Shocking School Security Breach & Community Safety Solutions

Good morning. Good morning. What's happening? Family. Welcome to the show. It is Michelle Barn here. WNOV 860 AM 106.5 FM. So glad to be here with you this morning. Glad to be on time. Um, well, technically I was late, but.

I want you trying to say, Jermaine. Oh, I say nothing. You let your little boys do the talking for you. Feels like you're coming for me. But unlike you, I showed up still fresh and clean. Showered, freshly. Still showed up smelling good. You know, you just look good.

That one day it was a question player I had a jogger, black jogger.

Like they was your house

What's going on Clark Kent? Today I'm with you player. Today I can officially say I am good to you know.

Still a lot of brewers, but I'm with you today. Yes. Yes. Yes. How you feeling, man? You good? I'm feeling good. I'm feeling real good. Come on now. I'm just going to tell y'all I really still haven't recovered from the man across the street yesterday. And then people kept bringing it up and it just was like I kept because I was itching like, you know, you see somebody do what he was doing.

I mean look, I'm just jittery right now. I was itching man. It was filthy. I was itching. Hey, so what he say? I just, you know, cause he was getting ready to walk to that family dollar. He had left that, you know, cause the car was moving. And I said, Hey bro, he came back. I said, you, you out of gas? He was like, yep.

And so I just had to do some money. Oh, okay. He put gas in there. Yeah, and he went on and left. But man, when I tell you, I was itching. I was like... You know, I'm gonna just say it right now. I'm gonna say it right now. I'm gonna say this. I'm gonna say this one time only. Four is as tough as I believe that I am.

And it's the folks that could probably testify to a thing or two No happiness I'm like, I know y'all not go go clean I'm not messing with happiness. It's more of you. Um, but I'm I'm I'm easily

Like I'm very squeamish anything like you know, like seriously like runny eggs will make me throw up Yeah, I can't stand I can't stand like it and one of my friends she know I can't do runny eggs and we went to breakfast and she get that sunny side up foolishness and then bust a yolk all over them hash browns Man, I gotta went to the restroom. It was over for me. It's what I came back to say when she was like

My bad. No, no, you gotta enjoy your meal. I'm about to go I'm very squeamish. I'm very squeamish and And everything makes me itch Literally was like I gotta go it look my ears at you right now. So anyway, we're gonna move past and we're gonna move past it a lot to get to today

One thing I want to make sure I mention, and this is for the little ones. Oh, let me say good morning to everybody. Good morning, my folks on YouTube and Facebook. What's happening to you? What's going on, Leola? Happy issue gets no good morning. What's up, Latoya? What's up, Latoya? Sykes is checking in.

Shut up. I have not talked to her in a minute. Uh, what else up to you? Uh, who was first in this morning? You know who was? E-Val Kenya. Do that. She be reclaiming that title. You're not going to keep it for long. What's going on, Carolyn? What's up, Mr. Peters? How you doing today? North-South, what's going on? Hey, Terry. Um, uh, what's up TC? I'll be right here to say who is tall and cars and like

Hey, TC. I always mess with that name. What's going on, Barbara? Great Tuesday to you as well. Janelle, hey, hey, good morning. B-I-Fishing, 4-1-4. Yeah, we're talking about will-yeah. Yeah, look, look, look. Time for the day to y'all. Check out the black catty Roll the Proud. Roll the Proud. All right, happy to start. So, my God, I include you in the hello. So, Lekisha told me I needed to make sure I said good morning to...

What did the brother have? He was in a Cadillac at the gas station as she ran into one

What did he have was it the cream colored Cadillac? I gotta remember I'm gonna go back and look at my notes Like he she was like hey make sure you hit him up. He said he listened to the show They got to chopping it up at the gas station And of course good morning to everybody that checked in turning on the radios Listening to us in the kitchen while you making coffee or getting them kids out the door to school. We are so glad

that everybody's checking in this morning. So one thing I want to mention right out the gate, this is for the little ones. Got a chance to say good morning to some little ones yesterday that were on their way to school. Oh, Cadillac Ken. Thank you, Keisha. Cadillac Ken. Let's say good morning to this brother. And I am a Cadillac fan. Let me just be real clear. I love Lincoln still now. So let me be real clear about that. But got a chance to say good morning to some young people the other day on their way to school. And good morning. Shout out to all the bus drivers getting our babies there safe.

There is something that I want to flag for parents of children. If your child's not old enough for this year, keep it in mind. It's something that they can do next year. But there is a black owned bank called United One Bank. And I'm just looking for it real quick. Where's my story? United One Bank has a program that they do where kids can compete.

to win $1,000. It's a literacy contest. So it's called the $1,000 Urban Youth Financial Literacy Contest. Okay. In order to participate, parents, you know, complete this form that is okay for the child to participate. And then so there's a book that the

President of the bank and the chief operating officer Terry Williams wrote call I got back. That's the name of the book. I got back And you can read the book online for free. Okay? Once the young people read this book they're asked to submit a 250 word essay 250 words is probably about the repair graphs type written or artwork

And then they need to take a picture of it, save it as a PDF. By November 20th, your submission should demonstrate how you can use financial literacy skills to transform you and your family's lives and achieve financial freedom. By submitting online on time, you gain access to one of a kind digital edition of the Black Panther comic book. It's a digital format.

Visa and Marvel, Marvel Comics came together to do this and you get additional financial literacy information. And so you can go to one united dot com. That's and type in one united dot com annual. I got bank annual. I got bank and you can find the information.

It's a it's a cool thing to do. Get your young one. And I think that but it's an age range because like Atlas is too young for this year. I think it's eight to 14. It's a it's a small window of that age range. Even though I know Atlas could actually do it himself, but.

Yeah, so make sure make sure it's a great thing a had those children read that book online. And then I love that they gave them the option. You can either write about it or you can draw a picture about it and then have your mom and dad submit that for you. There's also let me see if it started already. Dr. Myers is listening and she reminds us because I think we made sure kids were wherever before the summer stock market.

experience with climb USA. And I will make sure I mentioned that as well. But we have got to, particularly in the time that we are living in right now, we have got to make sure. That our young people are going to be great stewards of money, better managers of money than sometimes in some cases, many of their family members. But.

This is the virtual summer literacy program that's offered by the climb stock market experience. We will go into that, but the kids will be managing a financial portfolio of $100,000. So I will get you the information on how to get them engaged because that doesn't start until May or June of next year, but I'll make sure that you have that information. So I wanted to make sure that that was out there. And then since we are talking.

Hang on. Since we are talking about school. What's all that laughing Clark? Since we I'm sorry, you guys seem to be, you know, reading my mind here. Well, I mean, what's unbelievable? I read your mind when they broke the news.

Why are you doing all that? I talked to you first. No, you didn't say good morning to me. I had a whole conversation with you by yourself. No.

