A group of community leaders is looking for feedback from the community about how poverty impacts youth in Milwaukee County and what to do about it.
A pair of public forums will be held by the Youth and Poverty Task Force, a group co-chaired by Dr. Demond Means and Dr. Gary Williams from the Social Development Commission (SDC) Board of Commissioners.
The task force is looking at the impact of poverty on young people, the root causes of that poverty, and what practical solutions SDC can put into place to address it.
The group will also make recommendations for policy changes at city, county and state levels of government.
The Youth and Poverty Task Force is seeking input from members of the Milwaukee community that become part of their work.
The first of the public forums will be held Thursday, May 8 from 6 to 8 pm at Journey House located at 2110 W. Scott Street.
A second forum will be held Saturday, May 10 from noon to 2 pm at Hillside Family Resource Center found at 1452 N. 7th Street.
Members of the public are encouraged to attend the forums to hear from task force members and more importantly to provide to them their thoughts on the issue of youth and poverty as well as recommendations on steps to take.
Members of the task force include representatives from organizations already working with low income youth.
They include SDC, Centro Hispano, Neighborhood House, Lao Family Community, Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board, the Medical College of Wisconsin and the City of Milwaukee Mayor’s Office.
A final report including recommendations is expected from the task force by mid-summer.
To learn more about t he Youth and Poverty Task Force, visit www.cr-sdc.org.
