Formerly Homeless Milwaukee Residents Find Comfort in New Affordable Housing at St. Anthony Place

Grand opening celebrates a new beginning as a hub of housing stability, health, and opportunity for the community

Today, Heartland Housing, Capuchin Community Services, and Ascension Wisconsin will join city, county, and statewide partners at the grand opening of St. Anthony Place. The former St. Anthony’s Hospital has been renovated into 60 units of permanent supportive housing and a comprehensive resource center for Milwaukee’s chronically homeless.

In 2017, Milwaukee County sold the former Community Correctional Center at 1004 N. 10th St. to Heartland Housing. Leveraging the $1.8 million it would have cost the County to demolish the building, Heartland was able to construct the 60 modern apartment units.  Heartland will provide onsite property management and supportive services offices. New space has been redeveloped for Capuchin Community Services’ homeless outreach programs, and Ascension St. Ben’s Clinic, part of Ascension Wisconsin. The location will also house the Milwaukee County House of Correction’s Day Reporting Center, which provides a supportive, community-based alternative to incarceration.

“We believe society is better for everyone when all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential. Affordable housing is the foundation to these achievements.” said Michael Goldberg, Executive Director of Heartland Housing. “Heartland Housing provides nearly 160 units through four sites throughout the city, with St. Anthony Place being our largest development in Milwaukee. This grand opening is a celebration of those who have had to fight so hard to survive over the years.”

“Opening St. Anthony Place is a critical milestone in our effort to end chronic homelessness in Milwaukee County,” said Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele. “From connecting formerly homeless tenants to housing in these new units, to providing housing vouchers help keep them there, our team has worked hard to make this vision a reality. Overall homelessness in Milwaukee County has dropped by 40 percent since we began our Housing First Initiative in 2015, and it’s partnerships like St. Anthony Place that will help us reduce this rate even further.”

“The Capuchins opened St. Anthony Hospital in 1931, and we are excited to partner in the building’s rebirth as supportive housing," said Br. Rob Roemer, OFM Cap, ministry director of Capuchin Community Services. “A lack of affordable housing is a significant root cause of poverty that we see every day affecting the people served by Capuchin Community Services. We also asked the homeless what was still lacking for them. They stated showers, laundry services and haircuts. We are expanding our services in the lower level of St. Anthony’s to provide these necessities.”

“For nearly four decades, Ascension St. Ben’s Clinic has provided primary and preventive health care services to people who are struggling with homelessness or at risk of homelessness. The addition of permanent, supportive housing will help this community flourish,” said Bernie Sherry, Ministry Market Executive, Ascension Wisconsin. “This collaborative effort embodies the spirit of our mission in action – providing compassionate, personalized care to people who are most vulnerable,”

This is a major milestone in the effort to end homelessness in Milwaukee, with Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett leading the housing-first solution to a decades-long issue. The project was financed with multiple sources including Low Income Housing Tax Credits and federal and state historic preservation tax credits. Other lead partners in the development include the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, along with funding partners Enterprise Community Investment, US Bank, Zilber Family Foundation, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco and Capuchin Community Services. This will be Heartland Housing’s fourth housing development in the city of Milwaukee. Previous developments include Maskani Place (320 E. Center St. – opened 2014), Capuchin Apartments (2502 W. Tamarack St. – opened 2011), and Prairie Apartments (1218 W. Highland Ave. – opened 2008).

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About Heartland Housing

Heartland Housing, Inc., a subsidiary of Heartland Alliance, is a community housing development organization which facilitates the development of people through the preservation and creation of affordable and supportive housing, with a priority in meeting the needs of those facing homelessness, those with very low-income, and those with chronic disabilities.

www.heartlandhousing.org.

About Capuchin Community Services

Capuchin Community Services with two locations, St. Ben’s Community Meal and the House of Peace, serves Milwaukee's poor, hungry, and homeless since 1968.  Capuchin Community Services is part of the Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Joseph which is headquartered in Detroit and serves Capuchin ministries worldwide.

www.CapuchinCommunityServices.org

About Ascension Wisconsin

Ascension Wisconsin (ascension.org/wisconsin) operates 24 hospital campuses, more than 100 related healthcare facilities and employs more than 1,300 primary and specialty care clinicians from Racine to Eagle River. Serving Wisconsin since 1848, Ascension is a faith-based healthcare organization committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. As such, Ascension Wisconsin provided more than $292 million in community benefit, including care of persons living in poverty in Fiscal Year 2018. Ascension is the largest non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system, operating 2,600 sites of care – including 151 hospitals and more than 50 senior living facilities – in 21 states and the District of Columbia.