Dignitaries including Mayor Tom Barrett and County Supervisor Peggy Romo-West (front) prepare for the ceremonial first pass. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)

On a gloomy Wisconsin day, a youth band plays as a crowd sits in the bleachers overlooking a football field adorned with the unmistakable and iconic Green Bay Packers “G.” It’s not game day at Lambeau Field, but it is a new day for Mitchell Park and Clarke Square. The Journey House Packers Field is now open.

With dignitaries such as Gov. Scott Walker, Mayor Tom Barrett, Packers’ President Mark Murphy and Packers Hall of Famer Willie Buchanan on hand, the field was celebrated as a place where youth will play football and learn life lessons such as teamwork, dedication, commitment and leadership.

“Those lessons will radiate from the field to their homes to their schools and communities,” said Charles Brown, director of youth programs at Journey House.

It was Brown who got the call from the Packers in 2009, asking whether he’d like a field once used by the team for practice, but now stored away in 30 huge rolls.

Susan Lloyd, executive director of the Zilber Family Foundation, accepts an award from Charles Brown, Journey House director of youth programs and Dr. Michele Bria, Journey House executive director. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)

“We had a field and we never used it,” Murphy said.

Brown’s first youth football team at Journey House won no games and didn’t score a touchdown until the second to last game. The team spent that year practicing on a field with no goal posts or painted lines in a section of Mitchell Park that used to hold the sunken gardens. He couldn’t say no.

Brown called the field a dream come true and credited nearby residents who had  asked for more playing fields during the Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative planning process, funded by the Zilber Family Foundation.

“The residents said they’d like to live in a neighborhood with football and soccer fields,” Brown said.

Now, according to Murphy, the neighborhood is the only one in the U.S. that has an NFL field not located at an NFL facility.

“Finally, we found a home here,” Murphy said.

Installing, constructing and preparing a site to house the field, which Brown calls an outdoor classroom, cost $1.4 million. The NFL contributed a $200,000 matching grant, and the Charles E. Benidt Foundation made gifts totaling more than $1 million for the field. The final $1.6 million to cover the cost of a new parking lot and other finishing touches is still being raised.

The project’s main partners are Journey House, Marquette University High School  and Milwaukee County Parks. The real winners, according to Barrett, are ”the kids who will play on this field.”

The high school’s freshman and sophomore football teams will play their home games on the new field, as will the lacrosse team. Journey House youth football league and cheerleading teams also will call the field home.

“They’re playing on the same field that Brett Favre and Donald Driver once played on,” Walker noted.

What do kids think about that?

“I think it’s pretty cool,” said Vance Rehak, who plays linebacker and wide receiver for the Journey House Packers, shortly after catching a touchdown pass in the left corner of the end zone.

Allen Koren, a volunteer with Tikkun Ha-Ir, examines the donations slated for the Grand Avenue Club. (Photo by Eric Oliver)

Fifteen shelters and charity organizations got a little Christmas in the summer from Tikkun Ha-Ir of Milwaukee, a Jewish social action organization. The group, whose name means “repair of the city,” recently held its annual Glean Machine donation drive to help 15 shelters and charity organizations.

The organization gathered donations at a handful of synagogues during the weeks leading up to the event, and distributed them from Temple Menorah, 9363 N. 76th St.

Judy Baruch, executive director of Tikkun Ha-Ir, said that the group hosts the drive at the request of several shelters, which are overwhelmed with donations in December and January, but by the time summer comes find that their inventory is depleted.

“One of the things we feel very strongly about is that the Jewish community cares about the people who are struggling, and we are doing what we can to assist them and make life better,” Baruch said.

Volunteers from Tikkun-Ha-Ir spent several weeks collecting clothing and other items. (Photo by Eric Oliver)

Baruch added that the shelters and agencies are happy to get the donations. Sometimes donors are equally excited to give things away.

“A couple years ago somebody came up with bags of children’s clothes and said, ‘My children are too old. I’m not going to have more. Please take them.’ And she was thrilled that we could take them.”

