Overdosing on drugs, blood in the halls, guns brandished. Milwaukee public housing 'not safe for anyone,' as tenants seek more security

Genevieve Redsten - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 11/14/2023

When a man was shot and killed in the Locust Court apartments this September, residents were terrified.

However, they also say they have come to expect violence and criminal activity in the building, which was the site of nearly 200 calls for service this year — including nine shootings, according to Milwaukee Police Department call logs.

Locust Court wasn't always this way, said Fred Grace, 74. When Grace moved into the building nearly 14 years ago, security guards were closely monitoring the halls and the cameras, he said. Now, he fears for his safety.

"This building here is constantly in a tense atmosphere," he said. "Anything could go off at any time. You never know when, but you can sense it in the air."

Locust Court, a 24-story high-rise in the Riverwest neighborhood, is one of many apartment buildings and houses owned and operated by the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee, the agency responsible for managing Milwaukee's public housing properties and rent assistance program.

HACM, which operates largely independently from the city, has faced criticism this year for its treatment of tenants, management of properties, and lack of accounting safeguards.

Now, tenants and community organizers are calling for improved security and enforcement inside HACM buildings. It's the latest push from Common Ground — a coalition of local faith groups, businesses and other organizations — which has been campaigning for reforms of the housing authority since March.

HACM tenants told the Journal Sentinel that a small number of problem tenants are making other residents — many of whom are senior citizens — scared to leave their apartments. Housing authority staff, they said, aren't doing enough to monitor the building or evict tenants engaging in criminal activity.

On Sunday afternoon, more than 400 people gathered at Mount Mary University for an assembly hosted by Common Ground, calling on the housing authority to improve public safety in its properties. More than 100 others attended on Zoom, Common Ground's organizers said.

"It's not safe for anyone, but especially as a single woman, I don't feel safe in my building," Felicia Shoates, a resident of Locust Court, said at the assembly.

In a statement Friday, HACM said some of its properties "face heightened security concerns" driven by resident misconduct and rising crime rates in the surrounding area. The agency said it's taking many steps to improve safety in its buildings, including hiring contract security guards and collaborating with police to better monitor its properties.

Common Ground organizers and tenants say recent improvements were prompted by their organizing efforts, and that more still needs to be done.

HACM's security team lost federal funding over the years, agency said

HACM's security staff, which are housed in its public safety division, don't seem equipped to handle calls for help, tenants said.

The public safety division currently has 15 full-time employees, an HACM spokesperson said. When fully staffed, it has 18 employees. Those staff are tasked with fielding tenants' calls for help at all hours of the day — handling problems ranging from after-hours maintenance to "residential disputes, and other non-emergency situations that do not require an immediate law enforcement response," HACM said.

This year so far, HACM's public safety division has received 9,422 calls for service, an HACM spokesperson said. Last year, the agency received 8,750 calls.

Vivian Jones, 66, a resident of HACM's Lapham Park apartments, said public safety has been slow to respond and its security staff appear to be spread thin across many properties.

Several tenants told the Journal Sentinel that they're often unsure whether to call police or public safety when they feel unsafe in their buildings.

HACM said it relies primarily on law enforcement agencies for public safety services, adding that it works closely with police to patrol its properties and track crime trends in its buildings.

HACM's public safety division was created in the 1990s, when the federal government offered funding for enhanced security services in public housing.

"Unfortunately, this federal funding of public safety services ended over 20 years ago, and most Public Housing Authorities have eliminated their public safety divisions and rely solely on local police departments. HACM has continued to provide this service but at a significantly scaled-back level due to diminished funding from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)," HACM said in its statement Friday.

HACM hires temporary private security guards on contract "in cases of significant criminal activity," HACM said, adding that security guards are currently working in Lapham Park, Locust Court, Mitchell Court and Westlawn Gardens.

Common Council president: 'We've only scratched the surface'

In interviews with the Journal Sentinel, some tenants said residents are inviting drug dealers into HACM buildings. Trespassers are sleeping in stairwells and hallways, tenants added, and at night and in the early hours of the morning, people roam the halls and rattle residents' doorknobs — presumably hoping to find an unlocked door.

Residents said they are often witness to unnerving scenes: urine and blood in the halls, people overdosing on drugs, guns brandished and fired.

Several tenants who spoke at the assembly also described scenes of violence and fear. Shoates, one of the Locust Court residents, took aim at Willie Hines, HACM's top executive.

"This is not a PR game, Mr. Hines," she said. "This is a matter of life or death for me and the other 230 residents of Locust Court."

They were joined by Common Council President José Pérez, who has been working to increase oversight of the housing authority.

"We've only scratched the surface, and we have a lot of work to do," Pérez told the crowd. "So don't give up, don't stop. I'm your partner at City Hall, and we'll continue to work together and deliver on behalf of all residents."

Common Ground is calling on HACM to install more cameras and lights; employ a 24/7 security guard inside every building; offer trauma counseling to residents; and evict problem tenants who are violating their lease agreements.

Once Common Ground took its concerns to leadership at HACM and MPD, organizers said both agencies began improving security measures, such as adding more police patrols and security guards at some HACM properties.

"In the last couple of weeks, HACM and Hines have been reacting to the pressure of our organizing," Common Ground's Rev. Will Davis said at the assembly Sunday.

Calls for oversight and reform are building

HACM has been under fire since March, when Common Ground — a coalition of local faith groups, businesses and other organizations — began calling for reform of the housing authority. Since then, pressure has mounted:

In August, Common Ground called for a federal audit of HACM's books, after tenants reported repeated problems with their billing.
In September, the Journal Sentinel uncovered two recent federal audit reports that found "risk for serious fraud, waste, and abuse" inside the agency's rent assistance office.
In October, Milwaukee's Common Council voted unanimously to direct city code enforcement to inspect HACM properties, after tenants and Common Ground went public with concerns about mold, flooding and other hazardous conditions.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson has remained supportive of Hines and HACM's leadership team, even as Common Ground and others have called for Hines's resignation. Asked about Common Ground's calls for improved public safety inside HACM properties, a spokesperson for the mayor said the he would defer to HACM.

Local leaders — including Pérez and state Rep. Bob Donovan (R-Greenfield) — are calling on Johnson to do more to scrutinize the agency. Johnson received copies of the federal audit reports months before the Journal Sentinel made them public.

"The mayor has known about this for almost a year and we have heard nothing but crickets," Donovan said in a September statement.

Though the housing authority is largely independent from the city, the mayor nominates its board of commissioners, and the Common Council confirms those nominations. Three of the board's seven positions are vacant, giving Johnson the opportunity to shake up oversight of the agency.

"If we have the ability to confirm appointments by the mayor, we are going to scrutinize what kind of job (they) are going to do running HACM," Pérez told the Journal Sentinel Sunday.

The mayor's spokesperson did not respond to a message asking about his plans for those vacant board seats.