As Milwaukee falls dangerously close to the dreaded 'top-ten' ranking of large-city poverty rates in recent years, a group of local organizations have decided to put their collective foot down.

Following a nationwide trend, the coalition of Milwaukee homeless shelter providers, housing and community development organizations and faith-based groups drafted a proposal for a city housing trust fund.

Housing trust funds are distinct funds established by states, cities and counties to set aside certain revenues to support low-income housing, according to PolicyLink, a national non-profit research organization, at www.policylink.org.

The Milwaukee proposal, which would call for a $1 surcharge for entertainment event tickets, among other fees, has gained the support of over 50 community organizations, including some student groups at Marquette, said Katie Line, an intern at Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee, part of the coalition, and a College of Communication senior.

The high level of homeless at Milwaukee's shelters in recent years and a federal mandate prompted the proposal's creation this summer, according to Marcus White, executive director of Interfaith Conference.

The emergency shelter system "has continued to be at capacity for years," White said. "There are more people year after year."

At the same time, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development began pushing for emergency shelter occupants to be moved to affordable permanent housing, White said, leaving Milwaukee in a budget crunch.

"The problem is that (the Department of Housing and Urban Development) will only pay for half" of affordable housing construction, according to Michael Soika, executive director of the Community Development Center for the YMCA.

The Milwaukee coalition needed to look to the over 300 state and local housing trust fund programs across the nation, according to Soika.

"It was a matter of looking around and seeing that many other communities had built or were in the process of building housing trust funds," Soika said.

Other such large-city programs can be found in Madison, St. Louis and Los Angeles, according to White.

"We had this diverse group look at it over the summer and decide 'what do we need in Milwaukee,'" White said.

But a Milwaukee housing trust fund, which would require $15 million annually, still has some major hurdles to pass, Soika said.

"We're asking for new money to be spent on affordable housing," Soika said. "The political climate for anything that looks like a new tax isn't good."

In addition, "the city has no authority to create new revenue streams — we need state approval," he said.

But Soika said he is hopeful both the city and state governments will approve the proposal by the end of summer next year.

The key to getting the housing trust fund passed is to simply spread the word, according to Line.

"The city just needs to know that we are supportive of this," said Line, who encourages students write to Mayor Barrett or their alderman.

"This is certainly a community effort and should be," Line said. "It's huge. We're talking about raising $15 million."

Nicole Hertel, a College of Arts & Sciences junior, is trying to raise community awareness about the proposal.

While working as a team coordinator with Midnight Run, Hertel has gained insight into the "true causes of homelessness," she said.

"The truth is many of the people who are homeless have full-time jobs," she said. "There isn't a single state in the country in which a person working full-time at minimum wage could afford a one-bedroom apartment."

Milwaukee has been especially short of low-income housing in recent years due to downtown development, according to Robert Timberlake, an instructor of Civil and Environmental Engineering 188: Decent and Affordable Housing.

"One of the things (the coalition) wants to do is create 1,000 to 1,500 units for homeless people," he said.

This would be a "huge solution" to Milwaukee's homelessness problem, Hertel said.

"It's time for Milwaukee to step up," she said.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Dec. 7 2004.