Baruch said that the name of the event is based on the Book of Ruth, which is read during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.

“Ruth is gleaning in the fields and there is a law in the Torah that says that the owners of farms could not pick everything they planted,” Baruch said. “They need to leave the corners of the field unharvested, and then the poor go in and that’s how they get their food. It’s called gleaning, so we call this the Glean Machine.”

The Grand Avenue Club (GAC), 210 Michigan St., is one of the organizations that benefitted from the drive. The nonprofit helps individuals with mental illness to recover and reintegrate into society.

Pam Weisser, program director at the Grand Avenue Club, and Shelby Manuel, a volunteer there, planned on putting the donations to immediate use.

Manuel said that the group has a store in its clubhouse where it sells most of the donated items to members for less than a dollar. He added that members need the items and appreciate them.

“We keep things really affordable because 80 percent of our members are living under the poverty level,” Weiser said. “They value what they purchase and they take a lot of pride in purchasing things at really good prices, just like anyone does.”

Casa Marie Catholic Worker Community, 1131 21st St., also received bags of donated items. Casa Marie offers temporary emergency housing to women with children for up to 30 days.

Cullom Cahill, 24, who volunteers at Casa Marie, said that donations benefit the house and the women who are temporarily living there.

“We have a little corner at the front of the house (where) we put all the donations, and so every week the women who are staying there can go through them and take anything that they need,” Cahill said.

As a child in Chicago, Kwabena Antoine Nixon learned about life by listening to stories that his uncles shared around a table and from his grandmother’s old wives’ tales. A self-described nosy child, he was curious about every little thing around him.

“I wanted to see what was going on, who was talking,” he said.

Now a motivational speaker, poet and facilitator of the program “Saving Our Sons – I Will Not Die Young,” Nixon is the one who is talking. Living on the north side of Milwaukee, he works with African-American boys to help improve their grades and attendance in school. The program serves close to 120 boys in 10 public high schools across the city.

Nixon aims to help keep the young men from the trouble he witnessed when he was their age. Gangs and crack intruded the streets. Grocery stores and black-owned businesses disappeared. Tragedy struck.

“I lost my father at 11 years old to street violence,” Nixon said. Clearing his throat, he added, “The rest of my teen years were spent just trying to stay alive.”

Activist poet Kwabena Nixon speaks about the documentary “Guns, Grief and Grace in America.” (Photo by Jen Janviere)

Everything changed when Nixon started writing poetry to ease his pain. He enjoyed scribbling words on pieces of paper and sharing verses with his classmates or anyone who wanted an earful. He decided he was meant to be a writer.

Nixon has written a book titled, “I Write What Eye See,” which he expects to be released in July 2013.

He also hosts one of the largest poetry sets in the country called “Poetry Unplugged” at 7155 N. 43^rd St. The 10-year-old program takes place every Tuesday, and includes spoken word and open mic nights.

Nixon said he hopes the students in “Saving Our Sons” will grow through writing and speaking about their issues, just as he did. Through the program, he provides the boys with a safe environment to talk about their lives. He said he wants to give them access to the artistic medium that he wished he had discovered sooner.

“Had somebody come along and shown [the youth] what I do now,” Nixon said, the lives of many of his friends could have turned out differently.

Dafi Malik, project director of “Saving Our Sons,” noted that Nixon has “a gift for inspiring youth.”

At home, Nixon enjoys spending time with his wife, Tina Nixon, and laughing at jokes on the TV series “Family Guy.”

“I know that’s not good for the talk (working with youths), but you need a release,” he said. “And Stewie” – an infant character on the television show – “is probably the funniest – OK, I’ll stop.”

Nixon said that he wants to continue with his work and have a positive impact on society.

“It’s not so much that I was attracted to poetry as much as I was attracted to writing and expressing myself,” he said. “Telling stories of my friends, some who aren’t here now – I’m able to tell that story because I’m still here.”

