Milwaukee leaders address need for emergency shelters, volunteers

Milwaukee Urgent Sheltering Task Force public appeal

The City of Milwaukee has seen a decline in available sheltering options for those displaced by fires and other unplanned disasters as well as trained volunteers to staff them. In an effort to combat these crisis-level situations, Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski, along with the American Red Cross and the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management spearheaded an Urgent Sheltering Task Force with members crossing multiple jurisdictions and departments, agencies, and non-profit organizations.

MILWAUKEE -  City of Milwaukee officials on Monday, Aug. 25 held a news conference to address the need for emergency shelters as well as trained volunteers to staff them.

What we know:

According to a news release, Milwaukee has seen a decline in available sheltering options for those displaced by fires and other unplanned disasters as well as trained volunteers to staff them. In an effort to combat this issue, Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski, along with the American Red Cross and the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management, spearheaded an Urgent Sheltering Task Force with members crossing multiple jurisdictions and departments, agencies, and non-profit organizations. 

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This task force has worked to create a dashboard and means to gather and access available sheltering options.

Officials weigh in

What they're saying:

"The American Red cross has always been just a fantastic partner for us. But even the American Red cross, can run into difficult times, either with volunteerism or available shelter space," said Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski.

"After the historic flooding we've seen in our community, the trauma is enormous, and the sadness is really, really deep," said Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson. "I mean, I've had the opportunity to be able to speak to a number of folks, all throughout Milwaukee who've been affected. And it's real. It's, it's really challenging for, citizens out there, across our community. These are our neighbors. These are people, again, in our community and, in numerous emergency cases. All these folks, they need a place to go, a safe place to go. We can't leave our neighbors without assistance."

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson

"We also know that county-owned community centers, our senior centers, cannot always meet those who are in need. These are there are not enough spaces. And quite frankly, these spaces are not necessarily in the right places during a particular crisis," said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. "And so the bottom line is this we need more safe and accessible shelter locations throughout the community."

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"The American Red Cross of Wisconsin is proud to provide that shelter, but too often the space we find is far from the neighborhood where the disaster happened. That means families are separated from schools, jobs, transportation, and the support systems they rely on to recover," said Catherine Rabenstine, CEO of the American Red Cross of Wisconsin.

Catherine Rabenstine, CEO of American Red Cross of Wisconsin

The Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management has created a sheltering dashboard for its use. It will allow community sheltering partners to edit shelter records in real-time. 

"This data is automatically mapped alongside pertinent information on a given shelter, such as capacity, amenities, points of contacts, and business and business building access," said Christopher McGowan, Deputy Director of the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management. 

Christopher McGowan, Deputy Director of Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management