You want me to replay? Oh my god You know my apologies, sorry

Hey, you know, because he was talking about the bad. Hey, hey, you don't say, hey, now you know how I feel that day, which you forgot me. Oh, really? That's what we do. We tag team in a day. No, seriously. What's going on? So, yeah. Wow. The news that broke. Wow. It really seems like we are living in a fantasy world.

you know, like, it don't seem real with all of this stuff going on from the White House. That's happening nationally and the stuff that's happening locally. It's like, OK, are we for real? Like, where are the cameras at for this punk episode that's going on right now? I feel like like Ashton Kuster going to pop out like, surprisingly. But yeah, just the information that has has come out. It's really sad. It's.

is very shocking. It's very concerning because for it to be that loose and you're able to get in how you got in is very concerning. I have a grandson that's in school and he's not in middle of high school yet but just thinking how a person can get into the school and have access to your kids is very scary. So

Jermaine is, you know, referencing the fact that a while, it was a little bit, well, maybe a couple of weeks ago. We began to hear about an incident at Rufus King High School, Rufus King High School where my son attended school, Dr. LaKeisha Myers went, Judge Lena Taylor went. What did you say? Your niece, Clark. I mean, you know, a proud legacy for a lot of alumni of the school.

In fact, Mr. Ballastriere, former principal at King, who really I think was instrumental in making it what it was in terms of being at one point a blue ribbon school ranked in the top 25 schools in the United States of America. That was the ranking that Rufus King had when my son got enrolled. It was in the top 25 schools in the United States of America.

You know, it's amazing what one person and what leadership really can do when you have good people at the helm And so we began to hear on social media first Audio of a woman that was Substituting in Rufus King High School Talking to a group of students and one of the students started recording her this woman was profane

Her conversation was vulgar. She talked about fallatio and oral sex. She, you know, called a child fat. She told two white students in the school that you're the type of people that do school shootings. The N word was brand bandied about, like, you know, water. I mean, the whole thing when Lucisha played it for me first.

And the whole thing just was crazy when I heard it. And I was like, this happened where? It's like, if it's king, this was a what a substitute teacher. So now more information has subsequently come out that, in fact, and it gets worse. I didn't think it was possible for the story to get worse. But now the information comes out that this individual whose name is Amy, I think it was Amy Jones, Amy Jones, 23 years old.

She's a former student of Rufus King High School who on her own had just been pretending to be a substitute teacher going up to the school and telling the folks, getting buzzed in, telling the folks at the front desk, I'm a substitute teacher and the school staff just, you know, pointing her to the classroom where she's supposed to be.

on that particular day in question, one of the things that the principal at the school said was that they had had seven, eight, no, eight teachers had called in sick that day. So first of all, I want to say eight teachers that Rufus King called in sick, y'all on some BS. Y'all on some whole BS. Eight teachers called in sick that day, only seven of those

positions were filled. So one of them was open and. This this woman just is able to say, you know, I'm here to fill the sub position and they give her access and she actually is able to be in three periods of this class before word gets to the principal.

Particularly about what's going on and then they come and get her escorted up out of the building When asked why she did it the woman said because I was bored and she hate kids Hates kids and wanted to quote mess around That's why she went to school because she was bored hates children

hates kids, those are her words, and she just wanted to mess around. And she was a graduate from that? She was a graduate of Rufus King. Really? So one of the things, and I don't know if this is still the case, but one of the things, and they said, she said she was with whatever agency the district uses. So one of the things, I remember when my son was at King, and this was years ago, my son was,

40 something now. But I remember them having, like there was this prestigious side of King. And then there was the side of King in which kids who may have been academically struggling, but were also at King as well. And my son, and I had figured out with frequently, no, she was not a white lady. It was a sister. I know that Amy threw you off, right? But the

the myself will talk about and then I got to see it he would go down one hall to go to classes and children that were underperforming young students that were underperforming would go down another hall and then that's when I even learned about which I don't think they do anymore a t classes which was in the high school

But it was eighth grade transitional. These were kids who had not done academically well enough to get promoted. But socially, they were too old to stay in elementary or middle school. They had to go. So while King had this one status of academic excellence, we know that there were students at King that also underperformed. I don't know what King's standing is now. I have to go back and look.

But I know that there are other district schools that are becoming extremely competitive with that king reputation of academic excellence. But the questions just have to be asked. How was this woman able to get away with this? I've said for NPS before, again, a long time ago, like back in 2013,

2012 somewhere near and you know, I had to go through the process and go to the central office and do the application. Then once I got approved and accepted background check, then I would go online and see what schools were available and you know, accept an assignment. Then when I would come in, I would tell him my name. I had my ID ready. Then I was given what I was supposed to get to go to a classroom.

So clearly there are some steps that have been missed here This woman is potentially looking at up to 21 years in prison She is charged as representing herself as a a public employee Which is a felony and with five additional felony counts of exposing a child to harmful descriptions This these were the things that were sexual in nature

if convicted, she could face up to 21 years in prison. So what's the punishment for the folks at King who let her in the building? Yeah, that's what I was about to ask. For the simple fact that now, even though this woman did what she did, she was completely out of order, completely out of order. There has to be some type of accountability on the school because if I send my kid with you, you are responsible

for my kid coming home. The time that my kid is at your school, you are responsible for my kid. And you know, just to, you know, try to say, okay, well, it's all on her. It's not because you guys let her in. And then it took some time for three periods. For you guys. You got a basically a stranger sitting in a classroom. Half of the day.

That's half of the day. But like Michelle said, you had to have an ID pass. No, that was back in the day. But it shouldn't be back in the day. No, I'm too much. I'm sure you're supposed to show something. But I just want to know, and if the principal at King is still, I think they said Doreen Badillo, if that's correct, and to the NPS school board directors, what's getting ready to happen to the staff at King? There has to be some type of punishment.

To to to whoever's at that front desk. Yeah Who let that woman go and nobody checked to make sure that lady was who she said she was What what and and to you know the principal? because you're responsible for your team and Making sure that everybody is trained and doing what they're supposed to do. So what are the consequences to? The staff and the management at King who allowed this to happen

So, so let me ask you this here. What if this young lady had some type of beef with one of these students and got into that? Anything. Anything. Anything. Anything could have happened. Anything could have happened. And I'm waiting for the district statement, you know.

Um, I'm waiting for some just because the discipline needs to extend beyond this woman beyond Amy There's some other folks need to have some might put their foot on they behind beyond Amy now mean physically Metaphorically but y'all this is unacceptable When I tell you I would be on tan at that school right now in the climate that we are in right now

with everything that's going on right now. How do you let some woman who said I was bored, I hate children, and I wanted to mess around with them, get into that school and be in front of a classroom for not one, not two, but three classroom periods, which typically are what 45 minutes, 50 minutes or something like that. So to Jermaine's point, this woman is in your school for a half a day. Don't nobody know that woman was supposed to be there.

