Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
2024 RWJF Culture of Health Prize Winner
From Housing to Healthcare to Parks, Advancing Racial Equity in Milwaukee County
Leaders in Milwaukee County, Wisc., knew that in order to address deep health disparities, they would need to involve their whole community.
Today, local leaders, residents, public safety partners, and nonprofit organizations are working together to make Milwaukee County neighborhoods safe and healthy for everyone. They are working to increase access to safe, stable, affordable housing; job opportunities; efficient and reliable public transit; and high-quality, culturally relevant healthcare. Partners in Milwaukee County are transforming their community’s landscape by designing parks and green spaces for and by the people who use them. Milwaukee County’s unwavering commitment to racial equity informs every decision, inspires innovation, and provides hope for a world in which everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Key highlights of their work include:
- In 2019, Milwaukee County became the first jurisdiction in the country to declare racism a public health crisis, which was unanimously supported by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors.
- In 2020, Milwaukee County created a racial equity budget tool to assess the impact of budget decisions on communities of color and trained over 4,000 employees to understand their individual roles in continuously advancing racial equity.
- By developing award-winning processes to invest a combined $253 million in federal pandemic relief funding, Milwaukee County created innovative equity-focused initiatives.
- To increase and sustain fiscal resources, Milwaukee County created a centralized grants office and established the Milwaukee Parks Foundation, which provides operating support to local parks, expands partnerships, and cultivates new funding and community involvement.
- Starting in 2023, the Milwaukee County Department of Health & Human Services placed nearly 20 life-saving, harm-reduction vending machines in high-need locations throughout the community, providing free access to harm-reduction and prevention supplies.
- Milwaukee County has consistently built its capacity to measure and share its progress in culturally relevant ways. In 2021, the county began to develop department-level strategic plans that are submitted and updated as part of the annual budget cycle to connect strategy to the budget and increase transparency and accountability.
Jacob Sanchez (L), Peter Bratt (C), and Milwaukee County Parks Director Guy Smith (R) show off a digital trail marker at McGovern Park. This is one of the Parks Department’s many efforts to improve accessibility for all.
Tiffany Miller, owner of Fruition MKE, creates art pieces in the Fruition MKE makerspace in Milwaukee, Wisc. The business also includes a cafe, meeting space, co-working space, and a creative studio.
Que El-Amin (L), a local developer, with James Mathy (C), housing administrator for Milwaukee County, and Justin Goodrum (R), filmmaker, at a future development site. The site aims to have mixed-use housing and be the future home for the South Milwaukee Senior Center.
Habitat For Humanity has been a strong partner in building new homes in the King Park neighborhood near the Milwaukee County Mental Health Emergency Center. Volunteers, staff, and contractors help to complete homes.
The Historic Third Ward in downtown Milwaukee, has become a thriving area that includes electric buses, bikes, parks, and a three-mile RiverWalk along the Milwaukee River.
Aaron Lewis (L) and Ojumire Charleston (R) lead community partners in a dance with a drum presentation at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center in Milwaukee’s King Park neighborhood.
