Getting Outdoors
Get outdoors, go exercise, and explore the city. Enjoy the crisp fall weather by walking, biking or hiking with the following resources:
Cut Costs with Energy Upgrades
The Milwaukee Energy Efficiency Program offers a low-interest loan up to $20,000 for eligible home improvements to make energy-saving upgrades such as insulation, air sealing, furnaces, boilers, hot water heaters, air conditioners, and windows. Save money wasted on high energy bills and put them into energy-saving home improvements. Homeowners who have had their home inspected, insulated, and air sealed through Me2 have averaged a 30% reduction in energy use.
See if you are eligible for a FREE energy assessment to identify opportunities to save energy in your home. Further lower your price tag on eligible home improvements by combining existing Focus on Energy rebates with federal tax credits and direct rebates PLUS Me2 Bonus Incentives.
Get Help With Your Energy Bill
Milwaukee County
The Milwaukee County Energy Assistance Program provides qualified Milwaukee County residents with a one-time, annual payment toward heating and electric bills. The funding pays a portion of energy costs determined by household size, income and energy costs. The benefit is usually paid directly to the energy supplier.
Additional Services: When you qualify for the Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance program (WHEAP) for your heating and electric bill, you can also access additional energy-saving and money-saving programs.
Get Connected With Housing Help
The City of Milwaukee Housing Help Tool offers a variety of resources and incentive programs to help current homeowners, home buyers, investors and non-profit organizations.
Select options to filter available resources, learn more about city houses and properties available for sale, homebuyer counseling, grants, loan programs, and other incentives.
City of Milwaukee residents can rake out their leaves from October 1 to November 15. No special request for leaf collection is necessary. Sanitation will start leaf collection operations in mid-October and continue until a final sweep has been completed after the rake-out deadline. To be collected, ensure that leaves have been raked out by November 15. Leaf piles should be loose in the curb lane with a one-foot gap to allow for easier collection and to enable stormwater to move to storm drains. Piles can include yard debris (flowers, garden trimmings, and weeds) but should not include grass, brush, pumpkins, or litter. Residents can see a map of the routes and where crews are actively working at milwaukee.gov/leaves.
At all other times of the year, leaves must be mulched on the property or taken to a Drop Off Center.
Brush collection can also be requested from April-November.
Fnd More Collection Details
Green Tips:
ECO tip to composting: An alternative to this service is leaf mulching, or shredding leaves with a lawn mower to allow the nutrients to return right to the soil.
ECO pollution tip: Fallen leaves are loaded with nitrogen and phosphorous, natural fertilizer that can cause water pollution that harms people and animals. Help prevent pollution by properly managing yard waste. Also, be sure leaves left near the road do not block storm drains and prevent the flow of water.
2024 Upcoming Election Dates: General Election - Tuesday, November 5
(and Special Election for School Board District 4)
Healthy Resources for Parents and Families
View resources from Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) including routine childhood vaccinations, healthcare & dental resources, resources for health-related conditions, staying healthy and active, healthy social behavior, mental health resources, resources on substance use, and support and self-care resources for families and guardians.
Stay ahead this respiratory illness season by scheduling your family’s routine vaccinations, like the flu shot, before symptoms appear. Call your healthcare provider or visit an MHD clinic to stay up to date with essential immunizations!
Free Mental Health Resources
World Mental Health Day is October 10
- Mental Health Emergency Center: The Mental Health Emergency Center (MHEC) is the new county-wide psychiatric Emergency Department offering 24/7/365 crisis mental health assessment, stabilization, treatment, and transition care management for children, adolescents and adults. 1525 N. 12th Street, Milwaukee WI 53205. Call 414-966-3030.
- NAMI National Alliance on Mental Illness – Southeast Wisconsin: Provides information and referrals for appropriate resources, support groups and advocacy services related to mental health. Monday to Friday, 9:00 am-5:00 pm. Call 414-344-0447.
- Pathfinders: Provides comprehensive mental health care and support for children, teens and young adults who cannot afford services elsewhere. Also provides specific counseling for young victims of sexual abuse. Call for more information or to schedule an appointment. A sliding fee scale is available. 4200 N. Holton Street - Suite 400. Call 414-964-2565.
- Walker’s Point Youth and Family Center: Free and confidential counseling services with a focus on runaways, homeless and other youth and their families. Provides 24/7 crisis hotline, family and parent counseling, individual and group counseling, referrals and emergency shelter for runaways and youths in crisis. 2030 W. National Ave. call 414-647-8200.
Healthy Resources for Parents and Families
View resources from Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) including routine childhood vaccinations, healthcare & dental resources, resources for health-related conditions, staying healthy and active, healthy social behavior, mental health resources, resources on substance use, and support and self-care resources for families and guardians.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) 
This month brings together advocates from across the nation together to end domestic violence.
Domestic violence (DV) and/or intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pattern of behaviors used by one’s partner to maintain power and control over another partner in an intimate relationship. DV/IPV can happen to anyone at any point in a relationship – it is not bound by gender identity, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or any other form of identity. While this holds true, some individuals are impacted at a disproportionate rate such as women and BIPOC individuals. Domestic and intimate partner violence ranges a large set of behaviors that physically, mentally, or emotionally cause harm and fear making the affected individual behave differently and in ways that they do not want.
Office of Community Wellness and Safety
The City of Milwaukee’s Office of Community Wellness and Sfaety's core mission is to reduce violence in Milwaukee. OCWS's aim is to stop violence before it starts. Community-wide prevention is the most effective, long-term solution to violence. OCWS brings together agencies, experts, and community resources on efforts that reduce many forms of violence including domestic violence, intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and child abuse.
Learn more about the OCSW's approach and definitions for domestic violence.
View Domestic Violence Resources
Daylight Savings Time
Don’t forget! Daylight Saving Time ends the first Sunday in November.
On Sunday, November 3, turn your clocks back one hour.
As the saying goes: “Spring forward, fall back.”