Can you sue as a parent? I'm sure parents are going to be able to have something to say. Yeah, because I mean, having your kid be subjected to that type of stuff, it can mentally mess them up if they're not strong minded. So you don't know that kid mindset and for you to come in and I say my kid to a safe space for you to protect them and teach them. And this is what they are subjected to.

Somebody got to highlight me I I just you know The the level of frustration that I could have I can't even muster up because it's so Unbelievable, but the school board of directors for NPS is Daryl Jackson That's district 3 So I am going to be very

hopeful that board supervisor Daryl Jackson will have a whole bunch of investigating going on as to what went on at Rufus King. I'm coming. But I just want to tell you all, in general, my overall frustration with a lot of stuff that I see going on in relationship to that school. It is one of those things that blows me away.

Because again, this was one of the jewels of NPS, shining star of NPS. And I've watched people, it seems like come in who have not all fully committed or care about what's going on with the school. And it's losing some of its luster. Clearly not all.

their back laureate program, IB program is still one to be envied. But it's, and it's the other thing, when you tired and you frustrated, go find something else to do. Let people who wanna be in those classrooms be there. Can you imagine trying to run a building at eight teachers call in sick that day? Eight.

Any workplace, that's a crazy amount of employees to call in sick one day, eight. But then you're talking about people that was responsible for 20 to 30 children and then they're not here and you gotta figure it out. Let me go to the phone line. Hey, Carla, what's happening? Hello? Hey, what's going on?

That's real bad, right? But uh, nope, nope, might take blood back. I'm predicting myself. It's bad. You said, this young lady came in here and got to talking about Felacio and all that nonsense, right? Yes. Now, in some of these high schools and elementary schools and middle schools, you know, libraries, you can find books that speak about that stuff. Now, I'm hoping

from this incident, it was bad because some bad could have actually happened. They take a good look on why that shouldn't be in classrooms or books in classrooms. That is crazy. And Mr. Ballastryan, that was a great guy. He is my principal first at Bayview High School. So yeah, he was great.

He let him treat us different. And that's the biggest thing he did in a lie. So yeah, Mr. Ballastray was a great guy. But that's the people in that prison, people in that office. Yeah, it is time for him to go. Now, King never was like that. My daughter was King. So that's crazy for him. I mean, hey, I was walking there just like a, I'm low.

I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today. I'm working in the kitchen today.

I just said Daryl Jackson was the school board director for the king district having his donors say it basically you know Daryl Jackson was just investigated for misconduct and not living in his district in 2025.

I forgot all about that little little tidbit. Let me see if that ever got resolved. We got to go to break. Let me see. Jesus Christ. Let me see if that ever got resolved. Oh, my God. I forgot all about that. They ain't sweeping. Let's see.

Okay. Allegations and unsealed search warrant from an investigation initiated by the DA's office alleged that Jackson lived outside of district three from his swearing in through August of 2024. He got the position in April of 2023. So more than a year later, they said he lived outside of the district, suspected residents, cell phone, whatever happened with that.

Huh You know what that's interesting, I don't know that we ever heard the resolution No, they're not gonna sweep it under the rug They only sweeping it under the rug if they were wrong if they were right if the district attorney's office was correct We know we know more about it So this yeah, I don't see any any story on this since 2025

Jackson has maintained that he has always lived within the boundaries of the district he represents. Cell phone location data surveillance reportedly showed his vehicle parked consistently at an address near a hundred, a hundredth and Lisbon in NPS District 2 rather than in District 3. Voting records also indicated ballots cast linked to an outside district location. So then you could mess around and catch voter frauds.

I mean, but you can spend in and say, hey, man, I was spending the night before my friends house. I mean, you definitely. Well, that's what some other people try to do. You definitely could do that. You know, you know, you definitely could say, hey, yeah, I spent the night every day at another residence. But where you going to get him that is the voting. If you were voting from another address outside.

of the district, then no, now you got a problem. But this is crazy. So I need to call down the NPS to figure out, did this ever get resolved? Because there's nothing, like they said, they'll blast you on page one, they'll retract it or correct it on page 99. But

there is nothing updated in here that says that he was good that everything is okay okay uh thank you happiness and it's crazy because i talked about it a lot when it was going on because it was connected or coming on the heels of the aisha car situation so that's what made me really pay attention to it but

Lord have mercy Some I said she lived across the street from King. Oh no

did so was she I don't know I don't know where she I can't wait so was this just a one-time thing and no she's doing this numerous of times no no no why you doing it oh

Because you never get any I don't

I'm going to break. We'll be back. We'll be back. We'll be back. Back to the show. Look, I needed a temporary reprieve during the commercial break. I was asking Jay and Clark if they saw the social media post of Master P. Master P is on tour and he was in Birmingham and anybody that's ever seen Ricky smiley stand up.

Well, he pretends to be the guitar, the bass guitar player. And he got the mic stand playing the mic stand. Why the masterpiece? Have Ricky smiley up on the stage for real. With the mic stand. Sing it a little worse.

That's me rapping like it's a real show. I'm like, what are y'all doing? It is so fun. Like because that's what a Ricky smile is funny is visiting me when he did that. And to see that Master Pete went along and have him up on the stage is too ridiculous. All right. Let me mention something since I'm talking about brothers on October 24th. There is something going to be called National Black Man Voter Day.

The NAACP, National Office, 100 Black Men of America, the National Urban League, Black Men Vote, Woke Vote, and State of the People announced last month that they were going to have a campaign goal of mobilizing 100,000 Black men to get out and vote early ahead of this November 3rd election day. So, huh? That's what's up. Yeah.

All of these brothers, six organizations, they all coming together trying to make sure that brothers go vote. And so everybody like, you know, release different statements and stuff, Mark Morial from the Urban League, Mike Bland from Black Me and Vote.

And they just said, this has to be bigger than a moment or a social media campaign. The work is on the ground in our neighborhoods, union halls, boardrooms, barbershops, churches, campuses and communities, making sure black men have accurate information, a plan to vote and the support they need to participate. October 24th gives us a national date to organize around.

Our success will be measured beyond the one day. It is in the relationships we build, people we organize, and infrastructure we leave behind to keep Black men informed, connected, and engaged beyond a single election. And so if you are somebody that works with men, has a barbershop group,

you know, in doing anything on the ground here in Milwaukee, there is actually going to be another one of their planning calls that is happening tonight. And then there's one on October 20th, a few days ahead of the actual date to try to galvanize and get brothers to the polls. What I would encourage you to do is just go because I don't have the actual link. But if you type in National Black Man Voter Day,

uh it will take you to the press release and then you can click on um to register for the call so that you can can be a part of the organizing they said the calls will connect the participating organizations with local leaders with campaign resources organizing materials and coordinated actions

uh, steps ahead of October 24th. So we have a number of groups here on the ground. Uh, I don't know if our 100 black men in Milwaukee are participating in this, you know, any of the fraternities are participating in this, uh, barbershop conversations. There are a lot of people that came to mind immediately, but bruzz, this is a great way to be connected to be a part of something bigger. So again,

October 24th is National Black Man Voter Day. Let me check a quick break. I'll be right back. All right, family, welcome back to the show. So I am expecting a guest in the next few minutes. But let me try to work in one, you know, and I'll come back to it after I'm done interviewing the guest. But, you know, many people are upset about.

the comments that Donald Trump made while he was in Nebraska, stomping for Republicans as many of their races are either in close contention or in trouble. OK. And so he has been running around the country telling everyone, you know, vote like you vote for me.