Sojourner Family Peace House serves victims of domestic violence. (Photo by Sue Vliet).

Victims of abuse who rely on BadgerCare face an uncertain future that may involve higher out-of-pocket costs for domestic violence screenings and counseling, while the same medical and psychological services will be completely covered for those who have private health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

In the coming months, bureaucrats and politicians in Washington and Madison have the opportunity to address that disparity.

The Affordable Care Act includes domestic violence screening and counseling under preventive services, and as such requires them to be covered with no cost sharing. However, it fails to clearly define what BadgerCare, the state’s Medicaid program, may have to cover in the future.

Depending on how officials define and interpret Affordable Care Act provisions, victims of abuse who are poor could face increases in out-of pocket costs and reduced access to domestic violence screenings and counseling services.

“The idea of adding another barrier is a scary thing because there are already so many existing barriers for clients who are impacted by domestic violence,” said Carmen Pitre, the executive director of Sojourner Family Peace House, a resource and service center for domestic violence victims in Milwaukee. “This could be one more thing that prevents them from getting the help they need.”

Screenings and counseling 

In emergency rooms, doctors’ offices and health clinics throughout the Milwaukee area, medical professionals screen for domestic violence, looking for both the obvious and subtle hallmarks of abuse when examining and interacting with patients.

“I suspect we’re missing a lot of domestic violence patients because the presentations are so cryptic that in the brief period of time that you work with the patient, you miss them,” said Dr. Chris Decker, director of the emergency department at Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Health care professionals in Froedtert’s emergency room look for outward signs of abuse such as wounds, broken bones and bruises. They also look for patterns such as repeated visits to the emergency room, especially for non-specific complaints. In addition, every patient who is treated in Froedtert’s emergency room is asked about domestic violence, according to Decker.

But even concentrated screening efforts may not decode the more obscure signs of domestic abuse. For instance, Decker said, a domestic violence victim may walk in the emergency room complaining of a headache.

“If you think to ask about where they live and where they have been the last day or two and how are their relationships at home, those are the kinds of things that are subtle and sometimes you will miss them,” Decker said.

Victims who are continuously screened for domestic violence by health care professionals as they move through the system are more likely to eventually disclose the abuse, according to Pitre.

“We are trying to get doors open for survivors, women and men, who are trapped in violent situations and need to get out,” Pitre said. Screening “gives them a signal that one, you’re not on your own. Two, we take this seriously. Three, if you do disclose, I will help you.”

Once victims open up about abuse, counseling creates pathways for them to permanently remove themselves from physically and emotionally dangerous relationships, she added.

“The counseling allows you to look into what led you into that relationship, what happened to you and helps you unravel the trauma so you are a healthier person,” Pitre said. “You can heal and move forward and that can be an intensive and long-term process.”

Roxie H. (who asked that her last name not be used) is a victim of domestic violence. She has been in counseling for seven years, including three years while she was still living with her abuser. Domestic abuse counseling reconditions the victim emotionally, spiritually and mentally and is the only way victims can fully heal from abuse, she said.

Without counseling “I probably would have killed myself,” said Roxie, who now advocates for victims and is the author of a fictional account about her ordeal as a victim. “It is life or death.”

Walker’s decision changes game

BadgerCare currently covers domestic abuse screening and counseling with small co-pays of a few dollars, depending on the service that is rendered. Some BadgerCare recipients also pay a monthly deductible, based on their income.

Domestic abuse screenings are typically provided as part of office visits, explained Stephanie Smiley, the state’s Department of Health Services communications director.

The Affordable Care Act requires states that accept funding for expanded Medicaid programs to cover “essential health benefits.” In general, these include ambulance service, emergency care and preventive services such as domestic abuse screening and counseling. The newly eligible Medicaid recipients are primarily adults without dependent children.

However, the future of domestic violence screenings and counseling coverage is muddied by Gov. Scott Walker’s decision in February not to accept federal ACA money to expand the state’s Medicaid program.

