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Purpose & Background

Countless individuals have worked tirelessly to promote safety and prevent violence in Milwaukee through numerous programs, policies, and initiatives. However, we have lacked a unifying vision and overarching plan for working in a more coordinated manner to advance public safety. Recognizing this gap and the urgent need for an “all hands on deck” approach, Mayor Tom Barrett and other city leaders called for a public health approach to reducing violence in Milwaukee – one that would address the underlying factors that contribute to violence, build on community assets and culture, and systematically apply data and science to ensure effective solutions.

Mayor Barrett appointed a diverse Steering Committee to provide leadership and oversight of the planning process and charged the MHDOVP with facilitating an inclusive and transparent process that centered the voices of those most impacted by the issue. From the very beginning, those often left out of this type of planning effort were prioritized and engaged. While many similar planning efforts take 2 or more years, this aggressive process was designed to solicit broad community engagement focused on collaboration, solutions, and action.

Funding for the planning process was provided by a generous grant from the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment at the Medical College of Wisconsin, with supplemental support from the Tides Foundation and the Federal ReCAST Milwaukee initiative. Leveraging the expertise of the UNITY City Network2 and decades of experience providing consultation services to cities, Prevention Institute3 provided technical support for the development of the Blueprint. This process included input from a very diverse representation of community leaders and residents, including youth. The Blueprint also incorporated insight from evidence-informed programs from around the country including numerous reports, plans, and research.

Employing a public health approach, the Blueprint focuses on prevention of violence before it occurs, as well as intervention efforts after violence has occurred to reduce its impact and prevent future perpetration and victimization. This approach is separate but complementary to criminal justice system’s efforts to reduce violence through enforcement, and suppression strategies. Criminal justice system entities, including the Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee County Circuit Courts, and Juvenile Corrections are important partners in understanding and reducing the factors that results in criminal justice contact and confinement. Prevention, intervention, enforcement, and reentry strategies are integral parts of a balanced approach to public safety. Any one of these without the others is insufficient in providing safety and justice for youth, families, and neighborhoods most vulnerable to violence.

Many of the recommended strategies outlined in the Blueprint intentionally build on local assets and national best practices. The Blueprint also includes new efforts designed to fill critical gaps. Over the next five years, intensive investment, support, alignment, and action will be necessary to address the urgency of the problem, and many of the new strategies included in the Blueprint are intended for implementation within this timeframe. At the same time, recognizing that many of the goals will require sustained effort, the Blueprint is intended to inform action for approximately 10 years. Further, given that new strategies, research, and opportunities will emerge in the coming years, it is recommended that the Blueprint be reviewed annually and updated in five years, and in subsequent years, as appropriate.

Like other cities around the country, multiple forms of violence have caused significant injury and trauma for individuals, families, and neighborhoods across Milwaukee. The names and memories of victims who lost their lives and countless victims who suffer from the impact of violence weigh heavy on the heart and soul of our city, and provide a moral imperative for immediate and sustained leadership and action. The Blueprint honors the hard work that laid the foundation for its development. It represents the spirit and promise of Milwaukee’s residents and sectors all working together with the courage and conviction to heal the past and make a better present and future. The completion of the Blueprint is just the beginning in that it charts a course for our collective action to advance more effective, coordinated, and sustained efforts to prevent violence and ensure the safety of all Milwaukee’s residents.

How to use the Blueprint

The Blueprint for Peace is the first of its kind in Milwaukee dedicated to the prevention of multiple forms of violence. It establishes clear direction and a call to action for a public health approach to violence prevention that engages community residents and multiple sectors.

The Blueprint is a living document to guide action. Individuals and organizations are encouraged to review and utilize the Blueprint to inform coordinated actions for violence prevention.

  • The vision and guiding principles help unite people and organizations and set direction for action.
  • The data on violence and associated risk and resilience factors articulate the extent and nature of violence in Milwaukee.
  • The goals and strategies identified in the Blueprint were carefully defined based on community input and evidence for having the greatest likelihood for preventing violence and its consequences.
  • The overarching and goal-specific indicators identify metrics that can be used to measure and monitor progress. These indicators will be used in the development of the Blueprint’s evaluation plan.
  • The implementation structure and priorities describes how the work will be organized and supported with a focus on priority populations and neighborhoods.

A photo of Sherman Park Mural

Our Guiding Principles

“
The challenges we have are deeply rooted in classism and racism. We have an opportunity to tell the truth about some significant things and create a plan that addresses what we need to in Milwaukee.

Community

This Blueprint is informed by youth and families most impacted by violence. Its success is dependent on the power, connection, and engagement of every resident in making Milwaukee one of the safest cities in the country.

Equity

This Blueprint recognizes that although violence affects the entire community, it takes an inequitable toll on specific neighborhoods and populations including youth, women, and people of color. It recognizes that multiple forms of oppression contribute to violence, and these must be acknowledged, addressed, and dismantled, including institutional racism.

Individual & Community Resilience

This Blueprint acknowledges the impact that violence and trauma have on children, families, and neighborhoods and promotes asset-based solutions for immediate and lasting change.

Action

This Blueprint is rooted in a public health approach to preventing multiple forms of violence and builds on Milwaukee’s assets through coordinated strategies that are comprehensive, actionable, and measurable.

Rates & Types of Violence

Violence – both interpersonal and structural – poses a serious threat to the health, safety, and well-being of Milwaukee residents. The injury, pain, and trauma that results from violence can severely impact the physical and mental well-being and sense of worth of individuals and communities.

For example, exposure to violence and lack of safety increases stress and anxiety, which are linked to higher rates of preterm births and low birthweight babies and can also deter people from engaging in healthy behaviors such as exercise or outdoor play. Additionally, violence can also result in premature death, high medical costs, and decreased productivity. Not only does violence affect health, but it can deprive individuals and communities of opportunities and perpetuate historic and present-day inequities. Due to its cyclical nature, impacts are intergenerational with communities of color and those living in concentrated poverty facing the greatest burden.

In this section, definitions of forms of violence and associated trauma prioritized for this Blueprint are offered, along with salient information about the incidence and prevalence of each form of violence. For a full report of the rates and types of violence in Milwaukee and prioritized risk and resilience factors rates and types of violence, please refer to the Milwaukee Violence Prevention Blueprint Data Profile.

According to the 2016 Milwaukee County Community Health Survey, 42% of respondents rated violence as a top community health issue. 4 Blueprint planning stakeholders characterized the following as the most pervasive forms of violence in the city: community violence, including gun and gang violence; intimate partner and sexual violence; child maltreatment; structural violence, including racial violence, violence by law enforcement officers, and mass incarceration; and drug-related violence. Carjacking has also become a serious safety issue in the city, leading to growing public concern.

Community Violence:

  • Community violence refers to deliberate acts of interpersonal violence in public spaces by a person or persons not intimately related to the victim.
  • In Milwaukee in 2016 there were 139 lives lost due to homicide.
  • From 2010 to 2016, there has been a 76% increase in firearm-related homicide victims, a 38% increase in nonfatal shooting victims, and a 43% increase in combined victims.
  • In 2015, gang-involved homicide cases increased 100% from 12 to 24.
  • The average inpatient discharge costs for firearm-related injury for Milwaukee County residents with firearm-related injuries (135 cases total) were $68,678.30 in 2014.

139 Lives Lost In 2015 Due To Homicide In Milwaukee

68,678 Average Inpatient Discharge Costs In $ For Firearm-Related Injury

Sexual Violence & Human Trafficking:

  • Sexual violence includes a sexual act that is committed or attempted by another person without freely given consent of the victim or against someone who is unable to consent or refuse.
  • Human trafficking is “trafficking for the purposes of labor or services, or for the purposes of a commercial sex act”
  • In 2016, there were 162 sexual offenses per 100,000 residents in the city.
  • The Milwaukee Police Department received 3,000 911-telephone calls for sexual assault crimes from January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2016, and of these, 1,645 cases were investigated for sexual assault crimes. 55% of sexual assault victims were aged 0-17 years while 80% of perpetrators were 18 years or older.

