January/February 2020
Community Advocates Connections
Friends --

Happy New Year!

Community Advocates is off to a fast start in 2020. We are now offering free gun locks to anyone who requests one at our downtown offices with the intent to prevent gun injuries and violence. All of us can play a part in keeping our community safe, and safely storing and locking a firearm is a good place to start, especially if you have children in your home. We're grateful for the leadership that the City of Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention and Master Lock Company are demonstrating on this issue.

 In gratitude,
Andi Elliott
Chief Executive Officer
Community Advocates
Free Gun Locks Available at Community Advocates
Community Advocates Public Policy Institute is proud to be a partner in the City of Milwaukee’s free gun lock distribution initiative. The Milwaukee-based Master Lock Company donated 1,000 keyed gun locks to the city’s Office of Violence Prevention , which is distributing them to community partners and individuals.

"We are pleased to partner with Community Advocates on this effort to promote safe and responsible gun storage in efforts to prevent accidental shootings among children and youth," said Reggie Moore, Director of the Office of Violence Prevention. "In addition to Community Advocates, gun locks are available at all of the City of Milwaukee Health Centers."

The gun locks are available upon request at Community Advocates' downtown office's front desk at 728 N. James Lovell St., Milwaukee, during regular business hours.

"Kids and adults always ask us for gun locks when we do outreach in the community," said Amanda Clark, Coordinator of the 53206 Drug-Free Communities Project , which is housed at the Public Policy Institute. "Now, we'll be able to give Master Lock gun locks to anyone who visits Community Advocates’ downtown offices and asks for one."

Help Community Advocates Win $1,000
Calling all community members! TMJ4’s The Morning Blend has chosen Community Advocates as one of its Top 5 charities for its Morning Blend Gives Back initiative! If we receive the most votes, they’ll donate $1,000 to our programs and services and feature us in an upcoming Morning Blend show. Voting is open through February 14. You can vote once per IP address so in addition to voting from your work computer, you may be able to vote from your home computer, laptop, phone, and/or iPad.  It’s easy! Just click on this link and vote .

After you vote, tell your friends! Thank you!
How You Can Support Individuals Experiencing Homelessness
MCW logo
The Milwaukee Women’s Center's Emergency Shelter is looking for individuals or groups that would like to provide and serve dinner at our shelter for men, women, and their children on the near South Side. About 40 to 50 people share the meal. The shelter has all of the equipment, utensils, pots, and pans that are needed, but a meal could be brought in already made and heated up in our commercial kitchen or completely prepared on site. Dinner is served at 6 p.m. daily. 

Our top ten wish list consists of twin sheets, blankets, pillows, and twin zippered mattress covers. We also need suitcases for our clients, preferably with wheels. 

Our Homeless Outreach team is always looking for warm socks to distribute to men, women, and children.

If you are able to help with any of these requests, please contact Jeri Kavanaugh at jkavanaugh@communityadvocates.net . Thank you!
Shepherd Express Covers Nevermore
The Shepherd Express recently featured the Milwaukee Women’s Center's Nevermore Batterers Intervention Program , which serves more than 100 men yearly who are trying to break the cycle of violence in the home. Uniquely, Nevermore uses a trauma-informed approach to allow the men to heal at a deeper level, in addition to changing their behavior. Steve Thomas, Nevermore's program manager, told the Shepherd , "Our goal is to rehabilitate the whole man, not just the part of the man that has problems with domestic violence." Read the article here .
Calendar
February 13: Bring your resume and show up prepared to succeed at the MAXIMUS Job Fair hosted by Community Advocates, 728 N. James Lovell St., Milwaukee. Stop by between 10 a.m. and noon. Employers are ready to hire!

February 19: Community Advocates is hosting a Circle of Support for Returning Citizens, a restorative justice-style gathering for those returning from incarceration and interested community members. Details here .

February 14: Voting closes for The Morning Blend Gives Back. Vote for Community Advocates at this link. Thank you!

February 21: Empowerment Coalition of Milwaukee’s February meeting will focus on services for families and children and harm reduction. Cost is $5 for materials and light refreshments. Get the details and registration form here . 

We're always adding events to our online calendar. Bookmark it here.
Community Advocates
2020 Board of Directors
Leadership
President: Jodi Wire | We Energies
Vice President: Bryan House | Foley & Lardner, LLP
Treasurer: Sandra Samse | Johnson Keland Management
Secretary: Sharon Jordan | Direct Supply

Board Members
Marquette Baylor | Aurora Health Care
Sheree Dallas Branch | The Salvation Army
Anne DeLeo | Community Volunteer
Valerie Gabriel | Community Volunteer
Dr. Stephen Hargarten | Medical College of Wisconsin
Erin Henry | Northwestern Mutual
Betsy Hoylman | Northwestern Mutual
Gary Ingram | Igary Events
Pamela Klein | Fresh Coast Partners, LLC
Jim Liedtke | Community Volunteer
Kate Venne | Brady Corporation
Lisa Kaiser | Community Advocates | 414-270-2999  | lkaiser@communityadvocates.net | communityadvocates.net