Instead, his 2013-15 biennial budget proposes a new category for BadgerCare to cover these adults and all parents whose income is less than the federal poverty line.

If the proposal is approved by the legislature and becomes law, Wisconsin would have to apply for a federal waiver, required whenever a state changes its Medicaid program. All Medicaid programs that receive a waiver must follow Essential Health Benefits Package requirements.

Washington bureaucrats could deny the waiver or the governor could decide to amend a current federal waiver under BadgerCare. The amendment still would need to be approved by federal officials, and it is unclear whether that would trigger a requirement for Wisconsin to meet Essential Health Benefits Package standards.

Under the governor’s proposal, which decreases the eligibility threshold from 200 to 100 percent of the federal poverty line, about 87,000 people would become ineligible for BadgerCare. Those individuals would be eligible for the Health Insurance Marketplace and could be subsidized by the federal government to help pay for their insurance. In any event, they would be guaranteed domestic violence screening and counseling as a preventive service, with no cost sharing.

Regardless of Walker’s proposal to change eligibility, however, the federal government still needs to clearly define the Essential Health Benefits Package requirements for BadgerCare and, more specifically, to what extent domestic abuse screening and counseling must be covered. The government has until Jan. 1 to define these requirements.

“Until we know what that is going to look like, we really can’t make any speculations about what we will do,” said Claire Smith, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health Services.

“If it does turn out that BadgerCare will not cover those services specifically for victims of domestic violence and there (is) a disparity between BadgerCare and private health insurance, then it would definitely be a concern,” said Tony Gibart, the policy coordinator at the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Pamphlets explain the services Sojourner Peace House provides. (Photo by Sue Vliet)

Lack of money shackles abuse victims

The poor who are physically and emotionally abused “stay in abusive relationships for many reasons and one of those reasons is that they do not always have the resources to leave, (such) as health care,” said Erin Perkins, the coordinator of the Milwaukee Commission on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

Domestic violence victims who suffer from repeated psychological trauma need ongoing care to be able to get out of the abusive relationship, according to Perkins. To complicate the situation even further, victims are more at risk for violence after they leave, Perkins added.

“There is certainly a lot of difficulty trying to break someone from a violent relationship. It’s not always as simple as telling a victim to get up and leave,” she said.

Gibart pointed out that before any domestic violence victim can be properly treated, she must have access to health care and the means to pay for it, whether it be through private insurance, the state’s health care exchange or Medicaid. Victims also must be seen by a medical professional who actually does screenings, he said.

BadgerCare coverage “is an important component, but one piece of the picture is making sure that this actually happens for victims,” Gibart said.

About one in four women will experience some sort of domestic violence in their lifetime, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. According to the organization, 85 percent of victims are women.

Several studies during the last two decades have found an association between poverty and domestic violence. Domestic violence occurs in every economic class, but victims’ financial well-being plays a large role in their ability to leave a violent relationship, Gibart said.

“Folks with financial resources, while (it’s) not easy, are able to escape more easily,” he said.

High school juniors spend four hours on a Saturday taking a practice ACT test organized by College Possible. (Photo courtesy of College Possible)

Juniors at 10 Milwaukee high schools have Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corp. to thank for supporting a program intended to raise their ACT scores.

Great Lakes, a Madison-based nonprofit that guarantees and services federal student loans, awarded $300,000 to College Possible Milwaukee for the 2013-14 fiscal year.

The philanthropic arm of Great Lakes seeks to improve lives by increasing access to and success in higher education, according to Amy Kerwin, chief educational opportunities officer. “We want to see these students succeed in college from the first day,” she said.

College Possible Milwaukee’s award was part of $4 million in “College Ready” grants Great Lakes awarded to 34 student-centered programs in Wisconsin and Minnesota for the coming academic year. The grants support specialized academic help for students from traditionally underserved backgrounds: first-generation college students, those from low-income families and students of color.