And he, you know, this is where he makes his announcement about the whole red die diesel fuel. And then he, you know, says that because, you know, he can't take any responsibility for why gas prices are the way they are and that many of these farmers are struggling to be able to to deal with filling up their trucks and equipment. And so he says, you know,

It's not like a big deal, really. It's a small price to pay to keep Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. He says, with the war, it's just artificial. So what you paying at the pump, it's artificial. It's a small price to pay. But since we're talking about Iran, if they're going to take out somebody, let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.

It's a very small price to back. That's what Donald Trump, the president of the United States of America. I don't care if it's joking, being flippant. You stand up in a room full of American citizens. Children standing behind him at the podium, that little young man like he was a high school student with that little red hat on.

And you say as the president of the United States of America. Yeah, go ahead and take out. L.A. Take out San Diego. Now, this is the thing that I think that just blows me away, frustrates me is because. Most people know that California is huge. There are 40 million people.

that live in the state of California to put that in, you know, proximity or comparison. Wisconsin has roughly about seven million, a little less. I think it's somewhere between six and seven million residents in the state of Wisconsin. Compare us to California. California is responsible for 14 percent of this nation's economic activity, 14 percent.

So how when we talk about Milwaukee being 40% of the state's economic engine Out of 50 states and territories California is responsible for damn near 15% Economically of what goes on in this country to put that in dollars and cents 4.5 trillion dollars a year is California's economic output

So this is another example of people talking ignorant, but they eating and living off your contributions and your money. Republicans talking ignorant about what they believe to be liberal, progressive, leaning voters, but you eating off. We take care of Iowa. We take care of Mississippi. We take care of Alabama because they don't generate the kind of economic.

situation that a California does. When I tell you, and you ain't gonna see not one of these Republican leaders stand up and say, you out of order. It's wrong. You shouldn't do it. Barack Obama, if he had stood up and said, take out a blue city, I'm sorry, a red leaning conservative city, it would have been hell to pay. They would have been up there marching and picking in with their damn tiki torches and the whole nine yards.

I am just so over the top with what these people allow this ignorant and he get more ignorant every day. He is becoming more senile and vulgar and disgusting in the way he talks about issues and people and handles himself every day. There's nothing in this man that is presidential. There's I mean zero.

What leader of this country should not be chastised for saying take out an American city? Because you disagree with these people politically. So you don't care about lives. You don't care about the economy. You don't care about other citizens who benefit from a California being a part of this union. You literally, as you are getting money,

And and and paying for your ballroom your security is being paid for by Californians, too Your airplane the billion dollars you tricked in American money to retrofit that garbage plane that you got from Qatar you That's California's money, too So I just don't understand I Do not understand anymore the fact that

You know because it took us a long time to get to a place in this country where basic things were shunned in public We still had jackasses. We still had people that were racist. We still had people that wanted to do harm But because it became so unpopular

People kept it to themselves. They kept it at they clan meetings. They this club that that club you didn't do it out in public because The the overall tone and tenor of the nation was we don't we don't say this we don't we don't Exercise this type of ignorant thinking out in public. We just don't do it people lost their jobs You couldn't get elected to an office because we had decided we were more civil

in the way we handled ourselves. With this administration, both the first time he was in office and now the second time, decorum has left the nation. He says, and there are people who try to act like this is great. He says anything he wants to. He curses at will.

And not just the basic running the meal course words like the vulgar gritty like seriously, bro And you had an official event These are my kicking people's blanks Like when I tell you it is so over the top so beyond Anything believable Republicans need to be ashamed of a self

None of y'all flag fake waving, you know Bible thumping. I'm a Christian I love the Lord, but you don't have no problem with this man talking about just Disparately we gonna kill, you know if you want to kill somebody if you want to bomb somebody take out America cities and don't none of y'all sorry asked Republicans have nothing to say So wouldn't that be considered excuse my language, but I mean that this morning don't nobody have nothing to say

Ron Johnson, Tom Tiffany, don't none of y'all have nothing to say. That this man who is being paid by taxpayers, whether he take the check or he trick it off, our money pays for them planes to fly to Marlago and make his golf courses richer. He has made $2.2 billion since returning to the White House. That is coming off of inside of information and deals that he is doing under the American people's name.

and using the influence of the White House to make that money. Y'all, when I tell y'all, it is beyond disgusting. It is beyond disturbing. And how people stand up and talk about their loyalty to America, and they're going to make America great again. But you don't even appreciate what America is about. An American president would say at an event,

on a microphone for the entire world to hear. I ran, it would be okay for you to take out American cities because I don't agree with their political ideology. Were you sorry Republicans had to talk about that?

Since you want to talk about some all time you want to talk about somebody on welfare You want to talk about somebody getting a handout you want to talk about how you don't do nothing on health care Where you sorry Republicans at to talk about your leader who stood up at a public rally and sit on a microphone It's okay to take out an American city Where you at? No shame

And if you ask Tom Tiffany, he's gonna say, oh, he was just kidding. He was just kidding. Ask Ron Johnson. Goofy McDoofy ain't gonna have nothing to say. But I hope some people out of jail get a job, Michelle. That's what we need to focus on. That's what we need to focus on. These people are pathetic.

You are ruining this country every day with this man and all of the people that think like him and There is no shame Nobody could have stood up To his point I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and Nobody would do nothing to me remember that

Remember that? While he was running for office, this man was so arrogant and so bold that he said, I can stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose none of my supporters and they proved him right. But somebody else was right too. When Hillary Clinton called these folks a basket of deplorables, she was right. I knew she was right when she said it.

She knew she was right when she said it. They knew she was right when they tried to make her walk walk it back

But you got somebody who 19 women was willing to go public and stand up at an event and say this man has sexually assaulted me before. Somebody who cheats on their taxes on a regular basis. Somebody who lied about giving contributions to charity and was keeping the money for himself and was barred in the state of New York from ever, not from ever, but for having a charitable organization that he could be connected to for 10 years. Somebody who gets convicted.

And y'all still ride with this man like you believe that he really is worthy of that office I mean And then you got your children being indoctrinated into this ignorance and the only thing that's driving y'all is hate Hate of other people hate of other races hate of people doing better than you is hate

This is not about loving America. This is not about being patriotic. This is not about valuing the U.S. Constitution. It is built and based on hate. Do I have a caller? Let me go to the phone line. Hey, caller. What's happening? Hey, how you doing this morning, bro? I'm doing all the way. I came in in the last minute of the conversation you all had about that young lady.

