MILWAUKEE— A new Milwaukee violence prevention effort is targeting 26 areas across the city where violence remains a concern.
‘This is Our City: The Countdown,” brings city departments, community organizations and neighborhood partners together through the end of the year, focusing on the fourth quarter numbers. The goal is to bring resources and services directly into neighborhoods with the highest concentration of violence.
The effort is also looking at issues that can contribute to violence, including mental health, overdoses and housing instability.
Karin Tyler, the Director of the Department of Community Wellness and Safety says the goal is to bring the violence down, and make it safer for residents in those high level areas to be at peace.
“We’re ​going ​to ​identify ​two ​clusters ​per ​week,” Tyler said. ​”We ​will ​be ​doing ​community ​walks, ​an ​environmental ​analysis ​where ​we ​look ​at ​things ​that ​may ​impact ​violence, ​like ​overgrown ​bushes, ​low ​lighting and reckless ​driving. ​We’re ​looking ​at ​opioid ​use, ​drug ​addiction, ​I ​mean, ​just ​a ​number ​of ​different ​things.”
With focusing on two areas a week, the effort is looking to curb as much violence as possible by the end of this year. Tyler says if more areas are added onto the effort, they will shift their focus to include them.
Julien Pfeiffer, Program Manager, Department of Community Wellness and Safety, says the city is also using health and economic data to understand what residents in those areas need.
About 30% of Milwaukee adults report being told by a doctor they have a mental health condition, according to data discussed during the event. Pfeiffer also pointed to overdose deaths and housing instability as concerns in some of the targeted neighborhoods.
“Some ​of ​the ​census ​tracts ​that ​align ​with ​some ​of ​these ​neighborhoods, ​we’re ​looking ​at ​eviction ​rates ​are ​more ​than ​twice ​the​citywide ​average,” Pfeiffer said. “​So ​those ​are ​the ​sort ​of ​services ​and ​resources ​we ​want ​to ​pour ​into ​these ​neighborhoods ​that ​need ​it ​most.”
Milwaukee Recreation, community violence intervention organizers and local faith leaders are also involved in the effort. Organizers say resources could include youth activities, employment and job training, eviction assistance, mental health services and improved street lighting.
The initiative is expected to continue into 2027, with organizers reviewing the results and adjusting the approach as they go.
