Press Release

Due to increased growth, Community First, a local, minority owned business that has been changing the world one property at a time in Milwaukee & the surrounding counties since 2012, is growing once again.
Community First’s mission is to improve the quality of Life for Milwaukee area families & neighborhoods by developing quality, safe, & affordable housing opportunities for individuals & families, while promoting self-sufficiency & neighborhood revitalization.

With over 30 projects scheduled for 2021 in Milwaukee & Wauwatosa, Community First is proud to welcome Michelle Long as their Housing Program Director. Michelle will be overseeing various housing repair programs in addition to being the Community Liaisonby providing outreach & support services for low-to-moderate income homeowners in need of essential home repairs.

Michelle was born & raised in Milwaukee County & is a third-generation real estate entrepreneur. For the past five years, Michelle’s primary focus has been residential real estate sales & renovations. She graduated from the LISC’s ACRE program in 2019, citing her passion for neighborhood revitalization as a driving factor for participation in the program & joining Community First.

What separates Community First from other non-profits throughout the United States is that they run their non-profit like a for-profit business where they are giving the community a hand up, not a handout. Currently, they are undertaking a historical redevelopment of 37th Street School into 49 units of affordable senior housing.

The company is looking to add additional staff later on this year, because of the additional projects that are in the pipeline.

For further information about Community First, please contact the Founder & Executive Director of Community First, Rafael Garcia at 414-409-7192 or rgarcia@cfmke.org.