Is she in jail or what? She did get arrested. I don't know if they let her post bail because it's not like, you know, um, she harmed anyone physically. So they probably let her post bail, but I'm not sure if she's out yet. But yeah, she did get arrested though. Well, I don't think I can say about that little part. She's smart. The latest smart. She went out of jail with no bail and all. She didn't charge her anything.

But 30 years, I wish I was an attorney. That's all I can say. I wish I was a lady attorney. Why? Why? Because, hey, she could be laughing toward the baby while everybody's laughing at her. Good. Why? Why, though? Why do you think she's smart because of? Because before she did, she saw the history. And anytime you see a history, you get paid for something with her.

Wait, say it again. She saw history. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm a culture boy. She saw history. What she saw history about it ain't never happening in the United States. What she did right here in America. I don't believe they schooled.

The girl who pretended to be a substitute teacher, right?

Well, no, but what she did was wrong. But in the long run, she was smart enough to get paid for what she did. If they don't let her out, she can't get paid for it. Well, who gonna pay her? Who? The tax payer? Well, what would they be paying her for? Because, number one, she broke her little law, right? Right. And number two, when you break the law, you do not...

I suppose to break the law, right? Right. Okay, this girl broke the law, she got out. But what would she get paid for though? I don't understand why she would make money off of it. Do you think somebody's gonna make money off of you when you tell them to stop her? Oh, so you're saying that...

She like a movie could be made off her life or something like that. I mean, but the one thing though that will most likely happen is trust me because it's just like they did life with Jeffrey Dahmer story or any number of these stories. They will have a lawsuit, a civil action brought against her and so that she will never see a die. She'll never see a die.

Yeah, but she would be buried under civil lawsuits so that any money that anybody paid her would have to go to pay those civil lawsuits. No. She had never seen that. You were 100% right. But do you think that people don't get all that money and don't get a share of no money at all?

You think that? Well, I mean, I don't know. But yeah. But I got you. I got you. Because, you know, in case you just was listening, she said, like, the movie Catch Me If You Can. The guy who did the big scam with the airlines, Lieutenant Leonardo DiCaprio's character, depending to be an airline pilot. Nope. OK. I just wanted to flesh it out because I wanted to make sure I understood and I know if I was struggling.

Other folks are probably thinking so thank you, bro. I got your point this morning All right, thank you, I appreciate it so yeah So much that she's going to change NPS policy procedures. Trust me if NPS policies and procedures have been followed this wouldn't happen in the first place

because I believe that there are already policies and procedures in place to make sure that somebody that's not a stranger can walk in. And even though they said there were people at the school who recognized her, because she used to be a student there. But still, whether me recognizing you or not, it's still policies and procedures. Even Senator Taylor, when she would visit Rufus King and LaKeisha, when they would go as state representatives, they still had to follow the policy and procedure to get in the building.

to go to the office. So if you have followed that, you know, this would be fine. Well, maybe those procedures that they have in place, maybe they are outdated or something because for her to outsmart the system like that and get in and then to actually be in the classroom for three periods. But again, and this is sad part because I just don't want to give a whole bunch of credit. You know, like how smart the system. The system was lazy and didn't work.

She didn't do nothing fantastic and amazing. She got up out of her damn bed and went up to the school and said, I'm here to serve for the class. And nobody did their due diligence and they let her in. That wasn't a whole bunch of brilliance just to get up. I didn't say it was brilliant. No, because you said she outsmarted. Well, if she. And you didn't outsmart her. She did outsmart her. No, she didn't. They didn't do their job.

Is it how smart it meant that we both was tactically going at something and you best me you're better than me Well, she did you can't outsmart me if I don't even try. Well, how do we know but that security didn't try? Cuz she evidently they didn't cuz she got in so that's what I'm saying. So like

Everybody is at fault. She's most definitely at fault, but the school got to take some responsibility as well. That's how I started. We on the same team. Pass the ball, Cody. Please. That is so ridiculous. Okay, look, let me get this call. Hey, Caller, what's happening? Hey, good morning. Good morning. Yeah, I heard you. You were talking this morning, but I'm not familiar with that.

He said it when he was in Nebraska last night and he said that when they brought up the whole issue of gas prices, that it was a small price to pay for. You know, stopping Iran getting a nuclear weapon, but then he, you know, went on to say, but Iran, if you want to take out somebody, you can take out San Diego and you can take out LA.

What would he say about any American city?

No, you won't. No, you won't. Not as president of the United States. See, that's what I'll be talking about. How y'all make excuses and this stuff is passive. And, you know, people up there just talking, you might say anything. No, you don't. Not when you're the president of the United States. And not when you're talking about somebody potentially blowing up an American city. This is the exact kind of mess I'll be talking about right here that y'all will give cover and make excuses.

I don't want you to get to your main point because you don't make me mad for this morning. Have a good day because this is exactly what I'm talking about. That's the main point. That y'all make excuses. That behavior was abhorrent. It was abhorrent. No one should be saying that as an American president. Not even in joking.

on no public venue. Now, what you're saying private, that's your behind. But you on the mic talking to American citizens about other American citizens being killed and getting everybody to laugh about it and you're going to call it here tomorrow. But that's not my main point. That should have been the main point. And then you make excuses. Well, I mean, you know, anybody can say that. No, no, no.

Nobody that's responsible. Nobody that's a leader. Nobody that has this nation's best interest in heart, not just red states, not just Republicans, not just people that voted for me. This man's job is to care about what goes on for this entire country, not the country of white that he wants to create. The country of racist, you know, bigoted people that he wants to have around him. It's not that that's not the purpose.

When this man took that oath and was playing with his hand on the Bible off the Bible, whatever he was doing It was about you are responsible for everybody in this country Not just the people that agree with you or kiss your big wide behind. That's not how it's supposed to work

And you did exactly what I said Republicans do you make excuses you pull pull it away He was just kidding. You know Trump gonna be Trump Trump gets out of you know a little out of hand sometime. That's not leadership Barack Obama could have never joked about blowing up, you know Texas and not Dallas and Houston where the black folks at but the rest of Texas

He could have never voted. I mean, I'm joked about blowing up Iowa Or any of these other places Portland where it's tons of white folks. He could have never Joe, Wisconsin I Mean we have purple state so we could vote either way we don't we don't 50% of us don't agree with Donald Trump So if he has sit up at the mic and said or you know if you want to take out Milwaukee Then you know go ahead

It wouldn't have been funny then. You made my exact point. My exact point. That y'all make excuses. You act like it's no big deal. All this inappropriate stuff gets said and you figure out a way to excuse it and move on. All right, look. Do I have calls before I take a break? All right, let me grab these calls real quick. Hey, caller, what's happening? Hello?