20440 911-Telephone Calls For Domestic Abuse Crimes

17989 Calls To The Sojourner Family Peace Center Hotline

Child Maltreatment & Exploitation:

  • Child maltreatment is “an act, intentional or not, that results in harm, the potential for harm, or the threat of harm to a child; the failure to provide for a child’s needs or to protect a child from harm or potential harm.” Maltreatment includes physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect.
  • In 2015, there were 16,611 referrals to Child Protective Services (CPS) in Milwaukee County. The victimization rate for child maltreatment was 3.4 per 1,000 population (ages 0-17 years) in Milwaukee County, compared to 3.6 per 1,000 population in Wisconsin. The maltreatment substantiation rate in Milwaukee County in 2015 was 6.6%.
  • Neglect is the most common reason children aged 0 to 13 are removed from their parents’ care and placed into out-of-home care.

Car-jacking

  • Carjacking refers to motor vehicle theft.
  • While Milwaukee Police Department data shows decreases, based on responses to a public safety survey issued by the City of Milwaukee, car-jacking was listed as a serious safety issue among respondents.
  • In 2016, there were 464 incidents of carjacking. Carjacking incidents declined by 45%, from 124 in the first quarter of 2016, to 86 in the first quarter of 2017

464 incidents of car-jacking in 2016

Domestic & Intimate Partner Violence:

  • Intimate partner violence includes physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, and psychological aggression (including coercive tactics) by a current or former intimate partner.
  • In 2016, 14 homicides reported (10.1%) were the result of domestic violence.
  • The Milwaukee Police Department received 20,440 911-telephone calls for domestic abuse crimes from January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2016, and of these, 13,004 cases were investigated for domestic abuse crimes.
  • In 2015, Sojourner Family Peace Center received 18,581 hotline calls. In 2016, Sojourner Family Peace Center received 17,989 domestic violence hotline calls.
  • In 2013, 16.8% of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) high school students surveyed reported that they have experienced physical dating violence or physical victimization on a date, compared to 8.5% in the state of Wisconsin overall. A higher percentage of females reported victimization than males (17.7% vs. 15.7%).

3,000 911-telephone calls for domestic abuse crimes

16,661 Calls to the Sojourner Family Peace Center hotline

Structural Violence:

  • Structural violence refers to harm that individuals, families and communities experience from economic and social structures, social institutions, relations of power, privilege, and the inequality; and, inequity that may harm people and communities by preventing them from meeting their basic needs.
  • According to Blueprint planning contributors, structural violence in Milwaukee includes institutional racism and other forms of oppression such as sexism and classism..
  • While the City of Milwaukee is home to many of the state’s wealthiest residents, it is also home to the majority of the poorest residents. Milwaukee is the fifth most impoverished city in the nation with a poverty rate of 29%. According to the American Community Survey 2011-2015, the city’s poverty rate is more than double the state’s poverty rate (13%).
  • In 2015, Sojourner Family Peace Center received 18,581 hotline calls. In 2016, Sojourner Family Peace Center received 17,989 domestic violence hotline calls.
  • A study of 2010 U.S. Census data from Brown and Florida State University researchers determined that the Milwaukee, Waukesha, West Allis, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area had the second highest level of segregation in the country. Cities with the greatest geographical segregation from opportunity tend to have the highest rates of violence. Segregation, which leads to concentrated disadvantage, is created and sustained through policies, procedures, and practices, many of which are based on race and housing, are examples of structural violence. A study using 2014 data found that the mortgage loan market favors white applicants in Milwaukee, while African-Americans in Milwaukee only receive 4% of loans, despite making up 16% of loan applicants.
  • According to a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee study published in 2013, two-thirds of Milwaukee County’s incarcerated African American men came from six ZIP codes – 53206, 53209, 53210, 53218, 53212, and 53216 – many of which encompass Milwaukee’s poorest neighborhoods.
  • Among the largest cities in the US, the city of Milwaukee ranked 49 out of 50 for odds of achieving upward income mobility, according to a 2014 UC Berkeley report.
  • The perception of excessive use of force by government entities was raised as an important concern for the plan to address in part because of its harmful impact on perceptions of safety, government-community trust, and the effectiveness of coordinated prevention efforts.

Drug-Related Violence:

  • Drug-related violence refers to incidents that had indicators of drug involvement (i.e. large amount of cash present, known drug house, presence of narcotics, etc.).
  • There were 6 (6.9%) drug-related homicides in 2014, 17 (11.6%) in 2015, and 6 (4.3%) in 2016. There were 29 (5.0%) drug-related shootings in 2014, 35 (5.5%) in 2015, and 16 (2.9%) in 2016.

Self-Directed Violence/Suicide/Self Harm:

  • Self-directed violence refers to behavior directed at oneself that deliberately results in injury or the potential for injury. Self-directed violence may be suicidal or non-suicidal in nature.
  • Suicide is a death caused by self-directed injurious behavior with the intent to die as a result of the behavior.
  • For the County, the suicide rate with intent/manner being suicide/self-inflicted was 10.0 per 100,000 (95 deaths) in 2015 compared to 7.3 per 100,000 in the state. Thirty-three of these 95 deaths were firearm-related.
  • In 2015, individuals aged 55 to 64 had the highest rate of suicide (18.7 per 100,000) compared to other age groups.

Risk & Resilience Factors

Effective violence prevention efforts reduce risk factors and strengthen resilience factors. Risk factors are conditions or characteristics that increase the likelihood that violence will occur and resilience factors are conditions or characteristics that are protective even in the presence of risk factors, thus reducing the likelihood of violence. No one factor alone can be attributed to causing or preventing violence; it is the accumulation of risk factors without compensatory resilience factors that puts individuals, families and communities at risk.. Community resilience is the ability of a community to recover from harm andthrive despite the prevalence of adverse conditions. In this Blueprint, the promotion of resilience factors is emphasized, including at the individual, family, and community levels.

Risk Factors

The following risk factors were prioritized as significant contributors to violence through community input and prioritization and a review of relevant research on shared risk and resilience factors for multiple forms of violence, and the Adverse Community Experiences and Resilience (ACE|R) framework:

1. LIMITED EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES

The lack of employment and economic opportunities in Milwaukee is one of the clearest examples of structural violence playing out at the community level. The effect is greatest on those previously incarcerated and communities of color. Conviction history is a significant barrier to employment for vulnerable populations.

2. LACK OF ACCESS TO RESOURCES

Community members indicated that diminished access to important resources such as recreation, after-school programs, health, food, child care, and transportation increases the risk of violence. Specifically, transportation barriers in Milwaukee prevent people from accessing employment opportunities located 15 miles or more outside of the city. Many neighborhoods lack access to affordable grocery stores and quality after-school and recreational activities for youth.

3. LACK OF ACCESS TO RESOURCES

Community members indicated that diminished access to important resources such as recreation, after-school programs, health, food, child care, and transportation increases the risk of violence. Specifically, transportation barriers in Milwaukee prevent people from accessing employment opportunities located 15 miles or more outside of the city. Many neighborhoods lack access to affordable grocery stores and quality after-school and recreational activities for youth.

4. DISCONNECTEDNESS AMONG RESIDENTS AND INSTITUTIONS

The lack of social networks and cohesion between residents and local institutions was listed as a key risk factor for violence. A variety of organizations and institutions are operating in fragmented ways to deal with a range of social issues, including public safety. One participant said, “Milwaukee has a lot of work happening in a variety of ways, but there’s a lack of connection.”

