Hundreds meet to protest Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee

Wendy Strong Milwaukee - Spectrum News 11/13/2023 VIEW VIDEO COVERAGE HERE

MILWAUKEE — Hundreds of people showed up at Mount Mary University on Sunday to protest against Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM).

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What You Need To Know

Hundreds of people showed up at Mount Mary University on Sunday to protest against Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM)
The protest focused on alleged crimes happening in Milwaukee Public Housing Buildings; Common Ground said the problem is rampant
Residents highlighted trespassing, a shooting and other crimes at the event
Common Ground invited Willie Hines, HACM’s executive director, to attend and speak at the event, but he declined

The meeting on Sunday was organized by the southeastern Wisconsin community group Common Ground.

Common Council President Jose Perez Speaking at Common Ground Assembly

The protest focused on alleged crimes happening in Milwaukee Public Housing Buildings; Common Ground said the problem is rampant. The group said 547 people attended the Sunday meeting.

Felicia Shoates is a resident of Locust Court. That is one of the city’s publicly operated buildings.

(Spectrum News 1/Wendy Strong)

Shoates said that she and other tenants are constantly living in fear.

“About a month ago, there was a shooting. There was blood on the floor for over 48 hours and it was very traumatic to both I and the residents,” said Shoates.

Common Ground invited Willie Hines, HACM’s executive director, to attend and speak at the event, but he declined.

“Our residents’ safety and well-being is our top priority. HACM strongly condemns all illegal activity and takes aggressive action to eliminate criminal behavior when it occurs within and around our properties. Led by its Public Safety team, HACM works in close partnership with law enforcement agencies, our residents, community partners, and the court system to resolve safety issues,” HACM said in a statement. “We are committed to implementing proactive safety measures and swiftly addressing safety concerns when they occur to foster living environments that support a good quality of life.”

(Spectrum News 1/Wendy Strong)

Shoates said her building has also had a lot of issues with trespassing. She said sometimes homeless people are living in the stairwells or the community room.

She said two months ago, she and other tenants from the building, along with Common Ground, sent a petition to Hines. That petition listed areas that needed to be addressed to improve conditions at Locust Court and to make the building safer.

Shoates said she’s gotten no response from HACM. She said Common Ground and building tenants will send Hines another letter this week. It will invite him to stay at Locust Court next weekend so he can see first-hand the issues residents are facing.