New ‘Healing Spaces’ Created In Vacant Lots
Program, championed by Alderwoman Coggs, aims to turn blight to beauty.
Peace Park at 3240 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
A pandemic-inspired program to give people more outdoor space has found success in the Harambee neighborhood and is now spreading throughout the city.
Thirteen vacant lots have been transformed into pocket parks as part of the City of Milwaukee’s Healing Spaces Initiative and two more are on the way. The spaces include benches, accessible pathways, gardens, solar lights, Little Free Libraries, shade structures and more.
“The pandemic, when we were in the throes of it, showed us just how important outdoor spaces are and how residents increasingly prioritize having these sorts of amenities available to them in neighborhoods like Harambee and across the entire city,” said Mayor Cavalier Johnson at a June 22 press conference held at Peace Park, a “healing space” at 3240 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. It’s maintained by the nearby HeartLove Place, a faith-based community organization.
“This is truly the power of partnership on full display,” said area Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs. The Healing Spaces Initiative provides up to $10,000 grants to community organizations to create, activate and maintain the new public spaces. “None of this would be possible if it wasn’t for the collaboration of many, from the residents to the funders.”
Coggs, who grew up a block away, said she has childhood memories of when the Peace Park lot housed a nightclub and restaurant. But city records indicate it’s now been vacant for more than 25 years. It could someday again house a building, but for now, it’s home to a garden, yoga classes, semi-secluded benches, a covered stage, picnic tables and accessible pathways.
“Our vision for this space is to grow, for this to be our hub in the Harambee community,” said HeartLove executive director Viola Rembert of the park at King Drive and W. Ring Street. The organization is expanding its programming to include music and food, while hosting regular gardening classes. But it’s not just an event; both Coggs and Rembert touted the welcoming smell of flowers as you walk through the space. “It just puts your spirit at ease,” Rembert said.
A new grant program will award healing space managers up to $500 each to program their spaces. The city’s Neighborhood Improvement Development Corporation administers the initiative. “It’s one thing to have a beautiful space in a place that was once blighted, that’s great just to look at, but it’s another thing to help and assist in people actually utilizing that space,” said Coggs. “My hope is that neighbors start eventually using these spaces on their own, without a grant, without anything, because the space is just theirs, the space is for them to heal.”
Peace Park is one of 10 healing spaces that dot the northside neighborhood, but new spaces have opened along the N. 35th Street corridor and future ones are likely to open on the South Side.
Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church executive assistant Linda Griffin leads the church’s healing space, the Roosevelt Grove Healing Garden at 3426 N. 38th St. “Our garden is just getting started. However, we look forward to the beauty of it just like this one,” she said. “There are so many negative things going on in the city right now and we just want to be that positive thing in the Roosevelt Grove area.” The space could eventually include exercise classes, Sunday school classes and yoga classes.
Not all of the healing spaces have minimal traditional park infrastructure. The Harambee Tot Lot, 129 E. Keefe Ave., includes a healing space component as well as a playground structure. That space is led by Riverworks Development Corporation.
“We want every healing space in Milwaukee to be active, vibrant, fun and accessible to the community,” said Vanessa Koster, Department of City Development deputy commissioner. “The City of Milwaukee’s proud of the progress we have seen so far.”
Environmental nonprofit Groundwork Milwaukee has supported the development and maintenance of many of the spaces. “Our mission is to engage in partnerships that develop the capacity of residents of Milwaukee to build environmental, social and economic well-being, so you can see why this is such an important project for us,” said deputy executive director Damien DeBuhr. The group partners with more than 90 “garden leaders” to support its gardens that double as training spaces. “The work it takes to maintain community gardens is hard work.”
The program was initially funded in 2021 by a $70,000 grant from Bader Philanthropies, with Coggs successfully introducing a 2022 budget amendment that added $50,000 by reprogramming other city funding. An additional $10,000 grant from LISC Milwaukee‘s MANDI Awards program, from which the initiative won an award last year, is funding the new programming grants. Healing space partners are encouraged to find other funding to support their work, with American Family Insurance backing the Peace Park space with a $5,000 grant.
Photos
Site Map
June 2023 Healing Spaces Initiative sites. Image from Department of City Development.
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