5. LIMITED COMMUNITY-GOVERNMENT TRUST

Multiple community contributors indicated a breakdown in trust between community residents and public systems. These factors appear to be driven by local and national sentiment that public systems lack accountability, transparency, and connection to the needs of community members. The separation of families through child-welfare practices and immigration policies were raised as factors for diminished trust. Government is a critical partner in regards to leadership, resources, and policy and this breakdown was identified as a critical risk factor for public safety.

6. LACK OF QUALITY HOUSING

Blueprint planning participants highlighted how transience among Milwaukee residents was a risk factor for children, families, and neighborhoods. Unaffordable housing and poor housing conditions negatively affect levels of violence, and the ability to establish school or community cohesion and foster stable neighborhoods. Poor housing conditions have historically contributed to childhood lead exposure through lead paint. There are well-researched connections between lead levels in youth and violence.

7. NEIGHBORHOOD DISINVESTMENT

Despite strong downtown development, community members called for the need to develop Milwaukee’s most vulnerable neighborhoods. Offering incentives to private developers and local residents to purchase residential and commercial real-estate could be catalytic to advancing neighborhood safety and resilience. Anchor institutions like schools, hospitals, and faith-based institutions play critical stabilizing roles for local neighborhoods.

8. HARMFUL NORMS CREATING A CULTURE OF FEAR AND HOPELESSNESS

When violence is pervasive, fear and hopelessness become pervasive and normalized. The tragic loss of multiple friends and family members can produce a sense of trauma and fear that threatens the ability to build and sustain strong communities. This fear also results in increased weapon-carrying in self-defense among vulnerable populations including low-income youth who are at increased risk for exposure to violence. Violence is preventable, and the normalization of violence produces a sense of hopelessness that threatens individual and collective efforts for violence prevention.

9. ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES (ACES) AND OTHER FORMS OF TRAUMA

Adverse childhood experiences, including exposure to physical, emotional and sexual abuse, are risk factors for violence. Exposure to violence is a well-researched risk factor for subsequent experiences of violence.

10. LIMITED EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES

The lack of employment and economic opportunities in Milwaukee is one of the clearest examples of structural violence playing out at the community level. The effect is greatest on those previously incarcerated and communities of color. Conviction history is a significant barrier to employment for vulnerable populations.

11. HIGH ALCOHOL OUTLET DENSITY

Neighborhoods with a higher density of bars and alcohol outlets, such as convenience and liquor stores, have higher rates of violence, including child maltreatment. In 2015, 6% of homicides and 7% of nonfatal shootings were tavern-related incidents.

12. AVAILABILITY OF ILLEGAL GUNS

Straw purchasing (people buying guns illegally for others), trafficking (people buying guns to resell them illegally) and “off the books” sales by dealers contribute to the availability of illegal guns. While there are no gun dealers within the City of Milwaukee, gun show loopholes and other policies related to gun ownership contribute to illegal gun availability and use of firearms for violence.

“ Guns and shootings are so commonplace in some communities, it has become part of the way people live.

- Milwaukee Blueprint Planning Stakeholder

Risk factors shape the community environment, and the community environment shapes behaviors. Using Prevention Institute’s THRIVE framework, the Milwaukee Blueprint’s prioritized community-level risk factors are shown in Diagram A, categorized by three interrelated clusters: people (the sociocultural environment), place (the physical/built environment), and equitable opportunity (the education and economic environment). (Note, individual level risk factors, such as adverse childhood experiences, are shaped by these community factors, and are not depicted.) 

  • Equitable Opportunity: Economic & educational environment
  • People: Social-cultural environment
  • Place: Physical/built environment
  • Limited employment and economic opportunities
  • Neighborhood disinvestment
  • Segregation from opportunity

 

  • Disconnectedness among residents and institutions
  • Limited community-government trust
  • Harmful norms creating a culture of fear and hopelessness
  • Harmful norms around masculinity and femininity
  • Lack of access to resources
  • Lack of quality housing
  • High alcohol outlet density
  • Availability of illegal guns

Resilience Factors

The following resilience factors were prioritized through community input and prioritization of existing assets in Milwaukee to build on, and a review of relevant research, including research on shared risk and resilience factors for multiple forms of violence, and the Adverse Community Experiences and Resilience (ACE|R) framework:

1 STRONG initiatives to improve the physical environment

Place-based work is already occurring in some neighborhoods. Efforts like the Zilber Neighborhood Initiative, Milwaukee United, and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation Healthy Neighborhood’s Initiative, are good starting points for strengthening Milwaukee neighborhoods. Collaboration and bringing community members to the table through such initiatives is an asset.

2 COMMUNITY-BUILDING AND HEALING CAPACITIES OF COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS

Milwaukee has a wide range of community-based organizations with “admirable, bright, and enthusiastic people doing good work in the community.”

3 LOCAL INVESTMENT

There are a variety of groups, agencies, philanthropies and businesses that care about the community and are willing to invest.

4 Engagement in positive activities

Engagement and participation in positive activities like after-school programs and mentorship activities for young people, as well as workforce development opportunities for youth and adults, support individual, family, and community skills and assets, including employability.

5 Willingness to organize (collective efficacy)

Many Blueprint planning participants discussed the “collective ability of residents to produce social action to meet common goals” as one of the city’s assets or strengths. “With all negativity, there’s greater awareness and willingness for people to come together and be at the table.” Some highlighted how a sense of accountability to each other helps prevent against violence. A Safe & Sound evaluation shows that block clubs in Milwaukee improve both cooperation between neighbors and safety.

6 Strong schools and teachers

Many see schools and strong teachers as an important factor in promoting resilience and preventing violence.

7 Access to resources

Access to resources for physical and mental health, healing, recreation, after-school programs, health, food, child care, and transportation are important for resilience in Milwaukee.

8 Family connection and relationships with other caring adults

Blueprint planning participants emphasized the importance of strong family attachment and connections, including connection to fathers and father figures. They also spoke about the importance of having caring adults outside of the family to buffer against adversities.

9 Community connectedness

Trusting relationships among community members built upon a shared history, mutual obligations, and opportunities to exchange information can bring communities closer together and promote safety.

10 Arts, cultural expression and faith

Opportunities within the community for cultural and artistic expression and participation, as well as finding value in the backgrounds of all community residents, play a role in fostering resilient and thriving communities. Faith has a vital role in promoting resilience and protecting against violence through faith-based resources and creating supportive spaces for individuals, families, and communities.

Goals & Strategies

To reduce multiple forms of violence and realize the vision that Milwaukee is a safe and resilient city where the lives of all residents are valued, promoted, and protected, this Blueprint identifies six intersecting and mutually reinforcing goals. These goals are designed to address violence by reducing community exposure to the identified risk factors and strengthening community access and engagement to the identified resilience/protective factors. Diagram C (above) illustrates the six goals and Table 1 (see p. 27) shows the alignment between goals and prioritized risk and resilience/protective factors.

Goals

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  GOAL #1: STOP THE SHOOTING. STOP THE VIOLENCE.

We must prevent gun violence, including homicides and non-fatal shootings, through strategic, timely, and coordinated efforts among residents and first responders. Timely data regarding the factors and location of violence is essential to identify hotspots of violent activity in the city and inform prevention efforts. Focused interventions must be implemented pre-incident, during an incident, and immediately following an incident to reduce the likelihood of continued violence. Inspanidual and community support post-incident is critical to reduce the impact of violence among those directly impacted through physical or emotional trauma. These interventions are critical for preventing retaliatory violence, and decreasing the likelihood of future incidents. Illegal gun possession increases the likelihood and lethality of violence and the Blueprint calls for the reduction of illegal access to guns for multiple forms of violence, including domestic violence, armed robbery, and suicide.

