Marquette University partners with nearly 100 local organizations to serve and support Milwaukee’s homeless population. See below for a partial list of outreach initiatives by campus department.
Marquette University Police Department
MUPD’s homeless outreach team partners with local homeless shelters and support programs to ensure the safety of community members who face homelessness or housing instability.
Programs include:
- Repairs of the Breach
- The Milwaukee Rescue Mission
- Redeemer Church
- Salvation Army
- City on a Hill
- Stand Down Milwaukee
- St. Ben's
- Gesu Parish Center
Please note this is not a complete list.
Campus Ministry
Students volunteer more than 8,500 service hours annually to help the surrounding homeless community. Campus Ministry oversees two specific programs aimed at supporting and responding to homelessness in Milwaukee.
Midnight Run
Since 1989, Campus Ministry has partnered with local meal programs and food banks to provide daily meals to individuals facing homelessness through its Midnight Run program.
Partners include:
- All Saints Community Meal
- Casa Maria Catholic Worker House
- Center for Veteran’s Issues
- Gesu Meal
- Housing First-Milwaukee County
Please note this is not a complete list.
Project Homeless Connect
Each year, Campus Ministry hosts Project Homeless Connect, an event which provides critical care resources and services to Milwaukee’s homeless community. Nearly 90 community organizations join Marquette to provide the following free resources:
- Dental care
- Legal services
- Haircuts
- Vision screenings
- Parental resources
Center for Teaching and Learning — Service-Learning Program
Marquette’s Service-Learning Program combines student academic learning with impactful service experiences. Working with local organizations that serve Milwaukee’s homeless population, the program has long-term, mutually beneficial outcomes for the university and its community partners.
Partners include:
- Cathedral Center
- Central City Churches
- The Guest House
- The Milwaukee Women's Center
Please note this is not a complete list.
Center for Community Service
Forming students in the Marquette mission of actively entering into the struggle for a more just society, students engage co-circularly in the Milwaukee community in a variety of ways.
Marquette Volunteer Corps – Student-led teams of volunteers serve in local nonprofits weekly for a semester. Since the founding of MVC in 2011, volunteers have consistently served at the Guest House.
Outreach – Agencies recruit volunteers on campus through a bi-weekly newsletter of volunteer opportunities and Fall and Spring Community Service Fairs. Agencies that have recruited volunteers include: ACTS Housing, Cathedral Center, Casa Maria Catholic Worker House, Milwaukee Rescue Mission, Pathfinders, Walker’s Point Youth and Family Center, Just One More Ministry, and City on a Hill.
Community Day of Service and Urban Connection: Several times a year, the Marquette community gathers for a Saturday of service. Agencies that have hosted Marquette volunteers include: St Vincent de Paul, ACTS Housing, Habitat for Humanity ReStore, The Gathering, La Causa Crisis Nursery, Friedens Community Ministries.
Community Day of Service fundraising: Each year, Marquette students select a Community Spotlight. Students fundraise on behalf of this agency and educate their peers about the agency’s mission. Donations have ranged from $1500-$5000 to agencies that include: Walker’s Point Youth and Family Center, The Guest House, AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, Pathfinders, and Lissy’s Place.
Office of Community Engagement
As a part of President Michael R. Lovell’s city-wide initiative to address trauma and poverty in Milwaukee, Marquette partnered with the Social Development Commission to co-host the 2019 SDC Summit on Poverty and SWIM Conference, which took place Oct. 7-8, 2019.
Near West Side Partners
As a proud Near West Side organization, Marquette supports “Evicted,” the exhibit based on Matthew Desmond’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Hosted by the Near West Side Partners, this interactive exhibit runs June through September 2019 and brings to life the sociological study written by Desmond on Milwaukee’s eviction crisis.