MILWAUKEE — It's graduation season, and that means it's time to celebrate all the grads out there. On Thursday, the Silver Spring Neighborhood Center hosted a group of 5th, 8th, and 12th graders to celebrate their academic success this past school year.
Around 20 students showed up along with their families, Critical Response Team members, and Milwaukee police officers. The Critical Response Team is made up of community members with lived experience of violence or traumatic events who respond to incidents and can help de-escalate or console.
While part of the night was to celebrate the students, it was also a way for youth in the community to interact with police and build relationships with the Critical Response Team. It was a relaxed environment for students and emergency responders to build relationships in an organic and long lasting way.
The party was organized by the United Neighborhood Centers of Milwaukee. It's an organization that partners with eight neighborhood centers across the city. According to its website: "This unprecedented structured collaboration of eight tightly affiliated neighborhood centers empowers UNCOM to combine its forces, to advocate for systematic change, serve as a trusted communication conduit for community residents, and build cases for strategic government and private investments in programs and institutions that help build strong and healthy families, accelerate prosperity, and make our city better for all residents."
Watch the interview below to see what the graduation party was like and meet a future Milwaukee firefighter...
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