Founded in 1989, the nonprofit My Home, Your Home (MHYH) was developed to help improve the foster-care system of Milwaukee. MHYH offers four programs to foster children and (when applicable) their families. The Treatment Foster Care (TFC) program serves foster children from newborn to 19 years old who have severe behavioral problems or medical needs by recruiting, licensing and training foster families to cope with the opportunities and challenges presented by fostering a child with handicaps. The Wraparound Care and REACH programs serve the entire families of foster children with severe mental health needs and bring in services to help improve their situations. Lissy’s Place, founded in 2001, is the only transitional housing program for local homeless/abused women formerly in foster care (between ages 17.5-29) that offers supportive programming. And the Recovery Check Up program performs check-up services, tracks clients, documents the client’s success and offers resources for added support if needed. MHYH serves more than 1,200 children, youth and adults annually.
“We are a well-kept secret and are trying to reach out,” says Connie Palmer, the CEO/associate director of MHYH. “We want to make people aware of what is happening in the community—that young women are aging out of foster care and ending up in human trafficking situations. Many people know this happens in other countries, but do not realize it happens right here in Milwaukee. The community should be doing anything it can do to help these young women. Lissy’s Place is one safe haven for those women.”
Volunteers are always needed, specifically those interested in organizing donations that come into Lissy’s Place’s Diva Boutique and professionals willing to teach skills such as résumé writing and job interviewing. To learn more about volunteering, donating or MHYH programming, call 414-874-2560 or visit myhomeyourhome.org.
