MILWAUKEE — It was an all-hands-on-deck effort Wednesday night at Milwaukee warming shelters. Temperatures are dropping to dangerously cold numbers.

“We work together, as a team,” Executive Director of Repairers of the Breach, Pastor James West said.

Staff and volunteers at Repairers of the Breach have the set-up down pat.

“We form an assembly line. We get to stack the bins up, we remove the chairs, and then we begin to lay in a format like that all the way across and that’s what we do for all three floors,” West explained.

West said they have been at capacity already this year.

“Now we’re getting at the temperatures Wisconsin can offer…it’s time to come on in,” he said.

Each person is greeted with a hot cup of coffee, donuts, dinner, and a shower. They’re also welcomed with a warm smile by staff.

“You’ll hear someone shout out, Thank God you saved our life…it is cold out there,” West said.

Repairers of the Breach is open from 7:00 a.m until 4:00 p.m. for breakfast, lunch, and community resources. It opens back up at 7:00 p.m. for the emergency warming room.

Watch: Warming shelters work to get people off the streets

‘It’s time to come on in’: Warming shelters work to get people off the streets

It’s located at 1335 W. Vliet St.

The organization helps people six days a week. It thrives on donations and volunteers.

“We’ve been challenged with being able to keep water. Something that we all have to have just to live. The food, the cups, the plates,” West said.

If you want to donate items to Repairers of the Breach, you can drop them off at the front door.

You can also donate on the website.

Everyday items are also needed down the road at the St. Ben’s Winter Warming Center.

“We could use coffee, we could use all kinds of breakfast bars, and most importantly hats and gloves. Because once people leave here they have to find somewhere else to go throughout the day,” Assistant Director, Kenny Howard said.

TMJ4

Howard with St. Ben’s said they’ve seen a lot of people come through their doors and this is only the beginning of what could be a very cold winter.

“We need the community to pray for us because we’re going to need all the prayers we can get to get through this,” Howard said.

You can help St. Ben’s by clicking here.

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Those historically left out of the world of improv comedy have a new opportunity to get involved in Milwaukee’s growing scene.  

The Interchange Theater Co-op, a community-run improvisation theater and school, has established a scholarship for classes, specifically encouraging people of color, people with disabilities and LGBTQ+ people to apply.  

“Milwaukee is unfortunately very segregated, and there is a large white population at our theater and other theaters in the area,” said Vince Figueroa, education director at the Interchange, located at 628 N. 10th St. “So the challenge is: How do we reach out to those other communities to get them to come perform with us and see and learn and embrace the thing that we love?” 

The scholarship aims to address this challenge. 

‘A really valuable art form’

Figueroa gives all the credit for the scholarship, called the New Voices Improv Comedy Scholarship, to his colleague, Mia Serafina, the Interchange’s community and culture director. 

Serafina grew up in Milwaukee but performed on improv teams in less-diverse parts of the state. After returning to Milwaukee after college in 2021, she reconnected with Latinx performers and was reminded of how isolating a lack of diversity can be for an improv performer of color

“I think accessibility to improv helps with people recognizing that it’s not just for one group of people. It’s a really valuable art form, but without points of accessibility, it’s hard to find your way there,” said Serafina. 

“We just want a fuller presence at our theater,” she added. 

The scholarship covers the $200 cost of a class, removing a financial barrier to entry.

“I know people who want to take classes in the scene at various theaters but unfortunately can’t,  just because of the cost,” said Michael Kittelson, an LGBTQ+ comedian who performs at the Interchange. 

A more diverse group of performers also reduces other barriers, Kittelson added.  

“As a gay man, going into maybe a group elsewhere that might mostly be straight, that could be intimidating for me – not just talking about an improv group but just like a group that I’m not used to,” he said. 

All about improv

The Interchange offers five core courses to help individuals learn different aspects of long-form improv.

Improv, short for “improvisation,” is where performers create characters and dialogue on the spot. 

People may be familiar with improv from popular television shows like “Whose Line Is It Anyway,” which debuted in the U.S. in 1998 and ended its most recent run in February. 

But there are different types of improv. 

While “Whose Line” features short-form improv – quick, one-off scenes often based on audience suggestions – many improv classes, including those at the Interchange, provide training in long-form improv. 

