Brewers players and community leaders partake in Building Week for Habitat For Humanity
MILWAUKEE (CBS58) -- Milwaukee has been named one of America's most cutthroat rental markets, according to the Wall Street Journal. On Tuesday, affordable housing was top of mind at the latest home build at Habitat for Humanity.
May 19th marked “Build Week” for Habitat for Humanity, where they started construction on 34 houses that will go up throughout Milwaukee. One future homeowner will be pleased to know that some Brewers, alongside city and community leaders, worked on their home and even left their signatures on the framing!
Brewers pitchers Tyler Alexander and Chad Patrick were some of the special guests at Build Week, swapping their caps for hard hats. Patrick says he took a construction class in High School, while Alexander says the extent of his construction career involves “building Ikea furniture, that’s about it.” Nonetheless, they say they were excited to help in any way they could. “A community that supports us, we want to support them the best way we can,” shared Alexander.
Habitat For Humanity, founded in Milwaukee in 1984, has helped around 1500 local families repair or build their home. Al Smith, COO for Habitat says, “we're not just building houses, we’re building opportunities, equity, and futures.”
Affordable housing was a central theme on Tuesday, especially for Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who says he has faced housing insecurity. “When we focus on housing, it leads to opportunities to greater families in need to focus on all the other quality of life issues they may be facing,” he shared.
These houses, according to Mayor Cavalier Johnson, will provide more than just a roof: “I wanted to build a city that was stronger, safer, and prosperous for everybody. You get to strength, you get to prosperity when folks have the opportunity to invest in what many folks will be their largest investment, their home. That's how you create generational wealth. When people aren't moving around so much,when they get the opportunity to stay in one spot and be stable, that’s when you get to greater public safety we want to see.”
About 1,500 applications will typically go in for people to be Habitat Homeowners, says Smith. If you’re interested, you can find more information here.