister Pat’s House and Mapendo House provides longer-term housing for women and their families; at Harmony House (1149 N 21st St.), Catholic Worker volunteers live in common with refugees, asylum seekers and others in need of shelter.
Long-time Casa Maria volunteer Don Timmeman says it’s important to always remember to treat people how you want to be treated. “Most people want respect, they don’t want to be degraded in anyway,” he says. “I always see people as Christ himself and you can’t turn Christ away.”
Timmeman believes there are many things someone could do other than handing a homeless person money. Listen to them, give them a ride when you can, smile at them, don’t be afraid of them and overall make them feel welcomed. “Everybody should treat homeless people like their brother and sister,” he says.
Pathfinders Milwaukee
Pathfinders Milwaukee provides services for runaway and homeless young people 25 and under. Their youth shelter (1614 E. Kane Place) affords youths with help finding employment, along with showers, laundry and a kitchen. Pathfinders take a trauma informed approach. According to CEO and President Tim Baack, most youth on the streets come from troubled backgrounds so it’s a necessity to take this type of approach.
“We see a lot of young people who would never identify themselves as homeless,” he says. “Our young people are house hopping.” Without a stable place to live it’s hard for the youth to become productive members of society.
Like other local activists serving the homeless, Baack believes the best way to start is with kindness. “We’re paying attention to who this person is as an individual because the homeless is us,” he says.
Citadel Corps Community Center
(414) 463-3300
Coldspring Church and Community Center
2900 W. Coldspring Road
(414) 763-9797
Oak Creek Centennial Church and Community Center
(414) 762-3993
West Corps Community Center
1645 N. 25th St.
(414) 342-9191
