Milwaukee Innercity Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH)

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:07:41 GMT

Rev. Alexia Salvatierra June 1, 2008 To Do What Is Just Annual Dinner MICAH will host our sixteenth annual, To Do What Is Just celebration dinner on Sunday, June 1, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee, 333 W. Kilbourn Avenue. More than 500 leaders from the greater Milwaukee Region will come together to celebrate MICAHs work of doing justice through leadership development and congregation-based organizing. This year, we are celebrating our 20 year anniversary as an organization. The guest speaker for this dinner will be Rev. Alexia Salvatierra, Executive Director of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) in Los Angeles, California. Please contact us to purchase your table or to purchase an advertisement in our program booklet. Hurry, limited space is available for this event and...

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:01:46 GMT

Welcome to the site of Milwaukee Innercity Congregations Allied for Hope!

Milwaukee Innercity Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH) is a multiracial, interfaith organization committed to addressing justice issues that impact the community in which we live. MICAH seeks to empower people to organize and take action to resolving critical issues as well as political iand social imbalance. Through leadership training and development, we believe that people can shape their own destiny and create positive solutions to the issues in our community. Please take some time and go through our site to see the legacy of the work of justice while gaining an understanding on current projects and initiatives.

Staff & Board of Directors

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:15:06 GMT

MICAH STAFF Christopher R. Boston Executive Director christopherb@micahempowers.org Mildred Navedo Community Organizer mildredn@micahempowers.org Donna Ross Office Manager donnar@micahempowers.org MICAH EXECUTIVE OFFICERS Reverend Louis Sibley, III President/Board Chair Mt. Zion Baptist Church AT-LARGE BOARD MEMBERS Muhammad Isa Sadlon Islamic Socitey of Milwaukee Father Thomas Mueller Saints Cyril and Methodius Orthodox Mr. Timothy Nelson Bay Shore Lutheran Church Mrs. Brenda Jackson Evergreen Baptist Church Fr. John Celichowski St. Martin De Porres Catholic Parish Ms. Karyn Rotker Congregation Shir Hadash Mrs. Martha Tempesta Gesu Catholic Parish Rev. Dennis Jacobsen Incarnation Lutheran Church Ms. Maija Cruz Ascension Lutheran Church Rev. Sue Gaeta Divine Word Lutheran Church Mr. Dave McGinnis St. Therese Catholic Parish

Presidents Message

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 04:19:50 GMT

Happy New Year and thank you for taking the time to view the MICAH website! For twenty years, MICAH has been building power with the aim to progressively impact the quality of life for greater MIlwaukee. Your support in this work has been critical to our success and we appreciate your steadfast efforts in the interest of justice!

The work of MICAH has created a legacy of justice and hope for many people in this community. We have cut and won issues that have helped people buy their own homes, attend better schools, and create safer neighborhoods. We have stood courageously and challenged systems to address the root of issues and not just bandage them. We believe that our efforts have created a better quality of life for thousands in this region.

In spite of our success, the mandate to continue our mission grows each day. Homicides and crime, Low performing schools, fewer employment opportunities that sustain families, investment in prisons and not people--all these factors are robbing ordinary citiens of hope. MICAH and our member congregations will continue to build the waste places and restore hope through the tool of organizing.

As you take time to look through our website, please seek ways to get involved in our transformative vision for hope. We believe in a shared destiny—a destiny where we create flourishing communities of hope and opportunity. Individually, we can do a great deal to make a difference. But organized for collective power, we can accomplish much more and truly be the difference that we need in this community.

