• COVID-19 Resources
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Promotions
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • August 12, 2022

Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper

"THE NEWSPAPER YOU CAN TRUST SINCE 1964"

  • News
  • Editorials
  • Education
  • Urban Business
  • Health
  • Religion
  • Upcoming Events
  • Classifieds
EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED, THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ON THIS PAGE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE MILWAUKEE COURIER

State Must Do More Now to Help Families Afford Housing

July 8, 2022

By Will Martin
Candidate for Wisconsin Lt. Governor

Will Martin, Candidate for Wisconsin Lt. Governor

A recently released study documented that average metro Milwaukee rents have risen by 18% from May 2021 to May 2022. The average rent rose from $950 to $1,124 over that period. That’s a rent increase of $174 a month, making it harder for families to afford a place to live and leaving less money for food, clothing, transportation, healthcare, and so much more.

There is a growing housing crisis affecting our families, and the runaway inflation we are living through is deepening that crisis. Without help, too many parents, children, and seniors will become homeless. It does not have to be this way. State government can, and must, do much more to help make housing affordable again for our families.

Our state government has an agency specifically responsible for helping low-to-moderate-income families buy homes. In fact, the state agency provides mortgages, and can even offer families down payment assistance. It also is responsible for helping build more affordable apartments.

I am calling on Governor Evers and Lt. Governor Barnes to implement my Affordable Housing Action Plan:

• Direct the Wisconsin Housing & Economic Development Authority, often referred to as WHEDA, to open an Affordable Housing office on Milwaukee’s north side.
• Ensure WHEDA partners with Mayor Johnson and the Common Council to include City of Milwaukee staff in the new Affordable Housing office, so our families have greater access to the services the state and city agencies can provide.

• Urge WHEDA to host and expand home buying workshops and educate families on how they can qualify for mortgages and down payment assistance.
• Partner with Columbia Savings & Loan, Milwaukee’s only Black-owned bank, to process more mortgage applications from graduates of WHEDA’s workshops.
• Use some of WHEDA’s reserve funding now to finance building more affordable apartments in our community.

Our families and seniors need action…now. It is time for leaders to step up, make state government work for our people and community, and solve real problems facing us.

Will Martin is a candidate to become Wisconsin’s next Lt. Governor. In addition to being a small business owner for 20 years and having consulted government agencies internationally, he has served in multiple senior leadership roles for Governors Thompson and Walker.

Share:

  • Facebook
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print

Popular Interests In This Article: Housing Affordability, Will Martin

Read More - Related Articles

  • Lt. Governor Candidate Martin Unveils Empowerment Agenda for Communities of Color
  • Our Children Deserve a 21st Century Education
  • Rebuilding Black Business after COVID-19 Catastrophe
  • Record Inflation Shrinks Housing Affordability, Worsens Racial Wealth Gaps
  • A Legacy of Past Choices: Milwaukee’s Housing Crisis Explained

View COVID-19 Resources

Become Our Fan On Facebook
Find Us On Facebook


Follow Us On Twitter
Follow Us On Twitter

Editorials

Lena Taylor
Lakeshia Myers
Rev Jesse Jackson Sr Ashanti Hamilton

Journalists

Mrinal Gokhale
Dylan Deprey
Karen Stokes
Hayley Crandall
Ana Martinez-Ortiz

Topics

Health Care & Wellness
Climate Change
Upcoming Events
Obituaries
Milwaukee NAACP

Politicians

Pres. Barack Obama
Gwen Moore
Tom Barrett
Milele A. Coggs
Spencer Coggs

Classifieds

Job Openings
Bid Requests
Req Proposals
Req Quotations
Apts For Rent

Contact Us

Milwaukee Courier
2003 W. Capitol Dr.
Milwaukee, WI 53206
Ph: 414.449.4860
Fax: 414.906.5383

Copyright © 2022 · Courier Communications | View Privacy Policy | Site built and maintained by Farrell Marketing Technology LLC
We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.