After parting ways with Repairers of the Breach in light of a legal battle over the organization’s mission and control of the board of directors, MacCanon Brown is launching a new shelter on Milwaukee’s north side.
Brown was executive director of Repairers of the Breach shelter for 22 years and also co-founded the Repairers of the Breach Daytime Resource Center for the homeless. She ended relations with the organization last summer.
In her new nonprofit venture, announced at the end of March, Brown will open the MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary to support homeless and at-risk residents in Milwaukee with basic human needs services.
The center intends to address “fundamental human needs of homeless and individuals in a new setting which promotes community, dignity and peer empowerment,” Brown said.
Among the center’s offerings will be food and nutrition resources as well as basic hygiene resources. The nonprofit center will largely be run by the people it serves.
And while it will not function as an overnight shelter, it will be open on a 24-hour basis during periods of life-threatening weather conditions.
MacCanon and a host of community organizers are currently looking into leasing the site of the former St. Leo School, 2458 W. Locust St., in Milwaukee’s Amani neighborhood. Their efforts are being cushioned by a group of founding donors, according to Brown. However, the new nonprofit is continuing to collect additional donations to supplement its startup.
The organization’s application for 501(c)(3) status is still pending with the Internal Revenue Service.
