Resident Leadership
Results Statement: Families and youth are actively engaged in strengthening their neighborhoods.
When the Making Connections program began, the area had many assets – churches, social services, associations. But there were few networks. Block clubs from past decades were substantially inactive. Making Connections Milwaukee has begun to re-establish block clubs.
The Making Connections Milwaukee community is also rich with other local organizations:
The level of resident engagement varies across neighborhoods. In some neighborhoods, many residents were active as volunteers in a variety of activities. The extent of civic engagement also varies. A useful indicator is a question that was part of the Making Connections community survey in 2003. “Have you (or any member of your family) gotten together with neighbors to do something about a neighborhood problem or to organize neighborhood improvement?” There was a strong difference by age. Younger and older residents were less involved. Involving young adults has become a priority of the resident leadership strategy.