College Possible coach Matt Coombs works with a South Division high school student. (Photo courtesy of College Possible)

“It is all about the academic preparation that they need to do as well as they possibly can on the ACT,” said Edie Turnbull, College Possible Milwaukee’s executive director. The ACT is one of two standardized tests used for high school achievement and college admission in the U.S.

“In the grant proposal, we specified that our goal is to help increase students’ scores by a minimum of two points,” she explained. That can make a significant difference in how many schools accept them and the ACT is also a very strong indicator of readiness for college, she added.

College Possible Milwaukee’s ACT prep includes four practice tests taken during junior year before the actual test in the spring. The practice tests are scheduled on Saturday mornings at local college campuses to mimic the actual test conditions, Turnbull said. The organization compares the scores from the first practice test taken before the prep classes begin, to the scores on the actual test taken in April. The average increase was 18 percent in the 2011-12 school year, according to the College Possible website.

To maximize a student’s chances for success in college “it is very important to find the [school that is the] best possible fit. The more acceptances a student has, the more likely it is that we will find the right fit,” Turnbull said.

Kerwin agreed. “When we were deciding about the grant, we looked at the fact that an increase in the ACT scores means an increase in a student’s options and that means a greater chance of success,” she said.

Kerwin called College Possible Milwaukee’s program “the shining star. Not only does it have a strategic program, but it also has the ability to track students’ progress and demonstrate their results,” she said. “This is important to us achieving our underlying goals of increasing students’ access and success.”

College Possible Milwaukee’s estimated budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year is $1.2 to $1.3 million, according to Turnbull. “Great Lakes has helped us with some level of grant every year from 2008, but this is the largest grant,” she said.

Milwaukee schools served are: Alexander Hamilton High School, International Peace Academy, Milwaukee High School of the Arts, Milwaukee School of Languages, Morse – Marshall High School, Pulaski High School, Riverside University High School, Saint Joan Antida High School, Saint Thomas More High School and South Division High School.

Turnbull said she is “truly grateful for Great Lakes’ support. We would not be in 10 schools today without the support they have given us every year.”

Next Door Foundation is donating more than 1,000 pairs of shoes to the Child Protection Center at Children’s Hospital. (Photo by Sue Vliet)

Donated shoes hang from the rotunda in City Hall. (Photo by Sue Vliet)

There is a happy ending for more than 1,000 pairs of children’s shoes that hung in the rotunda at City Hall for the past two months to raise awareness about child abuse and neglect.

The shoes, collected and displayed by “parent ambassadors” at the Next Door Foundation, are being donated to the Child Protection Center at Children’s Hospital.

The “shoe transfer” came about after Milwaukee Police Department officer Carla Lehmann of the Sensitive Crimes Division happened to be at City Hall for a separate event, according to Sara Bauer, parent ambassador supervisor at Next Door Foundation. When Lehmann saw the donated shoes, she realized that they could be put to good use at the Child Protection Center, where she interviews victims.

Next Door Foundation, 2545 N. 29th St., is an education center in Metcalfe Park that works to support Milwaukee children and families. The parent ambassadors all have been affected by child abuse in some way.

Milwaukee County reported 1,068 substantiated claims of child abuse or neglect in 2011.

“This was such a nice outcome to the project,” said Bauer. “We were probably going to donate the shoes to be recycled, but being actually able to give them to children is really exciting.”

Stephanie Harling leaned forward as she sat across from Dan Woodring at his desk, rapidly suggesting ways Waukee Engineering Co., a local company that supplies equipment to the heat processing industry, could engage in community development.

“We need to sustain this community,” said Harling, executive director of Havenwoods Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit agency focused on improving the quality of life in the northwest Milwaukee neighborhood.

Woodring, the company’s product and quality control agent, said he would be willing to work with the organization, possibly joining a manufacturing roundtable discussion or training young people for technical careers.

“If this is better for the community, it’s better for our business,” he said.

