Reclaiming Our Neighborhoods (RON) Coalition
Mission & Vision
Founded in 2013, Reclaiming Our Neighborhoods (RON) is a coalition of ten neighborhood-based nonprofit organizations, City of Milwaukee partners, housing agencies and other stakeholders with the mission to improve the quality of housing in Milwaukee through data-informed, resident-engaged strategies and actions. RON envisions equitable, healthy neighborhoods of choice and opportunity for all residents. The coalition’s work is unique in that it is based on the data and experience of neighborhood groups implementing housing surveys. These hands-on, parcel-based assessments provide real-time data on housing conditions and the opportunity to take direct action with property owners. Neighborhoods using surveys are better able to direct technical assistance and financial support to those who need it most. These neighborhoods are also better able to inform and coordinate with City of Milwaukee resources, address nuisance properties, hold landlords accountable, and advocate for improvements based on neighborhood evidence.
Per our Sustainability Plan created in 2021, RON’s key objectives are to:
1. Help low- and moderate-income homeowners acquire specific resources to ensure the safety and stability of their homes.
2. Hold unresponsive landlords accountable for the condition of their properties.
3. Triage properties that, left unaddressed, would affect other housing and compromise the quality of community life.
4. Provide on-the-ground, comparable data to advocate for City programs and resources.
Partners
RON is based on partnership. Ten RON neighborhood agencies meet monthly to discuss practical aspects of the housing surveys, challenges and successes, neighborhood housing strategies and other issues. These agencies include the Dominican Center/Amani United, Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative, Muskego Way Forward/Milwaukee Christian Center, Near West Side Partners, Riverworks Development Corporation, Rooted & Rising – Washington Park, Sherman Park Community Association, Southside Organizing Center, VIA CDC, and Walnut Way Conservation Corp. The broader RON coalition meets monthly as well. The coalition meetings bring together housing resource partners, funders, elected officials, and City departments for discussions on current issues and updates.
The RON Steering Committee is comprised of a rotating group of five neighborhood agencies that meets bi-weekly to make leadership decisions regarding RON’s strategies. Rooted & Rising serves as the fiscal agent for the coalition.
In 2022, RON formalized its relationships with longtime coalition partners Take Root Milwaukee and Milwaukee Rental Housing Resource Center (MRHRC) as primary resource partners. RON has developed an effective partnership with Data You Can Use (DYCU), a nonprofit with a mission to help coalesce and communicate neighborhood level data for community improvement. DYCU will compile neighborhood and collective data from RON surveys to be presented in a public forum in January. RON also layers this data onto other data sets from the Neighborhood Portraits, City Lead Contamination, MKE Indicators, Tax Foreclosures and other information that is either publicly available or provided to RON by our partners.
In 2023, RON collaborated with the Community Development Alliance (CDA) to convene resident meetings, and beginning in 2024 will have representatives serving on the “Neighborhood Partners” advisory committee and assisting with nominations to the CDA’s resident advisory committee.
Resources
2022 Housing Conditions Report & Sustainability Plan
Most Milwaukee properties needing repair are owned by landlords (jsonline.com)
The Neighborhood Portraits project uses data from the American Community Survey to create a series of tables describing the population, households, and housing in Milwaukee neighborhoods. The framework we use is based on input and advice from community organizers working in the neighborhoods supported by Milwaukee’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Data You Can Use and our partners hope that these tables continue to be used by those working in Milwaukee neighborhoods in their work planning, organizing, and funding development work and programing.
Take Root Milwaukee and the Reclaiming Our Neighborhoods (RON) Coalition are partnering in a new community outreach effort to connect City of Milwaukee residents to trusted, homeownership resources. Take Root is a consortium of 55+ community-based organizations, Realtors, financial institutions, and government that promotes free or low-cost services to help people buy, keep, or fix a home.