Efforts to break the cycle of poverty highlighted at Housing Authority annual meeting

The Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee held its Annual Meeting on Wednesday, July 9, at the Adult Learning Center, 1916 N. 4th Street, Milwaukee, from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. The meeting highlighted successful Housing Authority programs that help break the cycle of poverty, and featured remarks from community leaders, including Mayor Tom Barrett.
Although the Housing Authority provides both public housing and vouchers for low-income residents to live in private housing, the agency does much more. A number of programs provide Milwaukee families with tools to break the cycle of poverty through homeownership, education and workforce development.
Specifically, the homeownership program this year marks two decades of supporting families through the process of saving for and buying a home. More than four hundred low-income families – the majority of whom were previously living in public housing – have benefited and moved to homeownership since the program’s inception.
At this year’s meeting, four new families benefiting from the program were introduced. In addition, the daughter of the program’s first homeowner 20 years ago spoke about the impact of the program on her family’s life.
The Annual Meeting also highlighted the announcement of the Milwaukee iCenter—a new, innovative information technology training center which will take people step by step from a GED to a new career in information technology. The iCenter is a partnership between the Housing Authority, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board, and Milwaukee Public Schools.