Hello? Yes. Michelle? Yes, this is she. Oh, Michelle, I want to tell you, you are on point today. Y'all is on point. I love you, I love you. You are, you are so, you are so much on it. And what you said about Trump, Trump just said, you know, I think, you know, it's time for our government to think about having a makeover, not a takeover, but a makeover. Because I'm going to settle with that with the government because we allow this guy to continue

doing what he's doing. And on top of that, he reminds me of a toddler in the grocery store and just throwing stuff all over the disc over the floor. And the parents just watch him not doing nothing. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. And I'm disappointed with that girl because I don't know how come they just don't see him out of there right now. And so I'm just so tired of him. I mean, it's just crazy that we watch him do what he's doing.

All right. Thank you, bro. I appreciate it. I appreciate you, Michelle. All right. Let me let me let me say this. I see George put in the comments. All y'all in there take up for Will Martin. Let me be clear, bro. Let me be clear. I like Will Martin as a man and a person. I frequently disagree with Will Martin on his politics and his ideology. One of the things I will say about will is that we will go anywhere and he will talk to anybody.

And he I think genuinely got into some of this to honestly try to bridge divides and make a difference But please don't think for five seconds Anybody here sitting in this room know I tear a wheel mark behind to shreds on any given day and we'll will tell you that So don't be here talking about some taking up for wheel. I saw I Respect individual people

My policies and me like in you as an individual can be two different things. But no, you ain't gonna put that in there. All y'all in there take up for Will Martin. No, you ain't talking about me. Because on policy, Will Martin get his hat handed to him every time I mess him with me. Every time. What I will always say is that I respected the way he, you know, is willing. He don't run from people.

Um, at least most of the time he was running when he would never take no questions on his little show But then again, you know, he said I only got a limited amount of time so blah blah blah, but no Please it'd be plenty fights going on With Will Martin, but I can fight with you and still be okay with you still be cool with you You can see if I got family members. I disagree with politically That don't mean I'm not gonna not mess with them. But no man to DJ's point

Don't I could have made that lineup don't nobody get no pass My brother loves to tell people my sister didn't talk to my mama for two years because she was mad Once you care about not talking to you or checking you a clown in you Because my mom was wrong and I told her and when you figure out she was wrong call me back It took two years I was okay with that

Right is right and wrong is wrong. All right, I gotta take a break. Now the Georgia may be mad. I'll be right back. Welcome back to the show. So I told you guys I had a guest coming in studio this morning. She is here. She was actually out in the lobby while I had a moment with Jesus.

with the law about my frustration. So I want to first of all apologize and say good morning. Hey, Bridget, how you doing this morning? Good morning. Good morning. How you doing? I'm good. I'm good. And for folks that may know, for folks that's watching on YouTube Facebook, you may recognize this face right away.

But there are folks in this community, they may know the name sometimes before they even know the sister walking through the door connected to Milwaukee Safe and Sound program. So for folks that need to have an introduction, tell people a little bit about you and your role with Safe and Sound. Yay. Good morning, everybody. My name is Bridget Whitaker. I'm the executive director at Safe and Sound. I've been at the organization now a little over seven years, born and raised in Milwaukee. I've never lived anywhere else. I did not go to King.

Yes, proud. Listen. And was the first generation graduate student at Marquette University and just spent a career working in human resources. So I believe in taking care of people. I've done that on the for-profit and the non-profit side. And then as my children were aging out, like going to college, doing their thing, I'm like, there's something else I'm supposed to be doing. Some bigger impact I'm supposed to be doing. Selfishly, I wanted my kids to stay in Milwaukee. And so I'm like, you got to make

Milwaukee a great place for them to stay. And I met the then executive director at Safe and Sound and this essence of how do you build strong neighborhoods? How do you strengthen people? How do you help people understand that they already got the tools? How do you just help them get to where they need to be? And that's really what our mission is at Safe and Sound. Empowering people, calling out young people specifically because you can't have a conversation about safety without young people. And then how do you recognize that Milwaukee

is already so resource rich. How do you connect people to the right resources so we can build strong neighborhoods? So let's drill down and be a little bit more specific then. So because when you talk about safety and prevention and resources,

It's a broad umbrella. So when folks were to say so tell me exactly what you guys do at safe and sound What does that look like? So I always start with saying safety looks different for everybody. Okay, so depending on where you live in the city safety could be I want to be able to walk my Dog down the street and not worry about a reckless driver. Somebody might say I've been living on this block for 20 years I hate that I have to worry about somebody breaking into my garage So it starts with like everyday conversations with residents about what are the resources?

that are missing from your neighborhood that we want to get you connected to. So the bulk of our work is door-to-door outreach. So we don't consider ourselves to be male carers when I'm just passing out flyers. So sometimes outreach looks like that, especially when you let drop it and stuff like that. But we actually do doorknocks. And so we're asking people, how long have you been living over here? Do you know your neighbor? Which we would think is a simple question. So many people are like, no, they don't know me and I don't know them. And that's how I like it.

But that's not a healthy neighborhood.

And so we talk about how can we get you connected? How can we introduce you to the neighbor? You know, Mr. Jones on the corner, he just lost his wife. So you may see that he don't pick up the trash as often as he used to. How do you help people care enough about where they live so they care enough to like ask the right questions? So wait, let me, let me see. Yes. So you have just intrigued me. Yeah. So does it work when you're not going to do or is, you know, you strike up this conversation because when you said there are some people who say.

I don't know my neighbors, and that's the way I like it. I can hear it. I can see they face when they sing. Yes. Are you able to change hearts and minds on that sometimes? Not every time. So I don't profess that we do it every time. I talk to a lot of people through rain cameras, because they're like, I see you. What are we talking about? But I do think that people get a little bit. What is it?

Okay. All right. I will say people get a little bit softer. You know, as we talk about things like, you know, do you have children in the house? Did you know that there's a backpack giveaway down the street? You know, is there a reason that your kids aren't going to the Super Spring Neighborhood Center? Is anybody in the house looking for a job? So we believe in leading with what people need. And then they're like, okay, here I come. I'm coming downstairs. Okay. You know, I grew up in Milwaukee. I grew up on Twentyn Locust. I knew everybody on the block. My mama knew everybody on the block. And I think that that was a space where people felt

even if there was still stuff going on. We try to get people to get back to that sense. And so how do you create black clubs? How do you say, come on, whip me down to this crime and safety meeting so you can ask those questions? It's really the essence of getting people to care enough about their neighborhoods to get involved. So, you know, one of the things when we talk about budgets and people trying to do this work, we see, you know, a lot of times people going after the same dollars.

We know this is the service we need. Sure. Even if we don't always understand exactly what it is that organizations do. But the title alone, safe and sound, I need to be funding this. In the climate that we are in, how have you guys managed to kind of stay in the game? I think that so we were at the public, the public hearing last night for the budget meeting and I went to 10 o'clock. So absolutely lots of people, you know, going back and forth about we deserve this money. They don't. So that.

is absolutely a true part of the work. But I think that we talk to people that understand that sometimes safety and prevention starts at the grassroots level. You just got to get people to care enough about what's going on.

