Poverty Matters Workshop Session Descriptions

Thursday, October 10

Session 14 – 9:30a – 10:45a

Workshop Title – Best Practices for Home Rehabilitation Programs

Tracks

• Housing & Homelessness

Workshop Description:

• We would be discussing some of the best practices that we have found to help us manage the home rehabilitation programs, how we pair multiple funding sources for our rehabilitation projects and partnering with outside agencies.

Room – Salon D

Presenter  – Sara Berger, Community Development Manager, Couleecap, Inc., Jessica Schroeder, Housing Renovation Administrator, Couleecap, Inc., and Jillisa Schoenbauer, Housing Renovation Administrator, Couleecap, Inc.

Session 15 – 9:30a – 10:45a

Workshop Title – City Mouse and Country Mouse Start Adapting to Climate Change

Tracks

• Education,
• Other (please specify):
  • Climate Change

Workshop Description:

• Following the Kilde keynote presentation from the 2023 Poverty Matters conf., “The Best of All Possible Futures: Community Action Gets Real About Adapting to Climate Change”, this workshop will re-cap the need to prepare for the future that is actually coming from both an urban and a rural perspective, and share some real-life examples of what Community Action Agencies are or could be doing to help our low income communities meet basic needs and thrive in the challenging future we all face.

Room – Salon C

Presenter – Peter Kilde, Executive Director, West CAP, Marc Perry, Executive Director, Community Action, Inc. of Rock & Walworth Counties

Session 16 – 9:30a – 10:45a

Workshop Title – Poverty – Its All Relative and Relevant!

Tracks

• Housing & Homelessness,
• Education,
• Workforce Development,
• Strengthening Community Resilience,
• Advocacy,
• Racial Equity

Workshop Description:

• Learning Objectives :
  • What is Poverty, How does it feel?
  • What Impacts – Poverty Guidelines
  • Poverty Mindset vs. Empowerment
  • Myths of Poverty – What it is and What it isn’t
  • Meaningful, Measurable, and Marketable

Room – Salon B

Presenter  – Toni White, President, Black American Community Outreach, Inc.

Session 17 – 9:30a – 10:45a

Workshop Title – Creating Health Equity Through Collaboration

What track(s) does your workshop fit under?

• Education
• Advocacy
• Community Health Assessment

Workshop Description:

• Lakeshore Community Health Care is dedicated to enhancing healthcare access for all community members. In this presentation, we will explore how our collaborative partnerships with local school systems have effectively addressed critical barriers to healthcare, including transportation, financial constraints, and limited operating hours. Join us as we share strategies and insights that demonstrate the power of collaboration in advancing health equity and improving community well-being.

Room – Salon A

Presenter – Kristin Blanchard-Stearns, Chief Executive Officer, Lakeshore Community Health Care

Session 18 – 9:30a – 10:45a

Workshop Title – Redesigning Community: Elevating Our Impact

What track(s) does your workshop fit under?

• Housing & Homelessness,
• Education,
• Workforce Development,
• Strengthening Community Resilience,
• Racial Equity

 Workshop Description:

• We have all heard about tearing down the silos but how well have we done? How can we use language and education to ensure the walls come down and we can have a greater impact on those we are serving.

Room – Island Room

Presenter  – Christma Rusch, Founder/Community Partnerships, Lighthouse Recovery Community Center/Project Freedom

Session 19 – 11:15a – 12:30p

Workshop Title – Preservation of Rural Rental Housing in Wisconsin

Tracks

• Housing & Homelessness,
• Education,
• Strengthening Community Resilience,
• Advocacy

Workshop Description:

• The Rural Rental Housing Section 515 program, financed by Rural Development-USDA is at a critical point in providing affordable housing to low income households in Wisconsin. Due to aging properties and aging owners leaving the program, fewer projects and fewer units are available at a time of increased demand for affordable housing. This workshop will detail the state of conditions in Wisconsin for the portfolio and offer information on technical assistance available (at no cost) to not for profits to explore becoming owners of these valuable assets.

Room – Salon D

Presenter  – Elizabeth Glidden, Executive Director, Minnesota Housing Partnership, Russell D. Kaney, Board President, Wisconsin Council for Affordable & Rural Housing

Session 15 (Continued) – 11:15a – 12:30p

Workshop Title  – City Mouse and Country Mouse Start Adapting to Climate Change

Tracks

• Education,
• Other (please specify):
  • Climate Change

Workshop Description:

• Following the Kilde keynote presentation from the 2023 Poverty Matters conf., “The Best of All Possible Futures: Community Action Gets Real About Adapting to Climate Change”, this workshop will re-cap the need to prepare for the future that is actually coming from both an urban and a rural perspective, and share some real-life examples of what Community Action Agencies are or could be doing to help our low income communities meet basic needs and thrive in the challenging future we all face.

Room – Salon C

Presenter  – Peter Kilde, Executive Director, West CAP, Marc Perry, Executive Director, Community Action, Inc. of Rock & Walworth Counties

Session 20 – 11:15a – 12:30p

Workshop Title – Innovative Approach to Engaging Teens and Providing Career Development

Tracks

• Housing & Homelessness
• Education
• Workforce Development
• Strengthening Community Resilience
• Other – Youth and Family Development

Workshop Description:

• Neu-Life Community Development provides a variety of career development, out-of-school time, and prevention programs to support the development of youth and their families. Come learn about our innovative approach of putting our youth in control of programming, recruiting our teen participants to become the next generation of Neu-Life staff, and Neu-Vue, the state-of-the-art building which will provide safe, modern, and affordable housing for our youth workers and Neu-Life alumni.

Room – Salon B

Presenter – Jody Rhodes, MS, CYC-P, Executive Director, Neu-Life Community, Chanda Harris Director of Impact, Neu-Life Community Development

Session 21 – 11:15a – 12:30p

Workshop Title – Tenants’ Rights and How to Enforce Them

Tracks

• Housing & Homelessness

Workshop Description:

• An introduction to Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc. Discussion on Tenants’ Rights, Current Laws, and the Eviction Process

Room – Salon A

Presenter – Korey Lundin, Attorney, Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc., Scott Schnurer, Attorney, Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc.

Session 22 – 11:15a – 12:30p

Workshop Title

• Building from the Roots Up: Advocating for Deeply Affordable Housing

Tracks

• Housing & Homelessness
• Advocacy

Workshop Description:

• Our nation’s housing affordability crisis is one of the top economic concerns in this election season across the country and at the local, state, and federal levels. This presentation will provide an overview of data in NLIHC’s The Gap and Out of Reach reports contextualized to Wisconsin, to demonstrate that investments and policy solutions targeted at rectifying the shortage of units affordable and accessible to those with the lowest incomes, as well as bridging the gap between incomes and rents, will increase affordability for all income levels while advancing social and racial equity. Participants will also be presented the federal policy landscape and opportunities to advance this goal in 2025 with a new federal tax bill.

Room – Island Room

Presenter – Thaddaeus Elliott, Housing Advocacy Coordinator, National Low Income Housing Coalition