'People live in fear:' 500+ Milwaukee Housing Authority tenants highlight ongoing rampant crime, safety issues
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- What some call Milwaukee's second largest landlord is under fire yet again, with hundreds of tenants claiming management has failed to keep them safe.
In March 2023, tenants banded together to call for an investigation and reform of the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) -- an organization that oversees more than 5,000 households across the area.
Eight months later, residents were once again called to action, this time to highlight issues of "rampant crime" at several of HACM's locations.
“We have lots of trespassers that are in our building every day, they wander our halls, they sleep in our stairwells. It’s terrible, it’s not safe there at all," said Felicia Shoates, who has lived at Locust Court in the Riverwest neighborhood for about a year.
Shoates was one of several to speak on Sunday, Nov. 12 at Mount Mary University, where more than 500 gathered to share their personal experiences.
"As a single woman, I don’t feel safe in my building," Shoates said. "I mostly stay to myself. I don’t go out at night. I’m usually in my apartment, locked, by 6:00 p.m."
Officials with Common Ground, a non-partisan group "dedicated to identifying problems facing our community and implementing creative solutions," said in just the last year, Locust Court has been the recipient of several shooting, sexual assault, battery, and property damage reports, according to Milwaukee Police Department call logs.
And those are just the ones reported.
"Our building is dangerous," Shoates said. "Yet for years, HACM has done nothing."
Vivian Jones, another tenant at the Lapham Park property, agreed, noting she "doesn't feel safe" leaving her apartment after dark.
"The building transforms into a very chaotic environment after hours," Jones said.
Now residents said they want HACM leaders like Executive Director Willie Hines to experience what some call life or death situations.
Many even signed a public letter during Sunday's event, inviting Hines to stay at Locust Court during the upcoming weekend.
“People are living in fear. People are scared to walk out of their doors, and we can’t have that. Enough is enough, something needs to be done, and something needs to be done right away," said Pastor Willie Davis with the Invisible Reality Ministries. “We really want to bring this to light and make sure that it’s taken care of.”
Davis added that there is strength in numbers, and the turnout Sunday reinforced just how important he believes these issues are.
“We will continue to hold the meetings, continue to meet with the people that we need to meet with in order to get change," Davis said. "We’ll do everything we need to do to get it done, and it will get done, and we will not stop, and we do not go away.”
Hines was unavailable for comment, but a HACM spokesperson sent CBS 58 this statement which reads in full:
Our residents' safety and well-being is our top priority. HACM strongly condemns all illegal activity and takes aggressive action to eliminate criminal behavior when it occurs within and around our properties. Led by its Public Safety team, HACM works in close partnership with law enforcement agencies, our residents, community partners, and the court system to resolve safety issues. We are committed to implementing proactive safety measures and swiftly addressing safety concerns when they occur to foster living environments that support a good quality of life.
For more information about HACM’s public safety efforts, please visit HACM Public Safety.