Manpower Joins Operation Payback for Community Service Efforts

Aug 25th, 2010

Eight members of the Manpower Professionals legal team volunteered for community service with young men and women from Operation Payback. They hit the neighborhood around 24th and Nash and, together, the team cleaned up garbage, cut overgrown brush, added alley addresses on garages, and removed a bit of graffiti along the way.

Before going into the alleys the group had a moment of reflection on the work at hand and community service. Daanika Gordon, Safe & Sound VISTA volunteer and Restorative Justice Coordinator, set the tempo and tone of the service experience by facilitating a participant Circle and round of questions. Throughout the years Safe & Sound has found that not everyone sees the idea of community service or “picking up someones garbage” in the same light. Once people have a better understanding and perspective on the service it makes the work more meaningful. After the short Circle everyone felt inspired and ready to take on alleys that need a lot of sweat and attention.

The Milwaukee Police Department works side-by-side with Operation Payback, but in the area of 24th and Nash they are primarily dedicated to their intensive enforcement efforts. Increasing violence and criminal nuisance problems, including drug dealing, gang and gun activity, are the focus of the policing efforts. The neighborhood improvement initiatives like Operation Payback are even more urgent with the City of Milwaukee investing over $13 Million dollars to re-develop the Tower Automotive site. They will welcome a new manufacturer, Talgo, to the community. The efforts of law enforcement, CBOs, residents and Safe & Sound to reduce crime and improve the quality of life in the neighborhood are critical to the success of the Tower site.

Kecia from Riverworks and Graceyln from Northside CDC, both local CBOs, were on hand and active with area initiatives. A number of neighborhood youth joined in the clean-up efforts. Many older residents came out of their homes to talk with Safe & Sound staff and law enforcement to learn more about the program and the overall efforts to improve the United West Neighborhood. The Operation Payback session was a great example of how community stakeholders, CBOs and residents can visibly improve their neighborhoods.

Manpower employees had the opportunity to meet some past offenders and get a better understanding of their needs and the challenges of the local community. Afterwards, the Manpower volunteers and Operation Payback team enjoyed refreshments and were invited to watch roll call at District 5. The Chief addressed the officers emphasizing the importance of the work of law enforcement in close coordination with the community. It is efforts like Operation Payback that accomplish exactly this; bringing the community and law enforcement together to learn from each other while working together for a positive change in the community.