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Future Urban Leaders is a youth development organization that focuses on increasing the life outcomes for children in Milwaukee’s underserved neighborhoods through risk-reduction and increased accessibility to community resources. FUL provides students and families with year-round programming in arts & humanities, health & wellness, leadership & civic development, and college & career readiness.

We currently serve nearly 200 predominantly African-American children representing over 80 families throughout the city of Milwaukee. We focus our efforts on children and families who live in Milwaukee neighborhoods that have been disproportionately affected by violence and poverty.  The area that encompasses the 53206 zip code has long been recognized as the epicenter of social and economic disadvantage, not only in the city of Milwaukee but nationwide[1]. For issues such as educational achievement, children’s health, crime rates, distressed or substandard housing, and poverty levels, the 53206 zip code is disproportionately impacted when compared to the city, state, and nation.

The 53206 neighborhood is home to 26,661 residents with a racial composition that is 94% African-American, 3% Hispanic, and 3% Other. With almost 48% of residents living below the poverty line (double the rate of the surrounding metro-area), just 6% of the population over the age of 25 has a bachelor’s degree or higher and 28% are unemployed. In relation, the estimated average household income is $22,283, which is 60% lower than the state average. Over 37% (10,039) of zip code residents are 19 or younger and households have predominantly single or female heads of households. Of the school-age children living in 53206, 86.2% of them attend public schools and 65.7% live below the poverty level.[2]

While COVID-19 has affected hundreds of families in Wisconsin, the African-American communities in Milwaukee have suffered in the greatest numbers because of underlying social determinants of health such as poverty, access to healthcare, food, and resources.

In the wake of COVID-19, like the rest of the nation, Future Urban Leaders needed to adapt the way in which our organization operates to maintain our mission-driven focus and to best serve the at-risk community we support in these unprecedented times.  We responded quickly by building an online presence to replace our free daily after school programs upon which our scholars rely. We have migrated our yoga and mindfulness training out of the schoolroom and onto the internet, where we can reach not only our current Future Urban Leaders families but the community at large.

For families who are already in lower SES demographics, COVID-19 presents an unexpected and daunting challenge both acutely and with significant long-term impacts. That is why it is so important for us to focus our manpower and resources even more towards these communities.