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Week of August 14, Social Justice Center

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Social Justice Center

The Social Justice Center (SJC) is located on the corner of Willy and Few Streets in the former founding location of the Willy Street Co-op. The SJC is home to several non-profits that serve various communities in our area, from literacy programs for prisoners, to food and essentials pantries, to harm reduction programs and more.

Over the past several months, a great deal of attention has been given to issues happening on the outside of the SJC’s building. People often gather in front, on the side, in the improved terrace and the parking lot. Many of these folks, some of whom are homeless, keep to themselves and are just simply existing. But others are more disruptive, with many reports of fights, public urination/defecation, drug sales/use, and other antisocial and illegal behaviors.

Since taking office in April, I have been meeting with area residents, businesses, MNA, police and representatives of the SJC to discuss these issues and how to best address them. The SJC has taken several measures, including more lighting, security cameras and talking to many of the people who spend time in the area to help change behaviors. While these have helped matters some, problems persist.

One thing I’ve tried to do is to have the public bathrooms at McPike Park open for more of the day. Currently, a Parks staff member will come and unlock / lock the bathroom in sync (more or less) with park hours. We think it might help to have these bathrooms open earlier in the morning, which is when many reports of public elimination of bodily waste occurs. While Parks staff does not currently have the resources to manually open the bathrooms earlier at this time, they do have a budget request for automatic locks that would go in early next year. I will be supporting this in budget deliberations later this year.

On Friday, the Wisconsin State Journal published an article discussing a letter sent by the Madison City Attorney’s office to the SJC, instructing them to “reduce nuisance activity around [their] East Side property or face enforcement action by the city to reduce the presence of the center’s often homeless population.”

Brenda Konkel, Executive Director of Madison Street Medicine (one of the organizations based out of the SJC), wrote this response to Madison City Attorney Zilavy’s letter. After Friday’s WSJ article, she wrote an analysis of recent police calls to the location.

Let me be clear: I support all of the residents of Few Street (and the surrounding area) who are impacted by these negative behaviors and activities. They know they live in an active city in a business district and not some sleepy suburb, but their complaints are valid and substantiated and they deserve peaceful enjoyment of their homes.

I support our local businesses who have been likewise affected.

I support the Social Justice Center and the work that their member organizations do to help improve our community. I think they have been working in good faith to remedy the situation, but we still have a long ways to go.

I support our homeless neighbors, most of whom are just trying to survive and get through the day. Every single person experiencing homelessness went through a unique set of circumstances and events that led to their situation, and thus every one of them requires a unique solution to find permanent housing. It’s not fair or helpful to clump them altogether as the villains in this scenario and criminalize the state of homelessness.

What I do not support is the antisocial behavior that is negatively impacting all involved. It will take continued cooperation from residents, businesses, MNA, SJC, MPD, the city and your alder to move things forward.

MNA will be discussing this topic at their monthly meeting tonight (Monday, August 18) at 7pm at the Wil-Mar Community Center.

One other related issue: I have been considering a resolution to extend the contract for the temporary encampment at Dairy Drive, which is otherwise scheduled to be demolished at the end of October. Extending it through April 30 would allow 29 individuals to keep housing through the winter while work is done to connect them to permanent housing. The city cost would be around $160k. Opponents would say this competes with funding for the permanent men’s shelter. We certainly face a very tight budget where every dollar matters. I’d very much like to hear your thoughts on both this and the SJC (and anything else). I'll look forward to email you send me at district6@cityofmadison.com.

Updates and Notices

Goodman Pool: The Goodman Pool is open daily, weather permitting, through Sunday, August 24.

Boards, Commissions, and Committee Meetings

Note: This is not a complete list of meetings for this upcoming week. All meetings and their details can be found at the Meeting Schedule page.

If you would like more information about becoming a member of a City board, commission, or committee, please visit the page linked here.

Announcements and News Releases

Please visit the City news webpage to find additional news and announcements and to subscribe to receive notification of news releases as they are posted.

Events

Parks Alive Dates!

Parks Alive builds stronger neighborhoods and connects neighbors to their parks through fun, family-friendly activities, music and free food. Events are held in parks across the city and throughout the summer. Connect with your neighbors and engage with your community at a Parks Alive event near you! Events start at 5:00 p.m.

Additional upcoming events can also be found on the City events calendar.

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District 6 - Alder Mayer

Alder Davy Mayer

Alder Davy Mayer

District 6
Contact Alder Mayer