Harling, 46, became the nonprofit’s executive director 11 years ago.

She works with residents and local businesses to improve streets such as Kaul Avenue and housing developments such as Westlawn on Havenwoods’ southern edge.

“I love Milwaukee,” Harling said. “I’m a life-long resident, so I want all of the city to thrive. I just love seeing people have opportunities in front of them.”

Harling cited her mother, Mary Jo Morris – who advocated for Milwaukee public education as a member of the PTA until her death in 2007 – as inspiration.

“That’s where I get my civic passion — by being dragged to school board meetings as a 7-year- old,” Harling said, laughing.

Stephanie Harling (right) discusses with Dan Woodring of Waukee Engineering Co. possibilities for the company to engage in community development. (Photo by Rob Gebelhoff)

The Bay View resident found her career in economic development by accident. After earning her bachelor’s degree in corporate communications at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1991, Harling worked in sales and marketing for broadcast companies. She considered pursuing a master’s degree in elementary education, but found herself working for a nonprofit development group temporarily. That sparked a passion for community improvement.

Changing perceptions is the most difficult challenge in improving Havenwoods, Harling said.

“When I told peers that I was working in community development, they made references to ‘Gunshot Alley’ and ‘good luck,’” she said. “They were referring to what they thought was a challenging, hopeless community. What we’ve discovered is that it couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Harling organized her group’s initiatives into three categories: crime prevention and community organizing, economic development and healthy neighborhoods. Community leaders have noticed differences in the community as a result of these initiatives.

Police Capt. Jerome O’Leary, who has spent the last seven years with the 4th Police District, credited Harling and the nonprofit for helping to cause a major shift in the area.

“If you look at what the neighborhoods used to be and what they are now, they’ve really changed,” O’Leary said. “If it weren’t for Stephanie and for her group, it would not have changed.”

He added, “I love to see kids riding bikes in the spring and summertime. I smile when I think of all the work that we’ve collectively done.”

The nonprofit developed a relationship with the 4th District by involving police in community activities. For example, Harling’s group guaranteed a police presence at landlord compact meetings, which discussions that address drug and crime problems in the area. O’Leary said this made a significant difference in his job.

“You need people like Stephanie to build trust among the residents … by talking with people and also by showing that she has a strong relationship with the police,” O’Leary said.

The business community also has noticed Harling’s efforts. Woodring, for example, pointed out efforts to beautify the area.

“The new Havenwoods signage and the little things around the area makes the community great,” he said. “It shows that things are improving – that people care.”

Harling sees room for more improvement in Havenwoods. In the next five years, she can envision the Silver Spring Drive’s retail area revitalized, with more leadership and engagement from residents.

For now, Harling said she won’t rest because she’s “fallen in love” with the neighborhood.

“We have good-working, salt-of-earth people in this community,” she said, “and that’s the message we would like to get out.”

College Possible seniors (from left) Pa Nou Xiong, Peter Khanthavong, Darneisha Virginia and Nury Plascencia attended the Milwaukee 2013 Year-End Graduation Celebration at UW-Milwaukee. (Photo by Sue Vliet)

This is the second in a series about four college-bound high school seniors who are participating in College Possible, a program that provides students from low-income families with coaching and support to get into college and earn a degree. NNS will check in with these students during their transition into college and throughout their freshman year.

Back in early March, high school seniors Darneisha Virginia, Nury Plascencia, Pa Nou Xiong and Peter Khanthavong worried about getting into their first-choice colleges. They worried too about receiving enough financial aid to go to college. They were excited about the possibilities and nervous that their dreams might never be realized.

Now, with graduation just a few weeks away, financial aid packages offered and college choices made, worry is beginning to take a back seat to excitement.

“I’m most excited about meeting new people, being in a bigger environment, gaining my independence and becoming my own person,” said Pa Nou Xiong, who will receive her high school diploma from Milwaukee School of Languages on June 11.