As the news talks about crime and safety data, there are so many people that are like, I just want to get involved. I just want to know how I can help. And those are the people that we try to reach. There is a funding group of people that care about that kind of stuff. So certainly we get money from the city and the county. We get a lot of national dollars from people are saying, how can we take care of Milwaukee? And those are folks that we lean into the most, but certainly always talking to foundations, Greater Milwaukee Foundation. What can we do across the city? We work in 12 priority neighborhoods.

We look at Milwaukee police districts, not automatic districts, but Milwaukee police districts and use that to kind of identify where the greatest need is.

So if I could, and I don't know if it's appropriate, but can you kind of give a window into some of what are the greatest needs, greatest need districts look like or where they are? Absolutely. So Imani neighborhood, Harambe neighborhood, Westline. Most recently, we've been doing some work over in the Grandville neighborhood. But really thoughtful about where we see a high percentage of overdose rates, where people, fatal and non-fatal, certainly fatal and non-fatal gun shootings.

We're talking to police captains about where are we seeing mobile drug dealing? Where are we seeing young people?

be disconnected from the right resources. So we have the same conversations about food deserts, about youth programs that have gone away. And those are the folks that say, can Safe and Sound come and do some organizing? Boys and Girls Club called me recently saying, hey, we don't have the same enrollment numbers that we used to. Can you all come and get people to us? A lot of people say, Safe and Sound is the connectors. Y'all the hooker-uppers. A young people is like, you like the plug. I'm not going to be the plug. But yes, how do we connect people?

I just, it was so funny. I passed by Westline last night. So I hadn't, for some, and I guess I just wasn't paying attention. And maybe seeing it at night, it was different, but I hadn't really paid attention since the second half of the development was completed. First of all, it's beautiful. It is, it is. And then I saw like mixed use in one of the buildings, so they had a coffee, coffee shop down there. And

There was a young man riding with me. And I was like, they have a coffee spot. And I was so excited. And he was like, Ms. Bryant, it's a coffee shop. What you doing? And I said, no, you don't understand. Because when you talk about communities that are starved to some of the basics, the other people just take for granted. I can get up and walk to a neighborhood coffee shop, a local place to employ somebody, a young person can walk to work, or that it just looks like.

community. Yeah. Yes. The walkability factor is crucial that we take for granted that some of these other neighborhoods have every day. And so those become plug-ins for residents to say we deserve to have a coffee shop. We deserve to have a community space for young people that's free. Those become things that we take for granted. So then and I brought that up to say this then because we know that poverty

Can fuel a lot of the stuff that we see going on So you said in the opening of your comments about how we are resource rich really but a lot of people to your point they don't know but if I'm struggling financially

What is resource resource rich mean for me when you when if I come show up at your place when we're talking to people at their doorstep You know, sometimes there is a misconception about what I have access to so we work in their mining neighborhood young people You know, there's COA this big COA youth, you know opportunity for programming a lot of young people are like Oh, I didn't know we could go over there or you know last time I went there the receptionist wasn't nice to me So it wasn't welcoming. So families are

not always tracking for what I can plug into. We see that.

in Westline, Server Spring Neighborhood Center, like, oh, I didn't know that we, you know, that was a free program. I didn't know that that was after school care. I didn't know that there was tutoring. So families who work first and second jobs, my mom did too. You know, sometimes my mom didn't have time to go sign me up for the program. And so a lot of times parents are just not tracking for what's available. When we talk about crime and safety meetings, and I'm guilty when I started at Safe and Sound, I didn't know what a crime and safety meeting was. But when you help residents know, like,

Like you sound like you are upset because the police station hasn't been answering your concern. Let's go and meet the captain. Let's go and meet the officers so they can get to know you separate from an emergency call. So then you build a relationship so that changes your ability to access what's available to you. So in seven years, you've had to see a lot. Oh, yeah. And when we are talking about funding and going after dollars to keep the doors open,

We have all kinds of ideas about what we think will work, what won't work. You know, let's put our resources here. In seven years of doing this now, are there things that you think that like, you know, no, that looks good on paper, but it really doesn't play out well. And some of the best practices perhaps we're dealing with, with, you know, challenges in the community.

I think that what continues to baffle me is I think that we sometimes think about problems and challenges in the community from that 3,000 foot view, but sometimes it's about talking to people. You know, a lot of times our work at Safe and Sound is about mediating resident conflict. So we'll get two residents that say, you know, my neighbor, you know, she don't stop talking to me, I'm gonna do something. I'm like, do what? But sometimes the essence of the conversation is just lack of introducing.

So like, you know, I've been living here 10 years, you know, my mom passed away. So now I'm taking over the property. But I don't, I never, you never said hello to me. You never came to introduce yourself. So we got residence beefing that, you know, sometimes, you know, one bad conversation can go completely left. I think that oftentimes I've learned that, you know, people throw a lot of dollars at all of these prevention programs and all of these, you know, respectfully, I'm trying to use tactful words.

We, we, we spent a lot of dollars on programs that miss the essence of just helping people get connected to each other. We do some, you know, I always say my board hates when I say it. My goal is to work ourselves out of a job. That's what it's supposed to be. How do we help people so much that we don't need safe and sound. It's like, thank you safe and sound because of you and how to start a black club. I know how to engage with my neighbors. I know how to talk to my elected officials and I know how to go find money to help our neighborhood and to help people accountable that are getting money to work in our.

neighborhood. Like those are the conversations that I feel like people miss because sometimes we try to create a strategic plan that misses. How do you help people help themselves? So let me ask this question. Because when you talk about, you know, neighbors getting connected, understanding the resources, we know that law enforcement is a part of this conversation. We've had some ups and downs, some abs and flows in relationship to our interaction with law enforcement.

How has how is law enforcement connected to what you do? Because I know you talked about the crime of police safety meetings. And I thank you for calling that out. So we call out law enforcement our mission statement. We feel like they are part of the framework for creating safe neighborhoods to a degree. So we recognize that I think that it comes down to a level of accountability. How do you create space where you can talk about what's working and not working? Certainly we mirror our priority neighborhoods with Milwaukee police districts. We actually have within five police districts

full-time employee that works in the district three times a week. It was an opportunity to be able to work alongside officers, but almost being a liaison between police and community. So how do I hear a resident concern that says, I don't want to talk to the police, but I'll talk to Michelle because Michelle works in my neighborhood. And then we create an opportunity to say, let's get to the essence of what you really need.

Absolutely, it's accountability. So I'm having conversations. I'm actually a member of the Community Collaborative Commission. So what is that for people that don't know? It is a commission that was established primarily to talk about how we can improve community police relationships. We've done a lot of work talking to residents about what they want to see happen within police districts, but also the accountability of what happens when officers

do something that feels like harm to community. And I think that it's a space that, if I'm being completely honest, sometimes people are like, oh, I don't want to work with y'all if y'all work with the police, or I'm not comfortable with what that looks like. And I don't shy away from those conversations, but I ask, how else can we help you see this vision for safe neighborhoods if we're not engaging, not just police, but fire department, sheriff's department. There's so many elements of public safety that sometimes people don't even think about.

you know, I guess I'm interested again, because seven years is a long time we're doing something. And like I said, you've seen a lot. So in terms of if there was one thing you could change about the approach and the strategy to public safety or the way we look at doing this work, is there one thing that stands out for you? I think so. So we recently started doing some work in Racine. So Racine asked us to come down and kind of pilot the work that we do here in Milwaukee.

