Milwaukee Community Reflections 10-1-25

At a recent meeting, leaders noted how quickly conditions are worsening across Milwaukee:

🏚️ Homelessness – It’s no longer hidden. Families, children, and disabled neighbors are living under bridges and along highway ramps. The desperation on our streets is undeniable.

💊 Health & Budgets – Ascension Wisconsin is no longer in-network with UnitedHealthcare, cutting off care for many local patients. Clinics are laying off staff, and families are scrambling for access as Medicaid and ACA protections are weakened. These corporate and policy decisions are hitting Milwaukee directly.

👵 Aging & Care – Dementia and Alzheimer’s care is collapsing under the weight of need. Families are left without infrastructure or support, forcing them to carry impossible burdens alone.

🗳️ Civic Power – Too many major events still lack voter registration and education. We cannot afford to miss these opportunities to connect people to the ballot box.

📢 Leadership & Accountability – We see a wide gap in public leadership: some communicate clearly and often, others rarely explain their vision; some deliver on commitments, others have broken key promises. These differences matter — communities feel them every day.

🔥 Reform or Collapse? – A hard truth surfaced: some systems may not be fixable. If they fail, we must be ready to build new ones rooted in community strength and vision.