In Solidarity,

Rev. Louis E. Sibley, III

MICAH President

Education

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 23:02:45 GMT

In an effort to help students strive for excellence, the Education task force fights for quality public education to brighten futures for children across Milwaukee. The education task force is currently working to tackle the limited number of system-wide school nurses and the effect on student achievement. The task force is determined to fight until more public school funding is recognized as a top priority for the entire state. In October 2007, MICAH organized and won by working to secure additional school nurses for MPS. There is a story of the victory below. MICAH Education Victory 2007 The Story... The Issue Three years ago the MICAH Education Committee, led by Father Tom Mueller, gave a presentation on the health of children in the Milwaukee Public Schools to a crowd of more than a thousand at the MICAH public meeting. The message was simple: our children are sick and this is threatening their ability to learn! The crowd gasped, for example, when they learned that MPS had...

Donate and Become a MICAH Sustainer!

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 20:58:54 GMT

What is a MICAHSustainer? Monthly Contributor: A MICAH Sustainer makes a monthly contribution to MICAH. Each Sustainer is asked to decide how much they can reasonably afford (a minimum level of $10 per month). By filling out this electronic form, you can easily have your contribution debited from your bank account each month. MICAH’s strength comes from our numbers and from our solidarity. As a Sustainer, you will receive a quarterly report on the work of MICAH, and you will be listed in our annual Ad Book, and at our large gatherings. Annual Contributor: If you prefer or need to make an annual contribution, then fill out this form instead. MICAH is about people of faith coming together to act powerfully to live out our deepest values and to bring racial and economic justice to Milwaukee and Wisconsin. MICAH breaks down barriers of race, economics and religion to build a community of hope. ...

Jobs & Economic Development

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 12:39:14 GMT

The Jobs and Economic Development Taskforce continues to ensure that new building projects in the city result in family-sustaining jobs for citizens located in the same vicinity. and challenged communities. Success stories include:

Action: Fought to pass a city ordinance requiring at least fourteen percent of jobs contracted by the Department of Public Works to remain reserved for unemployed residents of Milwaukee’s central city.

Results: the ordinance was later increased to twenty-five percent job reservation and hundreds of central city residents were hired.

Action: Developed the MICAH Banking Campaign involving 17 financial institutions in an aggregate commitment of $500 million to central city lending over a five year period.

Results: In cooperation with MICAH, lenders developed new marketing strategies, hired more minority loan officers, and changed their method of viewing credit history and debt ratio. By the end of a five year term, more than $700 million in central city lending had been actualized.

Action: Coordinated a neighborhood communication campaign promoting new job opportunities via the development of a Jewel Osco supermarket on 35th & North Avenue.

Results: Committee actions raised neighborhood awareness that resulted in pre-screenings for 350 new jobs.

Action: Established the Ezekiel Project to build affordable single family homes in the central city.

Results: Over 18 homes were built, transforming over xx renters in to new home owners.

Action: Led a coalition of labor and community groups to rally for prevailing wages, affordable housing and the use of disadvantaged business enterprises while redeveloping the Park East Corridor, an estimated $300 million project.

Results: Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors passed the Park East Redevelopment Compact (PERC), ensuring all of the addressed issues would be met.

Task Forces

Thu, 17 May 2007 17:30:12 GMT

MICAH advocates for others by addressing unfair, unjust issues prevalent both in the Milwaukee and nation-wide. A number of action teams are charged with the responsibility of developing strategic campaigns designed to provoke positive outcomes by agitating city officials around social and justice reform.

Holy Ground Task Force

Thu, 17 May 2007 17:18:08 GMT

Holy Ground is an organizing tool to engage people of faith in relationships with the community surrounding the congregation. When congregations declare Holy Ground they make a public declaration on their faith and values that they will organize to create a healthy community.

Holy Ground is an important tool to organizations and congregations because it gives them the opportunity to turn faith to action. The term, “Holy Ground” stems from Exodus 3:5 which exclaims, “Take of the sandals of your feet because the place where you stand is Holy Ground.” After this, God calls Moses to public action by returning to a place of oppression to liberate Gods people. Holy Ground thus emerges as a transformational force that engages people in the work for human dignity and community renewal by giving the congregation an awesome platform to go public.