Long-form improv involves performers creating a series of interconnected scenes, which allow for richer characters and more sustained narratives.

“There’s just something so freeing and exciting about walking onto the stage and discovering what the scene is going to be, discovering who your character is going to be, helping your scene partner discover who they are,” said Figueroa. “So it’s its own unique art form.”  

A more diverse group of performers creates stronger comedy in general, he added.   

“You say ‘improv’ and some people have this standard image of four middle-aged white guys in flannel doing improv,” Figueroa said. “So when you get other people who don’t look like that … there might be some other references that you wouldn’t think of or connections you wouldn’t necessarily make.”  

For more information

People interested in the scholarship can apply online. 

The next deadline to apply is Dec. 20, with classes beginning on Jan. 13. 

Those with questions can email education@interchangetheater.com. 

MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee man charged with shooting and killing a teenage boy at a bus stop on the city’s south side back in October is now in custody. A warrant for his arrest has been issued since Nov. 11. 

Prosecutors have charged Christian Martin with one count of first degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon. 

Back on Oct. 28, the teenage boy was waiting to catch a bus to school along with two other friends. It was around 11 a.m. when prosecutors say 18-year-old Christian Martin, upset over a breakup with a girl this past summer, shot Nelson Manuel Lopez Correa in the head. 

The 15-year-old was rushed to Children’s Wisconsin, but he never regained consciousness. The teen died three days later. 

Nelson Manuel Lopez Correa

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Case details

According to the criminal complaint, around 11 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 28, a Milwaukee police officer was in the area of S. Caesar Chavez Drive and W. Greenfield Avenue on routine patrol when they observed a large crowd gathered. 

Per the complaint, as the officer approached the area, he saw a male on the ground who had been shot in the head. 

According to prosecutors, a male approached police at the scene and indicated that he was with the victim prior to the shooting. The witness claims he went to the victim’s house before school that day and when he arrived, the victim was with a female he knew (witness 2). Eventually, the three of them left the victim’s house and walked to the bus stop. 

Upon leaving the victim’s house, the witness claims they saw a man standing on the corner and witness 2 stated words to the effect of, “what is he doing here?” The three of them continued to walk, and while doing so, the man, later identified as Christian Martin, approached their group and walked behind them. 

Shooting at 16th and Forest Home, Milwaukee

The witness claims witness 2 began arguing with Martin while the witness and victim walked ahead.

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Once they got to the bus stop, the witness says he walked to his aunt’s house a block away to check the bus schedule, then returned to the bus stop. While re-approaching the bus stop, the witness heard a gunshot and saw Lopez Correa fall to the ground. 

The witness told police he did not see where Martin or witness 2 went, he just ran up to Lopez Correa to check on him and saw him bleeding from the head. The witness claims he then ran back to his aunt’s house to tell her what happened, and then returned to the scene until the police arrived. 

As the scene investigation progressed, a female subject identified as witness 2 walked into Milwaukee Police Department District #2 to report that she was a witness to the shooting. She provided the following information — she claims that morning she went to the victim’s residence before school. While waiting, another male showed up. The three of them then decided to catch the bus to school. 

According to the complaint, as they left the victim’s house, witness 2 claims she observed a man she knew standing on the corner. She identified the subject as Christian Martin. She indicated she had known Martin since July, and they briefly dated, but broke up. Despite breaking up, they have maintained contact with one another. Witness 2 stated Martin texted her as recently as Oct. 27.

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Per the complaint, witness 2 further explained that after seeing Martin, her group continued to walk and Martin joined their group, walking behind and was continuously mumbling under his breath. 

She told police she heard Martin mumble the victim’s name. While they walked, witness 2 began talking with Martin about how they cannot be together. She indicated that at one point Martin grabbed her and punched her in the side, then continued walking with the group. Upon arriving at the bus stop, she claims Martin stood there a few feet away. She indicated that suddenly, while she and the victim were looking up the street, she heard the gunshot. 

Witness 2 said she did not know what to do, so she ran west towards the gas station and eventually to a friend’s house to contact her mother. Martin also ran from the scene, according to the complaint.