Courage MKE Expanding Into Transitional Housing for LGBTQ+ Young Adults

by | Mar 1, 2023 | 0 comments

  • Brad Schlaikowski
  • Nick Schlaikowski

The nonprofit Courage MKE, an agency “dedicated to the development and support of LGBTQ+ youth co-founded by Brad Schlaikowski and his husband, Nick,” according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, purchased a second property with the intention of helping LGBTQ young adults who have aged out of foster care but who might not yet be ready for fully independent living. The first property, Courage House, is a home for LGBTQ+ youth ages 12–17 experiencing homelessness.

Atlas Counseling

The new property, which will be called C2 Apartments, will be two stories tall, is newly renovated, and will house up to seven young adults ages 18–24. There will also be “trauma-informed, around-the-clock staff [who] will fulfill the duties of a typical landlord and also help the youth cultivate daily living skills,” according to the article.

The original Courage House takes in referrals from social welfare systems and helps those youth deal with past traumas while also giving them stability to attend school and participate in volunteer opportunities. After its success, “the idea of working on a youth center to help LGBTQ youth transition into more independent living bloomed,” according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “On paper, they’re an adult now because it says they’re 18, but these children have not had the luxury of people training them and getting them ready for adult life,” Brad Schlaikowski told the Journal Sentinel.

The property, which needs some rehabilitation and conversion to accommodate seven young people to live there, will function as transitional housing for people coming out of Courage House, and is expected to open in the fall of 2023, with the help of partners such as a carpenters union and Kohls, who will help furnish the property.

Article Tags

Rutabaga - Summer

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rutabaga - Summer

Latest News

A Different Kind of Closet

A Different Kind of Closet

Ezra Johson is advocating for equitable access to gender-affirming clothing through Ezra’s Closet, an initiative he kicked off in Rock County and through Janesville Pride.

Transformational

Transformational

Local author Janet Shelton-Vance transforms the final months of her partner’s life into a story about finding love and yourself in The Warmth of a Woman.

Family Outings

Family Outings

Connecting Wisconsin’s queer families, JR Witt shares the work of Out Families and ways that others can get involved.

Our Readers: Becky Barnes, Madison

Our Readers: Becky Barnes, Madison

My name is Becky and I’m a loud and proud lesbian woman! I grew up in a small agricultural town in Wisconsin where family, community, nature, and hard work were priority. I left home to attend a local college where the LGBTQ+ community there felt safe enough that I...

For the Better

For the Better

Jaime Toberman is a member of GSAFE’s Youth Activist Council (YAC) and wants us all to imagine embodying change.

Latest News

VIEW ALL LATEST NEWS

Atlas Counseling

Events

SUBMIT AN EVENT

VIEW ALL EVENTS

Jobs

SUBMIT A JOB POSTING

VIEW ALL JOBS

Popular Tags

Pin It on Pinterest