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Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton Helps Celebrate Fresh Start's 10 Year Anniversary

House 1
Fresh Start crew poses with Lt. Gov Barbara Lawton.

House 2
In a celebration of the Fresh Start Program's first ten years, Lt. Gov. Barbra Lawton cuts the ribbon for Beloit's first Fresh Start home.

House 3

Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton recently announced state and federal awards totaling $1.2 million for the Fresh Start programs throughout Wisconsin. The announcement came at an event held to celebrate the ribbon cutting of the City of Beloit's first Fresh Start home. Fresh Start is a program that combines providing housing opportunities for low and moderate income residents with helping at-risk youth learn building and life skills to become self-sufficient.

"Contributing to a healthier future for our most at-risk youth, connecting them to training and jobs with a future, and increasing the low-income housing stock - that winning combination is the wisdom of Fresh Start," Lt. Governor Lawton said. "These awards will leverage $2.5 million in locally-developed resources to help serve approximately 200 at-risk youth, 75 percent of whom will earn a basic skills competency or high school equivalent education. By offering education and training to at-risk youth, WFS invests in their future and in Wisconsin's economic vitality."

State and local officials, grant recipients and young people involved in the Fresh Start program were on hand to hear some impressive statistics from the first 10 years of the program including:

  • 898 at-risk youth have been enrolled
  • 649 (73%) successfully graduated (employment, continuing education, military, training)
  • 499 obtained employment or returned to school
  • 80 housing units completed and sold or rented to low income persons
  • $9,790,147 total value of completed housing units, many located in revitalization areas
  • 58 % reduction in the normal rate of recidivism among youths referred by criminal justice system
  • $550,159 additional local property and other government taxes generated

This year's award recipients include:

ADVOCAP, Inc., (Fond du Lac)
Two crews/housing projects
Commerce Funding: $177,833
ADVOCAP will operate two crews serving up to 20 participants to be recruited from the city of Fond du Lac in Fond du Lac County. ADVOCAP's two crews will each construct a single-family home within the city of Fond du Lac.

Community Action of Rock and Walworth Counties, Inc. (Beloit)
Commerce Funding: $30,000
Community Action will serve 10 participants on one crew to be recruited from the Beloit area in Rock County. The crew will substantially rehabilitate a single-family home in Beloit.

CAP Services, Inc. (Wautoma)
Commerce funding: $99,916
CAP Services will serve 10 participants on one crew to be recruited from Wautoma and the surrounding area in Waushara County. The crew will construct a new single-family home in Wautoma.

Dr. Howard Fuller Education Foundation (Milwaukee)
Commerce funding: $30,000
Dr. Howard Fuller Education Foundation will serve up to 14 participants on one crew recruited from the area of the agency's housing construction projects on the near north side of Milwaukee in Milwaukee County. The crew will construct one single-family home.

Indianhead Community Action Agency (Sawyer and Washburn)
Two crews/housing projects, Hayward and Shell Lake
Commerce funding: $114,916
Indianhead Community Action Agency will serve 32 participants on two crews, one each in Sawyer and Washburn counties. The participants will be recruited from Sawyer and Washburn counties and the Lac Courte Oreilles Indian Reservation. The two crews will finish two single family homes in Hayward that were started in 2006, as well as one single-family home in Shell Lake.

Milwaukee Christian Center (Milwaukee)
Two crews/housing projects, Commerce funding: $40,000
Milwaukee Christian Center will serve up to 20 participants on two crews. The participants are to be recruited from Milwaukee's south side. The two crews will construct two single family homes on Milwaukee's south side in Milwaukee County.

Northcott Neighborhood House (Milwaukee)
Commerce funding: $35,000
Northcott Neighborhood House will serve up to 14 participants on at least one crew to construct two single-family homes in Milwaukee.

Opportunities Industrialization Center of Racine County, Inc. (Racine)
Recommended Commerce funding: $15,000
OIC-Racine has proposed serving at least 14 youth on at least one crew, with at least one housing project planned in Racine.

Renewal Unlimited, Inc. (Portage)
Commerce funding: $99,916
Renewal will serve up to 10 participants on one crew to construct a new single-family home in Portage.

Wausau Area Hmong Mutual Association (Wausau)
Two crews/housing projects, Wausau
Commerce funding: $215,835
Wausau Area Hmong Mutual Association will serve up to 20 participants on two crews to construct two single-family homes.

Western Dairyland Community Action Agency (Eau Claire, Jackson)
(Two crews/housing projects, Fall Creek and Alma Center)
Commerce funding: $314,333
Western Dairyland Community Action Agency will serve up to 20 participants on two crews, one each in Eau Claire and Jackson counties constructing single-family homes in Fall Creek and Alma Center.

For more information regarding the Fresh Start program contact Padraic Durkin at 608/267-2737 or padraic.durkin@wisconsin.gov.

-- Tony Hozeny