Post from Community: Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity launches Harambee neighborhood revitalization project with $1 million grant from Bader Philanthropies | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service Bader Philanthropies, Inc December 19, 2019 Editor’s note: Our Posts from the Community feature is a platform for community announcements and event postings. If you have a post to be considered, send it to [email protected] or submit it directly. Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity (Milwaukee Habitat); a nonprofit helping families in need of safe, affordable housing; today announced it is launching a neighborhood revitalization project in Harambee. With an initial grant of $1 million from Bader Philanthropies, Inc., Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity will be establishing 40 new homes and ensuring current homeowners can avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes by completing 20 critical repair projects in Harambee over the next four years, which is anticipated to serve more than 200 of the community’s residents. Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity hopes to break ground on the project in Harambee during the spring of 2020. The $1 million grant kicks off a larger neighborhood revitalization project to serve 250 families in need of safe, affordable homes between 2020 and 2023. Together with Bader Philanthropies and all of its crucial supporters, Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity will invest more than $18 million to build 100 new affordable homes in Harambee and Midtown and repair 150 homes throughout Milwaukee’s Harambee and northwest neighborhoods. Milwaukee Habitat will be working on the Harambee project as it continues to build, rehab and repair 100 homes in the Midtown neighborhood, which it started in 2018, as well as providing affordable home repairs throughout Milwaukee’s northwest side. “This first grant from Bader Philanthropies increases our capacity to begin work in Harambee in 2020, a year earlier than planned, while still meeting our commitment to build, rehab and repair 100 homes in Midtown,” said Brian Sonderman, executive director of Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity. “In fact, we will be able to extend our commitment to Midtown and work in both neighborhoods concurrently in 2020 and 2021.” Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing! According to the Wisconsin Policy Forum’s The Cost of Living report (2018), Milwaukee is “the most cost-burdened city in the Midwest for renters.” One out of three families in Milwaukee can’t afford the average rent for a two bedroom apartment, according to the 2019 City of Milwaukee Housing Affordability Report. There is also a great need for safe, affordable housing in Harambee. Even though nearly half of Harambee residents live in poverty, median rents are more than $800 per month, which is similar to areas near Humboldt Park and Bay View, where poverty levels are less than 10%. The average family in the Harambee neighborhood earns $19,300 per year; according to the Harambee Neighborhood Profile, prepared by Data You Can Use with support from the NonProfit Center; yet the majority of Harambee residents are renters. Only 22% of the homes in Harambee are owner-occupied, and the rest are renters. “Today celebrates what is possible when we take the time to listen, visit with one another and come together to make a difference,” said Daniel J. Bader, president and CEO of Bader Philanthropies. “Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity’s steadfast commitment to affordable and safe housing will spark hope in our neighborhood. We look forward to seeing more children run up and down the block and additional neighbors visiting with one another on a warm summer day. And, we will feel a sense of peace knowing that our elders are safe in the homes they have lived in for decades.” Bader Philanthropies also recently awarded $100,000 to the Greater Milwaukee Foundation for the anti-displacement fund to prevent gentrification in growing neighborhoods around downtown Milwaukee by helping homeowners pay their increasing property taxes. It is a new initiative to support lower-income, majority-minority neighborhoods around downtown. Applications are due January 3 for the anti-displacement fund’s first year. Homeownership is a crucial foundation for helping low-income families find a path out of poverty. When they move out of substandard housing and into simple, decent, affordable homes, homeowners and their families frequently improve their health, educational attainment, safety and personal wealth. According to The U.S.