For the students who work as COAST leaders in the neighborhoods immediately surrounding UWM, the job description varies on a case-by-case basis.

Photo by Angela McManaman

COAST leaders and UWM students Ashley Ludowissi (covering the Mariner’s neighborhood) and Andrew Knuth (covering the 3100-3500 blocks of Downer Avenue) screen-print T-shirts at a recent COAST training/team-building exercise.

But in everything they do, COAST leaders support the East Side’s student renters and long-term residents – building harmony between two populations who can appear to have little in common except for their street name. (COAST stands for Community Outreach and Assistance for Student Tenants.)

“Student renters, young families, long-term homeowners live near campus for a variety of reasons,” says Keri Duce, coordinator of UWM’s Office of Neighborhood Housing and the COAST program.

“And we know many UWM students are living on their own for the very first time and some need guidance on being neighborly, maintaining a home and understanding rental rights and responsibilities.” 

Twelve student leaders were on duty for the 2008-09 academic year. Starting this September, COAST will expand to include 14 leaders, a new graduate assistant and cover new ground: an expanded Riverwest territory, plus the East Side’s Greenwich Village and Riverside Park neighborhoods.

“COAST leaders communicate regularly with long-term residents, so they have that perspective,” explains Duce. “Plus they’re knowledgeable in the variety of resources available to students adapting to the new role of ‘renter/neighbor.’”

Ashley Ludowissi, a UWM junior and third-semester COAST leader, serves Mariner’s neighborhood just west of campus. Working with the full COAST staff, she produces a monthly newsletter that is delivered to every home on COAST blocks. Hand-delivering the issues has helped her connect with at least 75 percent of residents in her neighborhood. All leaders attend meetings of the neighborhood association that represents their COAST territory.

Leaders reach out to students by hosting two events per semester. The programming – from volleyball tournaments to mid-semester stress-busters – is an opportunity for students and neighbors to come together for low-cost, alcohol-free recreation.

Neighborly advice
Other times, it’s the residents who reach out to COAST – like a fellow UWM student who e-mailed Ludowissi asking for advice on dealing with hard-partying roommates.

“She told me the parties kept up almost every night,” remembers Ludowissi. “She couldn’t sleep or study – and then one roommate wanted to sublet the apartment, which made this young woman even more worried.”

Every COAST leader receives 60 hours of mandatory training, from building-code violations to community-building, boundary-setting and rental issues. So when Ludowissi heard about the roommate situation, she educated the student on her legal rights as a co-signer on the lease.

The job can get more complicated when both neighborhood populations – students and long-term residents – get involved in an issue.

A recent case in the Mariner’s neighborhood involved a graffiti-stained rental home that had been the site of frequent parties over the years. Ludowissi got to know the newest tenants in fall 2008. Their arrival prompted renewed concern among Mariner’s long-term residents.

Ludowissi asked the five new tenants to make an extra effort to get to know their neighbors. The gentlemen complied: shoveling snow for neighbors, painting over the graffiti and removing a pair of sneakers that dangled for years over power lines in front of the house. 

If the new tenants had not been so accommodating, Ludowissi might have been called into a meeting with representatives from Neighborhood Relations, University Police and Norris Health Center. In a handful of tough cases, with students facing repeated drinking and disturbance citations, the university takes a group approach to assess the situation and provide recommendations.

Then there are the little things that leaders do for their neighbors – gestures that any one of us might do for one another but that are part of the job description for COAST leaders.

“I can’t tell you how many students leave their doors open and unlocked,” Ludowissi says. “I make it a point to stop by or follow up with an e-mail reminding students, ‘Don’t leave your door unlocked.’ There is a lot of traffic in these neighborhoods.”