Training for first responders and other providers (e.g., educators, mental health providers, law enforcement, etc.) to reduce implicit bias and micro-aggressions reduce the likelihood and lethality of systemic violence. This goal will leverage evidence-based street outreach strategies by training members of the community to anticipate where violence may occur and intervene before it erupts. It will also leverage and expand proven hospital-based intervention programs. Further, this goal includes strategies to prevent domestic violence through improved lethality assessment and safety planning.

Recommended Strategies

1. Use of timely, comprehensive data to prioritize prevention efforts

  1. Enhance local capacity to access, analyze, and utilize violence-related data from a variety of sources, including local emergency departments, emergency medical services, law enforcement, trauma centers, and the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner.
  2. Conduct regular reviews of incidents of violence in coordination with public health, hospital, law enforcement, and community partners.

2. Reduce incidence of violence through proactive prevention efforts

  1. Utilize evidence-based outreach and violence interruption strategies to mediate conflicts, prevent retaliation and other potentially violent situations, and connect individuals to community supports58. These strategies include violence interruption and focused deterrence in neighborhoods and schools.
  2. Improve lethality assessment and safety planning measures to prevent domestic violence homicides and suicide.
  3. Continue Milwaukee Police Department training in the areas of crisis intervention, fair and impartial policing, and procedural justice.
  4. Expand implicit bias and micro-aggression reduction and de-escalation training to include first responders, mental health providers, community health workers, and other partners.
  5. Offer localized and culturally responsive crisis intervention support and referral services to prevent suicide and suicidal behavior.

3. Respond to immediate individual and community needs post-incident

  1. Expand support services for survivors of violence through hospital-community partnerships and hospital-based violence intervention programs.
  2. Expand post-incident trauma healing supports, including community events and critical incident debriefing for victims, witnesses, and first responders connecting them to appropriate community supports.

4. Decrease illegal gun availability

  1. Conduct dialogue and education to promote evidence-informed policies related to gun ownership and possession.

5. Promote violence prevention as a way of life

  1. Support and promote individual capacity for conflict prevention, de-escalation and proactive bystander practices in schools and neighborhoods.
  GOAL #2: PROMOTE HEALING AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE.

The Blueprint for Peace is committed to helping individuals, families, and communities heal from violence and trauma and move forward in positive ways. Research shows that access to services for physical and mental health, as well as healing, is important for building resilience. By recognizing the importance of post-care and healing that must occur across locations and populations in order to break the cycle of violence, this goal puts forth strategies to enhance services and supports for those experiencing trauma as a result of multiple forms of violence. It includes a strategy around preventing substance abuse – understanding that the prevalence of substance abuse can contribute to various forms of violent behavior. In addition to achieving justice for individuals and families harmed by violence, this goal also promotes healing at the community level by enhancing connections to cultural identity and promoting community connectedness, which can also serve as protective factors against future violence.

Recommended Strategies

1. Promote healing, behavioral health, and trauma reduction

  1. Provide trauma reduction and healing-informed care support to residents, professionals who address violence, and others experiencing primary and secondary trauma.
  2. Expand capacity of problem-solving courts to provide therapeutic resources and services for youth and adults involved in the criminal justice system, juvenile justice system, and child welfare system.
  3. Increase coordination of mental health and trauma services across agencies to support children, youth and families who have been exposed to multiple forms of violence.
  4. Prevent and treat substance abuse in priority neighborhoods.

2. Strengthen treatment and healing services for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence

  1. Expand awareness and access to survivor-centered sexual and domestic violence services.
  2. Advance policies that enhance safety of survivors before, during and after legal proceedings.
  3. Increase affordability and access to treatment services for perpetrators of domestic violence.

3. Identify and support people at risk for self-harm and suicide

  1. Train community members to identify people at risk for suicide/self-harm and respond effectively by facilitating access to support services.
  2. Support treatment to prevent suicide attempts such as discharge information sessions and active follow-up approaches to prevent suicide.

4. Improve cultural competence and support cultural identity of community members

  1. Build a pipeline of culturally-competent, non-traditional mental wellness and health care providers.
  2. Promote connections to faith and/or sense of cultural identity to advance individual and community healing and resilience.
  3. Promote culturally rooted healing, resilience, and social development for chronic and repeat juvenile offenders.

5. Strengthen and preserve healthy relationships

  1. Strengthen restorative justice in courts, child welfare institutions, schools, and community-based settings as a means to advance healing and repair relationships for survivors and perpetrators of violence and broader social networks.
  GOAL #3: SUPPORT CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES.

Supporting families and the holistic development of children and youth can help prevent multiple forms of violence up front and across generations. Family support, commitment to school and connections to caring adults are all well-researched protective factors for safety. Family, school, and community environments (including local government policies) all play critical roles in preventing violence and supporting positive development during early life, childhood and adolescence. These life stages set the foundation for health outcomes, lowering the risk for future behavioral and academic problems. Strategies within this goal focus on strengthening the family unit by promoting healthy child development that can help prevent child abuse, neglect and maltreatment. Child maltreatment is associated with future antisocial and violent behavior, including juvenile delinquency, intimate partner violence, and adult criminality.

Bolstering school-based initiatives that promote social-emotional learning, mental health, healing and conflict resolution is also critical. This goal also addresses harmful gender norms that can contribute to teen dating violence and sexual and domestic violence. Finally, the Blueprint calls for strengthening and expanding after school and summer strategies for youth engagement. These strategies include quality after-school programs, mentorship, and youth employment opportunities that offer access to caring adults in safe and supportive environments. These opportunities provide youth with experiences to develop core competencies for current and future success.

Recommended Strategies

1. Promote healthy families and quality early learning to foster healthy child development

  1. Promote early childhood home visitation and positive parenting programs.
  2. Strengthen preschool enrichment with family engagement.
  3. Strengthen neighborhood centers as resources for families.
  4. Support father-child connectedness including opportunities for systems-involved fathers in priority neighborhoods.

2. Advocate for safe and inclusive school environments.

  1. Bolster school-based violence and trauma prevention for staff, students, and families.
  2. Empower young people to become violence prevention advocates and speak out against behaviors that promote violence. This includes reinforcing positive behavior, and offering support in situations where violence has occurred or may occur.
  3. Enhance opportunities for academic credit recovery and high school persistence and graduation.

3. Ensure youth are connected to positive, caring and reliable adults

  1. Strengthen quality, access, and coordination of mentorship and after-school/summer programs.

4. Decrease domestic violence and sexual assault

  1. Support leadership and empowerment programming for women and girls in priority schools and neighborhoods.
  2. Expand efforts to promote positive gender norms that support the formation of healthy relationships and healthy gender identity, including mobilizing men and boys as allies.
  3. Adopt comprehensive school-based sexual violence and teen dating violence prevention policies and practices that also address the needs of LGBTQ youth.
  4. Adopt a comprehensive approach to sexual health education.

5. Increase employment and workforce development opportunities for high-risk youth

  1. Increase coordination of youth job programs to link higher need youth to subsidized jobs and supportive services to strengthen employability and earn income concurrently.
  2. Develop re-engagement centers for young people ages 14-24 who have been disconnected from school and workforce to support skill development and reconnection to educational and employment opportunities.
  3. Work with employers to increase job opportunities, on-the-job training and retention strategies for youth, with consideration of youth from undocumented families.
  GOAL #4: PROMOTE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY.

Increasing economic opportunities for adults who face barriers to employment and creating safe workplace environments is critical to healing from community trauma and preventing violence. Workforce development and employment opportunities help residents gain access to good jobs with living wages and sets the community on a path toward opportunity. Research points to diminished economic opportunities and high unemployment rates as a risk factor for multiple forms of violence including community violence, intimate partner violence and sexual violence. Twenty-one percent of those surveyed in the 2016 City of Milwaukee Public Safety survey believe unemployment leads to violent behavior and crime in Milwaukee. Several key stakeholders also stated that violence in the city stems from the lack of jobs and economic opportunities, specifically for those previously incarcerated and communities of color.

