WAI Milwaukee
Education, services, research, and resources for communities of color
Meet the people where they are
At the heart of the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute’s (WAI) Regional Milwaukee Office is community engagement centered on five integrated mission pillars: community outreach, professional education, advocacy, service, and research. This model empowers the Milwaukee and Southeastern Wisconsin communities of color, primarily African Americans, to actively participate by providing culturally-specific health care services for its aging populations affected by dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other health disparities. The WAI draws upon the expertise and resources of the University of Wisconsin, faith and community-based professional organizations, and health care systems to develop and implement solution-based programs and services.
Our model serves as a catalyst for the creation and strengthening of dementia and Alzheimer’s research, programs, and services, while reducing health disparities that disproportionately impact communities of color.
History and impact
Recognizing the emerging public health crisis Alzheimer’s disease poses on communities of color, the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute developed an outreach program in Milwaukee in 2008, with the support of Bader Philanthropies and the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
Today, the WAI Regional Milwaukee Office reaches more than 30,000 individuals and households each year. We foster partnerships to deliver culturally-appropriate education, training and outreach programs to providers, people living with dementia, and family caregivers.
Our efforts focus on dementia-related early detection or risk reduction, treatment, psycho-social management, and caregiver interventions.
Our professional training offers state-of-the-art education around best practices to provide culturally-sensitive care to patients and effectively address community and family needs.
Our motto: Meet the People Where They Are. Building Community: Every Person, Every Action, Every Time.
Every day, the WAI Milwaukee team works to enact that vision. The missions of the WAI Regional Milwaukee Office are to:
- Increase public awareness and understanding of health disparities and dementia within communities of color and with those engaged in health care service delivery.
- Provide Alzheimer’s-related public health education on early detection and treatment, late-stage treatment and management issues, home safety, risk assessment, caregiver interventions, and multicultural outreach.
- Clarify misperceptions that may exist about Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias.
- Educate health care professionals on best practices to provide culturally-sensitive care to patients and effectively address community and family needs.
At the inception of the WAI Regional Milwaukee Office in 2008, the Community Advisory Board (CAB) was formed to be a voice to, and from, the community. Now one of the oldest and longest-running CABs in the nation, this Board serves as counsel to the WAI Regional Milwaukee Office team and the entire campus community on outreach, research retention/recruitment strategies, and barriers to participation. Examples of CAB activities include:
- Provides meaningful insight and support to UW investigators on research projects; resulting in funding for those projects provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Recognized by the UW and Aurora researchers for its expertise and recommendations on innovative research proposals for the African American community
- Provides meaningful insight and support to UW investigators on research projects; resulting in funding for those projects provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Community Events
Our busy WAI Milwaukee outreach team hosts outreach programs and educational events, including the annual Breaking the Silence Minority Health Month event, Coffee and a Chat, Breaking the Silence workshops, health fairs, chorus concerts and in-service programs, and much more.
Hope sings
The Amazing Grace Chorus
A Milwaukee-based community chorus made up of people living with dementia and their caregivers. New members welcome.
Reduce the stigma
Breaking the Silence
WAI Milwaukee’s signature annual event, Breaking the Silence: Addressing Dementia in Communities of Color, is held each April in recognition of Minority Health Month.
Looking for more upcoming events?
Visit the Milwaukee events calendar to find more.
The bottom line is minorities have a greater chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias than any other population. At present, we do not have a cure, and so it is our job to do everything we can to support these families and also educate our community on the impact of this disease.
Director, WAI Regional Milwaukee Office
Support WAI Milwaukee
Your support makes a difference. Support the WAI Regional Milwaukee Office through a donation to the Milwaukee Programs Fund or the Amazing Grace Chorus Fund at the Initiative to End Alzheimer’s. These funds work to expand our programs, as well as building new educational and outreach activities with partners in Milwaukee and Southeastern WI communities.
Contact us
Get in touch
Phone: (414) 219-7091
Fax: (414) 219-6563
Join the WRAP study: joinwrap@medicine.wisc.edu
Program specific questions: WAI staff directory
We have a new address! Research participants, please review the new address before attending your next WRAP Milwaukee study visit.
Mailing address
Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute
UW-Milwaukee Joseph J. Zilber College of Public Health
1240 N. 10th Street, Suite 210
Milwaukee, WI 53205