I really appreciate Racine's model. Do they have a safe and sound too? We've been a pilot for about three years now. So we have folks boots on the ground and Racine doing exactly what we do here in Milwaukee. But what I love about Racine is that they have

they have used what's considered to be the cop house model. So, yep. So it's an opportunity where they are, you know. Lena Taylor jumping up and down. Lena Taylor, no. Lena Taylor said we're jumping up and down. I told you, I told you. Seriously. But tell people what the cop house model is. It's essentially a house within a regular neighborhood where officers work out of. And so it creates less of an intimidation. You have to go down to the police station. But also I get to see these, you know, officers every day.

cutting the grass every day, you know, talking to residents, engaging, but it creates a level of harmony that sometimes helps build those relationships that are necessary for people to not only feel safe, but have access to those relationships that make a difference. I feel like that could be absolutely beneficial to Milwaukee. Okay. So sitting outside this window yesterday.

Thanks to Jermaine. Jermaine's friends and Jermaine's eyes. We see something that's extremely disturbing. But on any given day, you know, we got a woman that's across the street at the gas station. Many mornings, she's laying on the ground topless as people are going in and out of the service station. They just step past her.

The calls that you said you you listen to the show so you you hear us You know what we talk about and there are days when like I feel like I just got unplugged because it's a lot But I'm only seeing a microcosm, you know how

How do you stay charged? How do you stay committed? And if you got people that are doing the work, advice to them about how to how to maintain that level of enthusiasm and commitment that you got to have for this work, because this is not a paycheck kind of situation. I'm just showing them for the check because the check frequently does not match.

what you're doing. But go ahead. Absolutely. I think the work can be heavy. You know, I talked to I have a that's not bond. Heavy is the crowd. That's for you. Go ahead. I have um

a staff of about 25 people. And so absolutely, I think that there are days, listen, who can be discouraged easy, you know, where, you know, we spent a summer working in Moody Park, really trying to create activities for young people. We had gotten through a summer where young people were doing the right thing, making great decisions, having a great time. The very last day of summer, a young lady was shot and killed. And so I remember having to talk to the team who were like, see, what are we doing this for? And I'm like, don't do that.

But being able to recognize... Because how many were saved though? Right, that's the thing. You got to be able to look at the blessing of, you know, that starfish moment. What was the one that walked away safe? What was the one that heard something in all of that work this summer that changed their life? Right. And I always say the conditions of our community did not happen overnight. We're not going to solve them overnight. So absolutely, like being able to celebrate the small wins is how you fill your cup every day.

So I have a listener who's listening. They said, how often do you walk through the neighborhoods? Hang on. Years ago, they used to come through my hood knocking on doors and see if they could be of service. I haven't seen or heard anything from them. So could you please speak to that? For sure. So our team is charged with trying to reach 3,000 doors a year. So that's spread out across the districts. OK.

But I will say, you know, the makeup of the neighborhoods have changed. We have some residents who are fearful to come to the door because they don't know who we are and they don't know what we're about. And that's, you know, a whole different conversation. But I would say our efforts are always to be in our priority districts two to three times a week. And so obviously a district could be, you know, a makeup of a different boundaries, what street to this street. But I would say that's an ongoing responsibility of our staff. We're doing outreach from January to December.

just in the summer and absolutely it's more than just passing out flyers so think about if I knock on your door and you do talk to me we could you know spend a 15 20 minute conversation easily and don't get a resident who like come on baby come inside and get this you know slice of pie this is somebody that wants to talk more and has much to offer so we are doing doors weekly three times a week but absolutely I agree that it looks different over the years because our staffing has changed.

So I will end in the interview here one of the things that I certainly appreciate is this idea of embracing the community Educating the community and I would typically ask this question like in five years You know, where should we be if we're doing what we're supposed to I don't think that we necessarily get to put y'all out of business in five years, but

Do we have models and plans that tell us if we stay on this track, we can expect certain things to happen, whether a decrease in this particular area or an improvement in this area, those five year strategic plans. Do you guys have anything like that? For sure. We have what's considered to be a neighborhood exit strategy. And so that says that if we, I'm just going to use Amani, for example, if we're working in Amani, we want to see so many calls for service decrease means, you know, residents are feeling

good that they haven't had to reach out to their local Milwaukee Police District for assistance. Department of Neighborhood Services, you know, calls are going down, which means that people aren't illegal dumping. People aren't showing up in ways that are a nuisance to the neighborhood. That could be a nuisance property. That could be that house on the corner that's having after sets. And then it's also this notion of how many block clubs have been created.

No aftersets. Keep going.

But most importantly, like how many black clubs are created? We feel that when residents are open to the idea of a black club and I know people have some, you know, thoughts about black clubs as a, you know, that was a nosy neighbor in the window years ago. I wouldn't trade them for the world. Listen, give me a nosy neighbor. But like, how can we say that we have helped the neighborhood in such a way? We do something called a collective efficacy survey. Do you feel socially connected? Do you feel like you know who you need to talk to to get help?

like when those things are in place, then we can move on to the next neighborhood that needs our help. So I'm going to just tell you, I love the metrics and the data collection and the idea that there is an exit plan. The very name of it was so hopeful, you know, because like you said, people are looking at if we've done our job, we need to be up out of here moving on to the next situation. So I just want to tell you.

that, and it was funny when the opportunity to have the interview was presented, the way, because I mentioned to people, you know, that I was going to talking to you, and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again, the same work had being used, a jewel in this community. So I just want to say, on behalf of a lot of folks, thank you for being on the grind. Thank you for doing what you do. It is not easy.

Chasing down money to keep the doors open. It is not easy people, you know Think that I can come and set up shop and you know, it's just gonna come that's not how it works And then to have the deliverables to be able to you know, either re-secure grants or bring new dollars in approved to people You know, this is what we've been able to do. That's real work

And so thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right, family. That is the show for today. I got to get out of here, Jermaine. We're going to do some stuff for you. Come on and do it. Do it to your satisfaction. You can do it. Oh my God, your mom was just needed to do better. I ain't going to play with her now. I ain't going to play with her. All right, y'all. I appreciate y'all for checking in. Everybody that tapped into the conversation.

got way more to get to tomorrow. And we're going to pray. We're going to pray for the leadership of this country. And I'm not talking about Donald Trump because that's a waste of time. I'm talking about for the other people that know better and should be doing better. And if they can't, we're going to vote they behind out of office this fall and next year. All right, y'all. Talk to y'all tomorrow. Peace.