Milwaukee, WI – Maskani Place has been nominated for the State Farm Building Blocks Award for the 2016 MANDI Awards. As part of the awards program, Heartland Housing, Inc, building owner, interviewed Maskani resident Michelle Guzman to see how this development has supported her. Read more about Michelle’s story at Urban Milwaukee MANDI Nominee Helps Homeless Families.
Maskani Place supports the community and its residents in so many different many ways – it is a place to learn and educate, an environment to grow, an opportunity to change and a place to call home. Maskani Place is a milestone in the broader story of fighting homelessness in Milwaukee. Unfortunately, Milwaukee is rated 4th in the nation for child poverty, with an estimated 43% of Milwaukee’s children living below the federal poverty line. “This city has far too many children living in poverty and we have to do even more to make sure we have housing and support services so that those families have a fighting chance,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett declared (as quoted in Urban Milwaukee on May 27, 2014). Maskani Place was praised by Mayor Barrett as a catalytic project for the community.
Celebrating Community Partnerships
The success of this project is due to the partnership between Community Advocates, Inc., Heartland Housing, Inc. and U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation (USBCDC).
Community Advocates, Inc. is a supportive services agency based in Milwaukee that is committed to providing low-income families with basic human needs from employment training to finding childcare. Maskani Place is the third affordable housing venture in which Community Advocates has teamed with Heartland Housing.
Heartland Housing, Inc. is a division of the Midwest nonprofit Heartland Alliance located in Chicago, IL. Maskani Place is the third and newest affordable housing venture developed by the organization in Milwaukee.
USBCDC provides innovative financing solutions to meet the community and economic development needs of its partners and those they serve.