St. Joan Antida senior Nury Plascencia echoed Xiong’s longing for independence. “I’m excited about living on my own without my parents guiding me through everything,” she said.

The four recently joined the rest of their College Possible class, 173 seniors from 10 Milwaukee high schools, at a year-end graduation celebration on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Juniors who spent the year preparing for standardized college admission tests and sophomores just entering the program also participated.

College Possible coach Erin Bennett (left) addresses graduating seniors from St. Joan Antida High School on the stage in the UW-Milwaukee Theatre Building. (Photo by Sue Vliet)

Xiong, Virginia, Plascencia and Khanthavong all have been admitted to the college they most want to attend and all have been awarded the financial aid necessary to complete four-year degree programs.

Xiong has decided to attend Marquette University. In addition to the physician assistant program the university offers, Xiong chose Marquette because “I really love the environment. I love that it is downtown but maintains its own sense of community despite being in such a large city,” she said.

She is waiting to hear the results of some scholarship applications but she will be able to pay her tuition with scholarships from Marquette and the federally funded Educational Opportunity Program. She will take out loans to cover part of the cost of room and board.

Plascencia and Virginia will both go from St. Joan Antida to Mount Mary College.  Plascencia knew she wanted to follow her older sister to Mount Mary, where she received a Caroline Scholarship for full tuition, room and board for four years.

Virginia was undecided in March but now says that Mount Mary is her first choice. She has received a Grace Scholarship for new undergraduates from Milwaukee who demonstrate financial need. It will cover 85 percent of tuition. Virginia, who is also waiting for results of a number of scholarship applications, said she plans to take out loans for the balance of her tuition and for room and board if necessary.

She said she is most excited about graduating from high school and having the opportunity to go to college. She is also thrilled to be going to a small college, with small classes, where she expects to receive individual attention. Proximity to home is another positive aspect of Mount Mary for Virginia. “I’m excited to get in and jump into a career that I really am passionate about,” she said.

Khanthavong, who will receive his diploma from Alexander Hamilton High School on June 8, will attend UW-Milwaukee. Both Carroll University and UWM offered him good financial aid packages, which will cover all but about $5,000 of his expenses per year. If the other scholarships he applied for do not come through, Khathavong will take out loans, he said.

Along with the excitement, each student expressed some anxiety about academic challenges and the new social scene.

Recognizing this, College Possible will continue to offer support through the students’ freshman year. Coaches will check in regularly with students, and are available to help when asked. During the summer, a one-day program will help prepare students for the transition. It focuses on finding campus resources and adapting to college life and work, according to Xiong.

“Although I’m excited about making new friends, I’m really nervous about it,” she added. Xiong considers herself a shy person and worries that her reserve will be misinterpreted by fellow students.

Virginia expressed another fear that many college freshmen feel. “I’m scared that the classes are going to be extremely hard and I’m going to fail. You never really know what it’s going to be like until you’re in the door.”

First Nations Women’s Professional Leadership Group members, (from left) Judy Dordel, Jacqueline Schram and Richanda E. Kaquatosh (Photo by Courtney Perry)

Richanda Kaquatosh grew up on the Menominee Indian reservation, the youngest of nine children. When she was 10, her family moved to Milwaukee, away from her childhood friends. But the challenges of being uprooted and shy were offset for Kaquatosh by the influence of her mother.

“I had a very strong mother (and) mentor who was pro-education,” said Kaquatosh.

Her mother and other mentors she found along the way supported her pursuit of a bachelor’s degree at Alverno College and a master’s at Cardinal Stritch University. Now the coordinator of Milwaukee Public Schools’ First Nation Studies program, Kaquatosh is launching an organization to help Native American women and girls and build her community.

“I had women mentors (who) helped me grow and become successful, so I think we need to do that for our girls,” Kaquatosh said. Working with young and adult women is the group’s main focus because “there are a lot of unhealthy behaviors … going on out there that we can address,” she said.