Recommended Strategies

1. Improve organizational policies and practices to support safe and inclusive work environments

2. Connect adults to employment opportunities with a living wage and remove accessibility barriers

3. Strengthen economic supports for women and families

4. Strengthen financial literacy skills

5. Foster local entrepreneurship

  1. Establish and incentivize proactive policies that reduce practices of discrimination and harassment based on race, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, or national origin.
  2. Build on, tailor, and expand workforce and employment development efforts to link job seekers in greatest need to open positions.
  3. Create incentives and improve employer readiness to hire and retain those facing accessibility barriers (e.g. people returning from incarceration) and remove barriers for jobs.
  4. Adopt local policies to support living wages and local hiring.
  5. Adopt local policies to support paid sick, paternity, and maternity leave.
  6. Increase opportunities for driver’s license recovery and eliminate suspensions for non-driving violations, including truancy.
  7. Support adequate workplace policies and access to and availability of affordable, quality child care.
  8. Integrate financial education with employment services to improve economic opportunities for low-to- moderate income communities.
  9. Create opportunities for local entrepreneurship and economic development, including co-ops.
  GOAL #5: FOSTER SAFE AND STRONG NEIGHBORHOODS.

The Blueprint aims to build safe and strong neighborhoods by concentrating efforts to reduce deterioration and create protective community environments for residents and youth. Insufficient investment in the community contributes to community trauma and violence. In addition, research shows poor neighborhood support and lack of community cohesion are risk factors for multiple forms of violence. Violence thrives in areas where residents are disconnected from each other and public institutions. Investment in neighborhood infrastructure projects (roads, buildings, parks, transportation and public services) that address blight and deterioration is an essential component in preventing violence and has been shown to foster community connectedness and encourage positive social interaction and trust. This goal leverages existing work and initiatives to improve the social-cultural, physical/built and economic environments of disinvested neighborhoods in Milwaukee and encourage resident involvement, advocacy and leadership in neighborhood improvement and violence reduction. This goal area includes up front, community-level strategies that will create the conditions for promoting safe and thriving neighborhoods.

Recommended Strategies

1. Create safe and accessible community spaces

  1. Organize community events in neighborhoods most impacted by violence.
  2. Create safe transportation routes.
  3. Strengthen current Community Schools and bring to scale best practices to expand the Community Schools Model to additional schools.
  4. Promote neighborhood revitalization and address physical blight and nuisance properties in prioritized neighborhoods.
  5. Increase investments to parks and playground infrastructure, equipment and landscaping in priority neighborhoods to ensure playgrounds are safe and accessible for all.
  6. Decrease the sale of harmful products through monitoring and restrictions, and reduce the number of establishments with liquor and tobacco licenses in priority neighborhoods.

2. Increase economic development and access to economic opportunity in priority neighborhoods

  1. Engage businesses in violence prevention efforts, including expanding partnerships with business improvement districts and other community-level efforts that increase economic growth and sustainability.
  2. Connect transportation/transit to economic development so that people in the city can access jobs throughout the region.

3. Improve government-community relationships

  1. Provide increased opportunities for government-community partnerships and trust-building.
  2. Increase knowledge, awareness, and power provided through civic engagement among residents in priority neighborhoods.
  3. Sustain and expand existing community oriented and problem solving policing efforts, with the goal of building and strengthening relationships, trust and legitimacy throughout the community.

4. Build resident leadership and collective action

  1. Expand efforts to build neighborhood/resident organizing and advocacy capacity.
  2. Build capacity for residents to lead organizations to address the needs of their neighborhoods.

5. Connect residents to resources to improve their quality of life

  1. Invest in and promote programs to increase safe and affordable housing in priority neighborhoods.
  2. Connect residents in priority neighborhoods to community resources to meet basic needs such as food, housing, medical and other services/resources.
  GOAL # 6: STRENGTHEN CAPACITY AND COORDINATION OF VIOLENCE PREVENTION EFFORTS.

Coordination is critical to the success of comprehensive violence prevention efforts. The responsibility for addressing violence and the various underlying risk and resilience factors must involve multiple sectors, organizations, and areas of expertise. Collaboration across these sectors is essential to preventing violence. The Blueprint calls for leveraging, tracking and supporting investments relevant to the goals outlined within this plan. This includes tracking outcomes both by aggregating the activities and investments of diverse sectors in one coherent approach, and by leveraging efforts of different sectors so that they build on one another to achieve broader outcomes than could be accomplished by any single sector alone. Effective implementation and long-term sustainability of the evidence-based strategies included in this Blueprint will require critical infrastructure supports for coordination, collaboration and staffing, community engagement, communication, resources, evaluation, evaluation training and capacity building. This goal provides strategies to build the infrastructure necessary to successfully implement the Blueprint and achieve desired outcomes.

Recommended Strategies

1. Build capacity for systems change and increased collaboration across organizations and sectors

  1. Establish and sustain a Milwaukee Violence Prevention Council with strong community representation to provide leadership, coordination, and oversight to the implementation of the Blueprint for Peace.
  2. Expand and align community building processes and tools to build trust with community members and among organizational partners.
  3. Offer ongoing opportunities for training and capacity-building for organizational and individual partners to better understand best practices for preventing violence.
  4. Build capacity and collaboration across priority neighborhoods in citywide implementation.
  5. Identify and collaborate on strategies for systemic change in order to advocate for policy and practice changes relevant to violence prevention

2. Apply trauma-informed, racial equity, and implicit bias reduction lenses across sectors

  1. Adopt a trauma-informed approach to violence prevention across sectors, institutions and partners that acknowledges trauma and encourages trauma-sensitive approaches to violence.
  2. Pursue and implement policies and practices that are trauma and healing-informed and reduce elements of bias across government departments and other sectors, including education and youth- serving organizations.

3. Create a mechanism for sustainable violence prevention funding

  1. Align funding to support strategies within the Blueprint for preventing violence in prioritized neighborhoods with a particular emphasis on incentivizing collaboration.

4. Develop and implement an effective communications strategy

  1. Ensure effective internal and external communication among.
  2. Develop and implement branded and culturally tailored communications campaigns to promote norms around community safety, including effectively engaging the media to reduce biased reporting, framing violence as preventable and highlighting solutions for Milwaukee.

5. Increase evaluation capacity and accountability

  1. Establish coordinated data sharing for tracking programs, participation, and impact across multiple sectors.
  2. Utilize a results-based framework for evaluating the impact of the Blueprint, including establishing a system to track key indicators and other evaluation needs.

Implementation Structure & Priorities

The Blueprint for Peace puts forth a structure for implementation to ensure effectiveness and sustainability, including high-level leadership, and a multisector violence prevention council that will steer the implementation, evaluation, and sustainability of Blueprint strategies. Descriptions of and immediate priorities for the council and the City of Milwaukee Health Department Office of Violence Prevention are provided, along with a list of Year 1 implementation milestones.

Leadership And Oversight

Leadership and oversight for the Blueprint for Peace will be provided by the Mayor of Milwaukee, in partnership with the Milwaukee Common Council, Milwaukee County Board, Milwaukee Public Schools and other local government entities, nonprofits, and community residents. The MHDOVP and other representatives of the Violence Prevention Council will provide regular updates to community stakeholders. This leadership and oversight will ensure cross-sector alignment and accountability, strong policy leadership, and necessary investment of local resources.

Milwaukee Violence Prevention Council

A multisector Milwaukee Violence Prevention Council (MVPC) will guide the implementation of the Blueprint. The MHDOVP will continue to serve as the coordinating entity, with a range of responsibilities including implementation of communications and capacity-building strategies.

The MVPC will ensure broad input from and accountability to residents, support integration of Blueprint efforts across related initiatives, monitor progress, and ensure that the Blueprint is periodically updated as needed.

