Welcome to the Office of Equity
Our Mission
Our mission is to be a catalyst for Milwaukee County's vision as a whole, which is by achieving racial equity, Milwaukee is the healthiest county in Wisconsin. We value and empower residents to identify and create impactful change through awareness, responsibility, and action. We work to challenge and change policies, practices, and power structures that have resulted in historic and persistent barriers to equity.
What Is Equity?
Equity means making sure everyone gets a fair chance to succeed, no matter their race, ethnicity, religion, age, income, language, or employment status. The Milwaukee County Office of Equity (OOE) works to make this happen by creating a community where everybody can participate, prosper, and reach their full human potential.
OOE puts this idea into action by:
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Enhancing the capabilities of county leaders, government departments, and municipalities.
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Socializing shared language, definitions, and concepts to apply an equity lens to all decision-making.
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Engaging Milwaukee County residents
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Facilitating the collective impact to assess and transform policies, practice, and power structures to make Milwaukee a region where every citizen is welcomed, healthy, and thriving.”
We believe that equity benefits everyone. A rising tide lifts all boats, and an equitable community improves systems for everyone!
Services
The Office of Equity has the unique role of providing support for all Milwaukee County government departments while also having the advantage of being a direct link to external systems, organizations, resident-based leaders, and community members. Our overall focus includes:
- Research
- Community Engagement
- Technical Assistance
- Policy Advocacy for Systems Change
- Strategic Partnerships
Social Determinants of Health
Determinantes Sociales de la Salud
As a county, we must invest where the needs are greatest to realize our vision of Milwaukee County achieving equity and becoming the healthiest county in the state. This includes everyone having access to the opportunities, power, and resources to flourish and achieve their full potential. Milwaukee County is addressing upstream, root-cause issues that continue unfair treatment in economic status, neighborhood, and built environment, education, food and nutrition, safety, and health and well-being, also known as the Social Determinants of Health.
| Economic Stability / Estabilidad Económica  |
Neighborhood & Environment / Vecindario y Medio Ambiente  |
Access to Education / Accesso a la Educación  |
Food & Nutrition / Alimentación y Nutrición  |
Community, Safety, & Social / Comunidad, Seguridad y Secidad  |
Health & Wellbeing / Salud y Bienestar  |
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Levels of Government
OOE realizes that understanding the different levels of government and the issues they address is crucial for navigating and advocating within our communities. To help better understand this, the following slideshow breaks down the different levels and the issues they address that impact you. We also included a section on when you should contact your local alderperson and when you should contact your county supervisor to assist you in reporting any concerns, as well as a graphic explaining some of the roles performed by each level of government.
Federal
Space Exploration
National Defense
Food Assistance Programs
(Food Stamps)
Disaster Response
(FEMA)
Funding Grants to State, County, and Local Gov
State
Public Universities
State Police and Highway Patrol
Wildlife Conservation
Child Welfare Programs
Funding Grants to County and Local Gov
County
Highway and Freeway Maintenance
Human Services
County Parks
Substance Abuse Treatment Programs
Public Transit
Local/Municipal
Police
You
Fire Dept.
Waste Management
Economic Development
Zoning and Planning
Contact Us
Technical Assistance Request
For all county departments and community organizations looking for technical assistance or capacity building support from the Office of Equity, use our technical assistance request form.
Language Access Translation Request
For all county departments and community organizations looking for translation services support from Office of Equity, use our language access translation request form.
Collaborative Sponsorship/ Partnership Request
For all county departments and community organizations looking to have the Office of Equity sponsor or partner for their event, use our sponsorship/ partnership request form.