Group members discuss future plans in a meeting at Marquette University. (Photo by Courtney Perry)

Kaquatosh has chosen five women in her professional network as the core of the First Nations Women’s Professional Leadership Group. They are Judy Dordel, executive director, Indian Summer Festival; Jacqueline Schram, governmental and community affairs associate, Marquette University; Kaye Garcia, executive director, Forest County Potawatomi Foundation; and Dr. Shannon Chavez-Korell, professor of educational psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

“All of us have this capacity within us, which really binds us together, to see that our young Native women need leadership support, ” Schram said.

The group members stressed the importance of passing down knowledge they received from other Native women to strengthen bonds in the community.

The Native American population is one of the smallest ethnic groups in Milwaukee, making up just 0.9 percent of the population according to the 2010 U.S. Census. That is one of the reasons the founders established the group.

“Native people are looking for information to come together. They need something to relate to,” said Dordel.

The women said they feel a strong connection between themselves and the community. “It’s a magnetic pull. It’s palpable,” Schram said.

Still in what Schram describes as its “humble beginnings,” the group hopes to establish a scholarship for young women, bring various Native communities together and work with colleges to raise awareness of Native American history.

The group would also like to expand its membership and, eventually, develop it into a national organization.

The women said they believe that, overall, it is important to support one another as women and not limit the group’s possibilities. Said Dordel, “I don’t think we should put any limits on what we do and what we plan and just keep moving forward.”

When Al Luzi welcomes guests to the Agape Community Center, in the Thurston Woods neighborhood, his warm and engaging personality makes them feel at home.

“Al is hard to describe — he is kind, caring and always trying to help,” said Anne Gliniecki, a senior citizen and resident of Thurston Woods. “If there were more people like him, the world would be a better place.”

Luzi, the director of development at Agape, 6100 N, 42^nd St., started working at the agency in 2005. He coordinates after-school and senior programs, community meals and fundraising. Although Luzi has been involved with numerous neighborhood development projects, his biggest impact has come through the meal program, which provides about 23,000 meals to 14,000 people each year.

Like in the TV show “Pawn Stars,” Luzi said, “You just never know who or what is going to come through that door. The same thing is true of a community center.”

When colleagues step through the door of Luzi’s office, the first thing they see are walls covered with Boston sports paraphernalia. While his appreciation for all things Massachusetts is evident, as a teenager Luzi wanted to get as far from his hometown of Springfield, Mass., as possible. He never expected, though, to end up in Milwaukee.

Luzi found his way to Wisconsin through Dayton, Ohio. He graduated from the University of Dayton with a degree in urban affairs and sociology, found his passion for community work during an internship at a municipal office focusing on citizen complaints and met his wife, Mary Kay.

“I think that office gave me a sense of wanting to approach these problems within the system,” Luzi said. “I can tell you that a number of years ago I had not planned to follow this public interest path, but I did and this is where I ended up.”

Katina Davis-Allen, the kitchen manager of the meal program, has worked closely with Luzi for the last three years. She jokingly described doing so as a “mess,” but also a pleasure.

“He brings a home-like attitude to work every day,” Davis-Allen said. “He is real giving and caring.” Luzi often helps in the kitchen and greets every guest by name.

Gliniecki frequently attends community dinners held three times a week at Agape. “The meal programs are tremendous,” she said. “They help you get to know different people, as well as different cultures.”

Thurston Woods is “a neighborhood of the working poor,” Luzi said. He is motivated by seeing people standing on bus stops sending their kids off to school, making sure they receive a proper education.

“While you think that this is a very simple thing, it takes a lot of time, a lot of energy and a lot of coordination,” he said.

Luzi said that his job isn’t just to feed people, but to inspire them. “There’s a very strong sense of hope that exists within the community,” he said. “And we’ve looked at our role as being those purveyors of hope.”

There’s still plenty of work to be done. “Our short-term goal is lunch,” he said. “Our long-term goal is dinner — and we’ll do it again tomorrow.”