Implementation Priorities

Capacity Building & Alignment

The Blueprint calls for improving collaboration and alignment across sectors that are committed to violence prevention. In order to continue to build momentum and support for a public health approach to violence prevention, the Blueprint calls for ongoing education, training, and technical assistance be provided to individuals and entities involved in violence prevention. Alignment with MHDOVP’s ReCast Milwaukee will leverage resources for building capacity and alignment particularly in the areas of healing and restorative justice and strengthening youth and families.

Communications

The MHDOVP will support the development and implementation of communication strategies tailored for priority populations and sectors throughout Milwaukee. This will involve building momentum around violence prevention as a public health issue and advancing a shared understanding for effective violence prevention; lifting up the work of organizational and community partners and promoting a commitment to peace, community, equity, resilience, and action to prevent violence.

PRIORITY NEIGHBORHOOD ENGAGEMENT

Using an equity lens, the Blueprint calls for addressing violence in neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by persistent and concentrated levels of poverty and violence. As a result, the Blueprint has identified 10 priority neighborhoods for implementation of Blueprint strategies. The MVPC will focus on building resident knowledge and engagement in the Blueprint for Peace and ensure that the voices of residents most impacted by violence continue to be centered in this effort.

In order to prioritize neighborhoods for initial focus, data from 2014 to 2016 was analyzed for simple assaults, aggravated assaults, nonfatal shootings, and homicides (including sexual and domestic violence). Data from the Milwaukee Police Department was used; however, assault data was gathered from Community Mapping and Analysis for Safety Strategies (COMPASS) and nonfatal shooting and homicide data were retrieved from the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission database. Using ArcMap 10.4.1, data was geo-coded and stratified by City of Milwaukee neighborhood boundaries by each year and then aggregated.

The total number of assaults, nonfatal shootings, and homicides was considered as was the change over time in assaults, nonfatal shootings, and homicides (e.g. increase or decrease in assaults/nonfatal shootings/homicides from 2014 to 2016), to generate an initial list of neighborhoods. The MHDOVP took this list and cross-referenced it with considerations of current capacity that was gathered through Steering Committee member interviews and community input. As a result, the following 10 neighborhoods have been prioritized for Blueprint implementation:

School and Youth Engagement

In addition to priority neighborhoods the MVPC and MHDOVP will work with education and youth development partners to identify priority schools with high rates of students from priority neighborhoods or schools that have significantly high rates of incident referrals or police calls for service. In addition, specific strategies for ongoing youth engagement in Blueprint implementation will be identified and executed. These engagement opportunities will be implemented in partnership with youth serving agency networks such as United Neighborhood Centers of Milwaukee, Beyond the Bell Milwaukee, Milwaukee Succeeds and Brighter Futures.

Funding

The Blueprint requires a focus on aligning, leveraging, braiding, and blending resources from a variety of organizations and sectors, especially public resources. Potential sources of funding include: designated city resources, agency and department contributions, business sector and philanthropic contributions, county, state, and federal appropriations, private contributions, and the establishment of a local tax or fee. Securing the necessary resources to fund and sustain effective strategies are essential to reducing violence over time.

Policy

The MVPC and MHDOVP will analyze existing and pending policies relevant to the goals of the Blueprint at the federal, state, and local level. The success and sustainability of violence prevention is greatly determined by the public will to invest in and support a public health approach to violence prevention. Leveraging a national movement for building a public health system for prevention, the Blueprint will require champions in and outside of government in order to be successful.

Data

The MHDOVP and MVPC will ensure that relevant data is used to understand the current state of violence in priority neighborhoods and the impact of Blueprint strategies over time. With support from the UWM Zilber School of Public Health, Children’s Hospital, Milwaukee County, Homicide Review Commission, and the Comprehensive Injury Research Center, the MVPC will engage local and national practitioners to collect, track, and communicate data relevant to violence prevention in Milwaukee.

Evaluation Approach

The Blueprint is comprised of a complex set of interdependent strategies, designed for implementation by various partners across multiple sectors. As such, implementation and evaluation of the Blueprint will emphasize real-time feedback, learning, and adaptation. The Blueprint as a whole will use an adaptive, developmental evaluation approach that: 1) supports program and policy innovation and 2) facilitates real-time feedback for continuous learning and improvement. Participatory evaluation methods will be used whenever possible, and particularly at the neighborhood level. More traditional program evaluation approaches will be used to assess specific programs and initiatives implemented in priority schools and neighborhoods. A Results Based Accountability approach will also be used to ensure that strategies are accountable to specific program, performance, and population level indicators and outcomes.

Coordinating Entity

The City of Milwaukee Health Department, through its Office of Violence Prevention (MHDOVP), will continue to provide oversight for the implementation of the Blueprint for Peace and staff the MVPC.

Acknowledgements

This process was co-facilitated by the City of Milwaukee Health Department Office of Violence Prevention and the Prevention Institute:

City of Milwaukee Health Department Office of Violence Prevention

Reggie Moore, Director
David Muhammad, Neighborhood Violence Prevention Manager
Sumaiyah Clark, ReCast Program Manager
Deonte Lewis, Youth Violence Prevention Coordinator
Salma Abadin, Violence Prevention Research Coordinator

Prevention Institute

Lisa Fujie Parks, Associate Program Director
Dana Fields-Johnson, Program Manager
Alisha Somji, Program Coordinator
Howard Pinderhughes, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
Ali Goodyear, Senior Program Assistant

Development of the Blueprint for Peace would not have been possible without support from city, county, and school district leadership.

City of Milwaukee

Mayor

Tom Barrett

Milwaukee Common Council

Ashanti Hamilton (President), District 1
Cavalier Johnson, District 2
Nik Kovac, District 3
Robert Bauman, District 4
Jim Bohl, District 5
Milele Coggs, District 6
Khalif Rainey, District 7
Bob Donovan, District 8
Chantia Lewis, District 9
Michael Murphy, District 10
Mark Borkowski, District 11
Jose Pérez, District 12
Terry Witkowski District 13
Tony Zielinski, District 14
Russell Stamper II, District 15

Milwaukee County

Milwaukee County Executive

Chris Abele

County Board

Theodore Lipscomb, District 1
Sequanna Taylor, District 2
Sheldon Wasserman, District 3
Marina Dimitrijevic, District 4
Marcelia Nicholson, District 5
James Schmitt, District 6
Michael Mayo Sr., District 7
David Sartori, District 8
Steve Taylor, District 9
Supreme Moore Omokunde, District 10
Dan Sebring, District 11
Peggy West, District 12
Willie Johnson, District 13
Jason Haas, District 14
Eddie Cullen, District 15
John Weishan Jr., District 16
Anthony Staskunas, District 17
Deanna Alexander, District 18

Milwaukee Public Schools

Superintendent

Dr. Darienne Driver

School Board

Mark Sain, District 1 (President)
Wendell Harris Sr., District 2
Michael Bonds, District 3
Annie Woodward, District 4
Larry Miller, District 5
Luis (Tony) Baez, District 6
Paula Phillips, District 7
Carol Voss, District 8
Terry Falk, At Large

Blueprint Sponsors

The Blueprint for Peace planning process was made possible with generous support from the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment at the Medical College of Wisconsin with additional support from the TIDES Foundation and ReCAST Milwaukee.

Production Credit

Design & Layout

David Stockton - Stockton Designs

Photography

Keyon Jackson Malone, Nick Hansen, Beyond the Bell, Art Works, Urban Underground, Office of Violence Prevention and True Skool

A photo of Milwaukee Riverwalk

Planning Participants

The Blueprint Steering Committee is grateful for the time and insights offered by many partners, stakeholders, community members and youth who contributed to the planning process. Whether you completed a survey, interview, or participated in a focus group, meeting or event, your contributions have been greatly appreciated.

