They lift your spirits, prompt you to think, make you feel grateful and inspire you to do more. They connect you to our community, shining a spotlight on what's good about our city. They're stories that are Uniquely Milwaukee.
It started as an idea. This summer, it broke ground.
NeuVue is a $16.2 million housing project that’s unlike any other in Milwaukee: a six-story building on the city’s North Side intended entirely for young adults in the city.
“Neuvue will help pave the way for self-sufficiency for the young people who will call it home,” said Joann Harris-Comodore, founder and CEO of Neu-Life Community Development, the nonprofit behind the project. “That alone is just so invigorating and so exciting as we move forward.”
Since 2000, the organization has worked to uplift Milwaukee’s youth through educational programs, recreation and workforce preparation. Their impact will only increase with NeuVue, which is designed for adults age 18 to 24 — the demographic of individuals transitioning out of Neu-Life’s existing programming.
“We realize society has put a pressure on 18-year-olds, and they feel like they should have it all figured out,” said Chanda Harris, who experienced Neu-Life’s programming as a kid and now serves as its director of impact. “In reality, you don't have to have it all figured out. This is our answer to transitioning out of these programs that stop at 18. … Life doesn't stop at 18. Support doesn't stop at 18. Let's continue forward.”
In the organization’s eyes, NeuVue is a culmination of all the preventative work Neu-Life has done over the last 26 years. “We focus on prevention versus intervention,” Harris said, “because we believe that if you get ahead of it, you don't have to counteract it.”
NeuVue shares the organization’s well-thought-out approach. In addition to the 36 high-quality, affordable apartments ranging from studios to two-bedroom spaces, there will be workforce opportunities in Neu-Life’s Farmfork Culinary School and Cafe; Neu-Media Studios; and amenities like a gym, community rooms, a rooftop garden and underground parking.
The project would have a direct impact on people like Anthony Bender, who first walked through Neu-Life’s doors as a 10-year-old. Now 21, he works on staff as an assistant teacher who can look at his students knowing where they’re coming from.
“Neu-Life has opened my eyes to a whole different perspective of life that I never would've thought that I would see, coming from the neighborhood that I grew up in. … It left an impact on me.,” he said. “I could be out here doing some other things, but I'm giving my time to youth and trying to help them realize it's more than just being outside and doing something that could lead you to getting in trouble.”
Zakarah Ross has felt the impact of Neu-Life’s programs. Asked about it, the 14-year-old quickly pointed to “some of the new stuff I never experienced, like Six Flags. I never went to Six Flags. I never went out of the state. They took me to places I’d never seen. Because when I say I stayed in the North Side, I literally stayed in the North Side. I never went to the south, west or east.”
But it goes beyond new experiences. It’s also about helping her plan for a new future.
Before I came to Neu-Life, I ain't gonna lie, grades were down. I didn’t really care about going to school,” she began. “I wouldn't say I didn't care about my future, but I really didn't take steps to plan it out. With Neu-Life, they had me do vision boards. I never did a vision board, and I never really took the time to be like, ‘What do I really wanna do in the future?’”
After years of fundraising, NeuVue is set to open by summer of 2028 and is supported by community leaders like Milwaukee mayor Cavalier Johnson and alderwoman Sharlen Moore, plus financial support from groups like Herb Kohl Philanthropies.
“I can say unbiasedly that this is a model that everybody should follow,” Harris said. “It should be just something that every neighborhood should have. It should be something that every youth should be a part of because the youth are the future, and if you don't have anything to offer them, they won't have anything to give back to you, and that's just how it goes.
“You show them what they can be, and they'll show you just how far they can exceed your expectations.”
