My name is Summer and I am a resident and community member in the neighborhood of Riverwest 53212 in Milwaukee, WI. At the time when I purchased my home in March of 2020 I was able to work full-time. Since then, because of health reasons I have had to change my job and take on a lower wage and fewer hours. While my wages have dropped to about 1/5 of what I made when the property was purchased, my property tax burden has nearly doubled in the last 5 years.

For full transparency I live in a studio unit that is 800sqft. I'm not trying to live lavishly, I am however trying to maintain stable housing in a community where I am surrounded by support. Since I do not have a car, I would otherwise be extremely isolated if I did not live in a such small loving and walkable community.

I am working with a CCS (Comprehensive Community Services) with a case manager and care team to work out more longer-term solutions for financial and health stability - unfortunately qualifying for these programs takes significant time to complete, and approval for these programs is not guaranteed.

With all that being said, I am asking for help from my community- it takes a village.

If you are choosing to donate and you are local I would like to invite you to participate in a collaborative community coloring book art project. I will be at the Daily Bird (818 East Center Street) 11:30am-1:30pm every Monday facilitating the collaborative community art experience and I am also available for any questions you may have about my situation or if you know of any resources that I may not have thought of yet, you are welcome to meet me there and bring them to my attention.

Thank you so much for your time and contribution.