Alice Waraxa, Community Member
Alicia Dupies, Milwaukee Bucks
Amal Muna, Teach for America
Amanda Albert, College Possible
Amanda PorterfieLD, CBS 58
Ameea Perkins, Walnut Way
Amy Croen, Coren Family Foundation
Ana Perez, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee-Wedgewood Park
Andre Robinson, Milwaukee Christian Center
Andrea Waxman , Neighborhood News Service
Andrew Oren, Bay View United Methodist Church
Angelique Richards
Ann Bria, Community Member
Anneke Mohr, Community Advocates
Anneliese Dickman, Wisconsin Antiviolence Effort (WAVE)
Annika Leonard, Priceless Incite
Anthony Walthour, Community Member
Antoine Carter, Groundwork MKE
Ashanti Hamilton, Common Council President,City of Milwaukee
Audra O’Connell, Walkers Point
Ava Hernandez, Public Allies
Barb Scotty, Near Westside Partners
Barbara Armstrong, Mount Mary University
Bess Earl, LISC
Beverly Arrowood, United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County
Bianca Williams, Cry for Help Foundation
Bob Donovan, Alderman, City of Milwaukee
Brad Lichtenstein, 371 Productions
Branden DuPont, Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission
Brenda Skelton, Siebert Foundation
Brian Rudolph, Milwaukee Public Schools
Bridgett Gonzalez, Marcus Center
Brooke Chapman, City on Hill
Cam Johnson, University of Illinois Chicago
Cavalier Johnson, Alderman, City of Milwaukee
Chantia Lewis, Alderwoman, City of Milwaukee
Charlie Uihlein, Teens Grow Greens
Cheryl Blue, The Corridor MKE
Cheryl Maurana, Medical College of Wisconsin
Christina Felski, Journey House
Clarence Nicholas, MATC
Clayborn Benson, Wisconsin Black Historical Society Museum
Clem Richardson, SDC
Crystal Morgan, Aurora Healthcare
Cynthia Short, Translator MKE
Daisy Bouman, Express Yourself Milwaukee
Damien Smith, SAFE & SOUND
Dan Holden, Dan Holden & Associates
Dan Parman, Parman & Co.
Danae Davis, Milwaukee Succeeds
Danny Robb, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee
Darlene Russell, Greater Milwaukee Foundation
David Frazer, University of Wisconsin
David Pate, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
Dawn Helmrich, United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County
Deanna Singh, Dohmen Company Foundation
Deanna Wilbern, City of Milwaukee CDBG
Demetrius Brown, UW-Extension
Denisha Tate, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee
Derrick Rodgers, Community Resident
Derrick Shoates, Safe & Sound
DeShanda Williams, Pathfinders MKE
Deshea Agee, Historic King Drive Business Improvement District
Destiny Boone, Community Resident
Devin Cameron, Community Resident
Diane De La Santos, City on a Hill
Earnest Goggins, The Parenting Network
Edie Turnbull, College Possible
Eduardo Negron, Milwaukee Public Schools

Elizabeth Cizinsky, Scale Up Milwaukee
Eloisa Gomez, UW-Extension
Elysse Chay Wageman, Public Policy Institute
Emilio DeTorre, ACLU of Wisconsin
Eric Christophersen, Northwestern Mutual
Eric Collins-Dyke, Milwaukee County
Eric Hoffman, Serve to Grow
Erica Young, UW-Milwaukee
Erin Perkins, Community Justice Council
Fabiana Guzman, Milwaukee Christian Center- Milwaukee Violence Free Zone
Fiona Weeks, Milwaukee Health Department
Fred Croen, Croen Family Foundation
Freesia McKee, ArtWorks for Milwaukee
Gab Taylor, Program the Parks
GeoffreY Swain, M.D., City of Milwaukee Health Department
Gilbert Graef, Community Member
Ginger Duiven, Literacy Services
Glenn Larson, Milwaukee County
Gloria Nichols, Roberts Way Foundation
Gregory Reinholt, COA Youth and Family Centers
Hannah Dirske, Community Member
Hannah Dugan, Hannah Dugan Law
Heidi Rose, Milwaukee Anti-Violence Effort
Hendriel Anderson, Milwaukee County Wrap Around
Hesper Juhnke, Express Yourself Milwaukee
Homer Blow, Blow Radio and WNOV
Inshirah Farhoud, Children's Hospital
Jack Snow, Milwaukee Bucks
Jamaal E. Smith, YWCA
James Harpole, Assistant Police Chief
Jane Foley, Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office
Janice Wilberg, Wilberg Community Planning
Jarrett English, ACLU of Wisconsin
Jeanette Wright-Claus, Wilberg Community Planning
Jen Mance, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin
Jeremy Triblett, Community Advocates
Jeri Bonavia, Wisconsin Anti Violence Effort
Jermaine Reed, Fresh Start Family Services
Jerry Roberts, Bader Philanthropies
Jessica Herzog, The Burke Foundation
Jim Bohl, Alderman, City of Milwaukee
Jody Rhodes, Neu Life Community Center
John Chisholm, Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office
John Kordsmeier, Wilberg Community Planning
John Rakowski, Running Rebels Community Organization, Inc.
John Stollenwerk, Community Activist
Joy Mahaley, Milwuakee Public Library
Joyce Felker, The Parenting Network
Juanita Valcarcel, Milwaukee Christian Center
Judith Romelus, Marquette University
Julie Bock, Pathfinders Milwaukee
Julie Ustruck Wetzel, Community Member
June Perry, Community Member
Justin Bielinski, Southside Organizing Committee
Kaija Zusevics, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
Karen Mierow, Ascension
Kari Nervig, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Milwaukee
Kathy Miller, United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County
Kathy Park, Community Member
Katie Holtz, Milwaukee County Children's Court
Katie Kuhn, United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County
Katie Pritchard, Data You Can Use
Katie Sanders, Safe & Sound
Keisha Krumm, Common Ground
Kelly Jahnz, Greater Milwaukee Committee
Kelly Klus, Big Brothers, Big Sisters Of Greater Milwaukee

Kelly Scroggins, City On A Hill Youth Program
Ken Little, City Of Milwaukee
Kent Lovern, Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office
Kevin Long, Quarles And Brady
Khalil Coleman, Safe Zone Initiative
Khalif Rainey, Alderman, City Of Milwaukee
Kim Miller, Milwaukee Institute Of Art & Design
Kristen Fledderjohn, Art Works For Milwaukee
Krystina Koehler, United Way Of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County
La Toya Sykes, Our Next Generation
Lanelle Raney, Milwaukee Public Schools
Lashawndra Vernon, Consultant
Latonya Johnson, Wisconsin State Legislature
Latoshia Stewart, Community Member
Laura Miller, Children’s Hospital
Lena Taylor, Wisconsin State Senator
Leslie Silletti, Milwaukee Police Department
Lisa Attonito, Women’s Fund Of Greater Milwaukee
Lori Vance, Express Yourself Milwaukee
Lynne Woehrle, Mount Mary University
Magda Peck, Community Member
Maggie Kuhn Jacobus, Continuum Architects
Mallory O’brien, Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission
Mandy Potapenko, Milwaukee Community Justice
Council
Marcey Patterson, City Of Milwaukee Mayor’s Office
Marcia Blackman, United Way Of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County
Maria Vento, Bader Philanthropies
Maricha Harris, Milwaukee Public Schools
Mark Borowski, Alderman, City Of Milwaukee
Mark Mertens, Milwaukee County Delinquency & Court Services
Mark Sain, Milwaukee Public Schools
Markasa Tucker, Wisconsin Voices
Martha Brown, City Of Milwaukee Department Of City Development
Martina Gollin Graves, Mental Health America Of Wisconsin
Mary Osmundsen, Bader Philantrhopies
Mary Jo Meyers, Wraparound Milwaukee
Matt Rudman, Groundwork Milwaukee
Matthew Boswell, Milwaukee Public Schools
Maurice “doc B“ Beckley, B-boy Productions
Meg Brzyski Nelson, Children’s Hospital Of Wisconsin
Melissa Baldauff, Milwaukee County Executive’s Office
Melissa Temke, Milwaukee Public Schools
Melissa Ugland, Ugland Associates
Meralis Hood, City Year
Michael Murphy, Alderman, City Of Milwaukee
Michael Stevenson, City Of Milwaukee Health Department
Michele Bria, Journey House
Michelle Allison, United Way Of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County
Michelle Dobbs, Artworks For Milwaukee
Milele Coggs, Alderwoman, City Of Milwaukee
Mimi Laflin, United Way Of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County
Monique Liston, Ubuntu Research And Evaluation
Nate Holton, Milwaukee County
Nik Kovac, Alderman, City Of Milwaukee
Nina Vinik, Joyce Foundation
Ossie Kendrix, Office Of United States Senator
Tammy Baldwin, Us Representative
Pardeep Kaleka, Serve To Unite
Charles Watkins, Pastor
Ken Hughes, Pastor
Patricia Ruiz-cantu, City Of Milwaukee
Patrick Schrank, Milwaukee Christian Center