Congregations should vision Holy Ground as an opportunity to do the following:

Create leadership opportunities for people in congregations and the Neighborhood
Convene neighborhood stakeholders in the self-interest of creating community
Work with stakeholders in the community to examine issues in the target area
Raise the role of the congregation in the consciousness of the neighborhood and community
Repair the breach in relationships between law enforcement and community leader
Create sustainable neighborhoods free of crime, drugs, gang activity and dilapidated buildings
Build relationships of self-interest between congregations and neighborhood residents
Build the base of the larger organization to address issues that further impact our city.

Although Holy Ground is a not an issue in and of itself, it is a tactic to resolve issues. Although each congregation claims their own boundaries and works to address issues that are important in their community, the power comes in the collective action of congregations who make a public declaration. This simply means that thirty congregations who declare Holy Ground and are clear about their approach to their campaign have much more power than three.

As Holy Ground is coordinated from the center of the organization strategically, congregations must breathe life into the congregation and neighborhood by acting with a tactical focus in the interest of creating community!

Training and Certification

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 16:42:25 GMT

Copy TBD
Link to my practice page.

My Practice Page

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 16:39:38 GMT

Hey Y'all!

test page

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 21:53:03 GMT

Member Congregations

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 16:18:04 GMT

Albright United Methodist 5555 W. Capitol Drive Milwaukee, WI 53216

format a

Albright United Methodist
5555 W. Capitol Drive
Milwaukee, WI 53216

or format b

Albright United Methodist
5555 W. Capitol Drive Milwaukee, WI 53216

or format c

congo 1

congo 2

congo 3

and so on

and so on

as pulled from the directory DB table

Youth Leadership

Fri, 09 Feb 2007 18:22:40 GMT

MICAH Youth operate with a focus and verve to empower peers on issues of justice. MICAH leaders are committed to imparting the organizing principles of faith, values and power to a generation on which the future of our communities so desperately depend.

Action: Organized a summit to address community violence.

Results: More than 250 citizens joined together to develop a plan to assist the city with curbing gun violence.

Immigration

Fri, 09 Feb 2007 18:19:22 GMT

Current governmental systems cause immigrants to be among the most exploited members of society, often denied even basic human rights. The MICAH Immigration taskforce is responsible for informing recent immigrants of their civil liberties and responsibilities under the law. Members meet with public officials and social awareness groups to discuss the need for reform of insignificant laws like the Draconian Immigration Law of 1996. Efforts are also made to call attention to the humanistic accounts of unfair treatment and undeserved manipulation of a people.

Action: Pressured the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) office in Milwaukee to expand hours of operation and hire bilingual staff.

Results: Created easier access to information for immigrants seeking citizenship.

Action: Held "Law Day", an informational event to explain immigrant rights.

Results: Over 200 people attended, causing a development of additional trainings and community meetings that engaged hundreds more around the issues.

Present action: Working for a new amnesty law.

Future results: Reunification of immigrant families and their ability to live free of fear.

Alchohol and Other Drug Abuses (AODA) Treatment

Fri, 09 Feb 2007 18:16:41 GMT

The AODA taskforce has long held the philosophy that everyone who needs alcohol and drug abuse treatment should have access, regardless of their income status. Through the Treatment Instead of Prison campaign, AODA’s goal is to restore abusers to health and a productive place in our community versus the incarceration method currently utilized on state and local levels.

Action: Organized an all-night pray-in at the Milwaukee County Executive’s office to prevent elimination of drug treatment funding for uninsured addicts.

Results: Secured $3.3 million in funding for five years.

Action: Established a city-wide drug hot-line.

Results: Over 350 Milwaukee drug houses were shut down based on tips received from callers.

Action: Initiated the TIP (Treatment Instead of Prison) Campaign in conjunction with WISDOM (the statewide affiliate organization).

Results: A legislative victory was gained offering Wisconsin’s nonviolent offenders drug treatment instead of incarceration.