Paul Florsheim, University Of Wisconsin Milwaukee
Paula Lucey, Healthy Wisconsin Partnership Program
Perry Bell, Sports For Kids Academy
Peter Feigin, Milwaukee Bucks
Peter Hoeffel, Nami
Raisa Koltun, Milwaukee County Executive’s Office
Rashidah Butler, Public Policy Institute
Rob Hutton, Wisconsin State Legislature
Rob Kraemer, United Way Of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County
Rob Shelledy, Archdiocese Of Milwaukee
Robert Bauman, Alderman, City Of Milaukee
Rodney Bourrage Sr, Operation Dream
Russell Stamper, Alderman, City Of Milwaukee
Sakuri Fears, Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Sara Kohlbeck, Firearm Injury Research Center
Sarah Dollhausen, True Skool Founder
Sarah Milnar Mclaughlin, Center For Youth Engagement
Sarah Tyree-francis, Pearls For Teen Girls
Shannon Mccoy, Wisconsin State Legislature
Shannon Reed, United Way Of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County
Sharon Williams, Boys & Girls Clubs Of Greater Milwaukee
Shaun Robey, Fresh Start Family Services
Shawn Moore, H.o.o.d. Ambassadors
Shawn Muhammad, The Asha Project
Sonja Kania, Sainta
Stephanie Nowak, Milwaukee, County
Steve Dykstra, Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division
Sumaiyah Clark, Office Of Violence Prevention
Susan Lloyd, Zilber Family Foundation
Susan Smieja, United Way Of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County
Syed Ahmed, Medical College Of Wisconsin
Synovia Moss, Betty Brinn Children’s Museum
Tai Hooper, Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division
Tamara Michelo Josserand, University Of Illinois At Chicago
Tammie Xiong, Hmong American Women’s Association
Tammy Jefferson, Bader Philanthropies
Teri Sullivan, Arts @ Large
Terri Ellzey, Milwaukee County
Terron Edwards, Walnut Way
Terry Murphy, Artworks For Milwaukee
Thomas Reed, Sate Public Defender
Thomas Welcenbach, Groundwork Milwaukee
Tina Quealy, The Burke Foundation
Tom Heinen, Interfaith Conference
Tom Schneider, Coa Youth & Family Centers
Torre Johnson, Wisconsin Community Services
Tracy Wilson, Advancing A Healthier Wisconsin Endowment
Trenell Henning, Walnut Way
Vaun Mayes, Program The Parks
Venice Williams, Alice’s Garden
Victor Barnett, Running Rebels
Vincent Lyles, Boys & Girls Clubs Of Greater Milwaukee
Viola Rembert, Heartlove Place
Walter Bond, Teach For America
Wanda Montgomery, Children’s Hospital Of Wisconsin
William Coleman, Safe & Sound
William Jessup, Milwaukee Police Department
William Lipscomb, Us Attorneys Office
William Muhammad, Nation Of Islam

Arianna Williams, Community Member
Belinda Pittman, Community Member
Bree Spencer, Community Member
Brian Cooper, Community Member
Britney Morgan, Community Member
Carolina Mulvey-videla, Community Member
Charles Brown, Community Member
Eric Kleppe-montenegro, Community Member
Les Weil, Community Member
Libby Mueller, Community Member
Luann Anderson, Community Member
Marguerite Copeland, Community Member

Maricella Nayeri, Community Member
Marty Calderon, Community Member
Matthew Schlake-kruse, Community Member
Michelle Naples, Community Member
Molly Collins, Community Member
Nicole Fumo, Community Member
Paula Jones, Community Member
Ramel Smith, Phd, Community Member
Ramona Boone, Community Member
Richard Diaz, Community Member
Robin Dorman, Community Member
Rodney Campbell, Community Member

Saehee Chang, Community Member
Sarah Greenberg, Community Member
Shahida Munim, Community Member
Solana Patterson-ramos, Community Member
Tony Gibson, Community Member
Tony Phillips, Community Member
Tracey Curry, Community Member
Troy Mack, Community Member
Tyler Weber, Community Member
Tynnetta Jackson, Community Member
Virginia Carlson, Community Member
William Johnson, Community Member

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Stone, D.M., Holland, K.M., Bartholow, B., Crosby, A.E., Davis, S., and Wilkins, N. (2017). Preventing Suicide: A Technical Package of Policies, Programs, and Practices. Atlanta, GA:

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Terrell, R. (2017, May 17). Milwaukee Leaders Gather to Kickoff Annual Ceasefire Sabbath. Wisconsin Public Radio.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. (2017). Precious Lives: A two-year, 100-part series about young people and gun violence in Milwaukee.

Wilberg, J. (2009). Milwaukee Brighter Futures Youth Survey 2009. Milwaukee, WI: Wilberg Community Planning LLC. 

Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. (2016). Wisconsin’s Community-Based Juvenile Justice System: Summary of Input Gathered and Visions for the Future of Youth Justice. Bureau of Youth Services.

Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. (2017). Youth Justice (YJ) Vision and Strategic Plan.

Wisconsin Partnership Program. (2012). Milwaukee Lifecourse Initiative for Health Families Action Plan. Milwaukee, WI: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

Zarate, S.R. (2015). MKE Plays: A Public Private Partnership Initiative for Milwaukee Children. Milwaukee, WI: City of Milwaukee Office of Common Council President Michael J. Murphy.

Zilber Family Foundation. Clark Square Quality of Life Plan. Milwaukee, WI: Zilber Family Foundation.

Zilber Family Foundation. Layton Boulevard West Quality of Life Plan. Milwaukee, WI: Zilber Family Foundation.

Zilber Family Foundation. Lindsey Heights Quality of Life Plan. Milwaukee, WI: Zilber Family Foundation.

Endorse

By submitting this form you and/or your organization officially endorses the intent, principles, goals and strategies outlined in the Blueprint for Peace. You commit to being a champion for violence prevention by actively doing everything possible to reduce the impact and prevalence of violence in our city. Drop us a line below, we’d love to talk with you.

Office of Violence Prevention

Zeidler Municipal Building
841 N. Broadway 3rd Floor
Milwaukee, WI 53202

Name

Email

Phone

Agency / Organization

Goals that you are interested in?

Goal 1 Stop the Shooting, Stop the violence

Goal 2 Promote healing and restorative justice

Goal 3 Support children, youth, and families

Goal 4 Promote economic opportunity

Goal 5 Foster safe and healthy neighborhoods

Goal 6 Improve capacity and coordination of violence prevention efforts

How would you like to engage in advancing the 414LIFE movement?

Custom statement of endorsement:

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