ABOUT

OUR MISSION

To support and empower families through holistic and transformative programs rooted in Afrocentric principles that foster unity, healing, and community building. We aim to create environments where families can thrive, children can grow, and communities can be strengthened.

FAST FACTS

Over 29 years of empowering women and children with a capacity of up to 17 mothers and their children at a time
A non-profit, 501(c)(3) community-based agency.
Milwaukee’s only long-term (up to 24 months) transitional housing facility for women and their children.
Building features: 13 resident apartments, computer room, culinary/break-out area, children’s play space, group meeting space, a community room, and 3 ground floor tenants’ storefronts.
Our Name: “Nia” means purpose and “Imani” means faith—two of the seven principles of Kwanzaa.
Our Staff: 8 Full-time staff, 1 part-time, 1 contract and 30 regular volunteers.

What Makes Nia Imani Family, Inc. Special

More Time: Women can live at Nia Imani Family for up to 12 months. Breaking cycles of poverty, trauma, homelessness and violence take time. Without safe, affordable stable housing, you can’t get a job, keep a job or raise a family.
More Stable Families: Children can live with their mothers at Nia Imani Family, something unavailable at most transitional housing programs. Our comprehensive programming and holistic approach teaches women about themselves, the importance of childhood stability, nutrition in early child development, and the criticality of early mother-child bonding.
More Tools: Nia Imani Family is not just a roof over a woman’s head. We support women in areas key to their success, such as budgeting, housekeeping, job skills, education, parenting, mental and emotional wellness, nutrition and meal preparation, community resources, problem solving and self-examination and development.
More Support: We are stronger when we help each other. Women are part of an extended “family” structure that provides guidance and support during the program, and beyond. Women develop healthy relationships that provide strength as they transition into independent living. Women are encouraged to fully participate in the broader community, to take advantage of cultural opportunities, resources, employment, etc.

Get Involved

THE Visionary Founder

‍Dr. Belinda Pittman

(Founder/CEO)

Belinda Pittman was born to the Rogers Family, the fifth of six children in Monticello Arkansas. At age 12, following the death of her beloved grandfather, Eugene Cross, she moved to Pontiac, Michigan to live with her sister. His advice to her has been an anchor in her life: “If you believe that you can climb Mount Everest, you can. If you get stuck, back up and rethink, but never give up.”

She stopped her formal schooling in 9th grade, going back and forth between Pontiac and Milwaukee, where her parents had moved in 1969. She later received her GED. In 1971, at age 18, she married and had three children—Felicia, Gaynell and Kendricke. She left this abusive marriage at age 31, ending up in a homeless shelter with her children.

Since then, to support herself and the children, she has worked as a home manager and took care of the children, a cleaning business, worked in a program to curb truancy in Milwaukee Public Schools, was a Community Outreach Specialist at UWM-Extension, facilitated women support groups at the Benedict Center and taught independent living skills to young adults ageing out of foster care. In her darkest times, like so many of the women she now works to empower, she was on public assistance.

In 1994, she and a friend started what is now Nia Imani Family, Inc. They witnessed the profound need to serve women, especially African American, who did not know how to break the generational cycles of addiction, poverty, trauma, violence, abuse, homelessness, and learned helplessness. To make a truly lasting difference for women and their children, she knew that a program must offer long-term stable and safe housing, in a family-like structure where the women could experience what a stable family felt like and watch it work, was a safe place to address the trauma of instability, abuse and violence in their past so that healing could begin and that they could then begin to focus more on developing and expanding their basic life competencies, bonding and parenting their children and connecting to a broader community.

In 2000, she married Corthal McGee.

Over the years, her profile and her projects have been featured in Milwaukee Magazine, The Milwaukee Times, The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, UWM Reports, WMVP, The Milwaukee Catholic Herald, The Milwaukee Community Journal, Neighborhood News Services, Shepard Express and many others.

She has been a speaker at the 4th Street Forum in January 2008 on “The Violence of Poverty”, at many Milwaukee Public Schools, the State of Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Alverno College, Mount Mary University, the Wisconsin Association for Adult and Continuing Education, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee School of Nursing, and many others.

In 2010, she was selected as a recipient of The Milwaukee Times' 25th Black Excellence Awards.

OUR HISTORY

1994: Founded by Belinda Pittman, who recognized a need in Milwaukee for transitional housing for homeless and at-risk mothers. Located at 63rd and Silver Spring.
1996: Moved to 50th and North.
1998: Purchased current building at 25th and Vliet from the City of Milwaukee. The building had been in foreclosure and needed significant work. Received an Affordable Housing Program grant, forgivable loan from the City of Milwaukee, a bank loan, and generous donations.

2001: Rehabilitation complete. Basement community room, computer room, culinary/kitchen area, laundry room and children’s play space available to residents.
2005: Dress for Less Boutique opens at North 27th and State. A small clothing store operated by part-time staff and program participants who have completed the Life Skills curriculum, it served as a valuable training opportunity and stepping stone to jobs outside of Nia Imani Family. It became a popular asset to the community for its affordable new and slightly used clothing, all of which was generously donated.
2007: Muhindi Program started to encourage reading and positive parenting among mothers and their children.
2009: Dress for Less resale shop and training program relocated to retail space in Nia Imani Family building at 25th and Vliet. Nia Imani Family, Inc. celebrates 15 years of helping women and their children break the cycles of substance abuse, violence, and homelessness.
2013: 11 Residential apartments renovated including storm windows and screens by the Department of Neighborhood service.
2014: Changed focus because of the demand from young mothers with child/children and first-time mothers 18 to 25 years old with children not over 5 years old.
2016: Trained by St. A’s in Trauma Informed Care— realizing that we had been doing exactly this since our inception, there just was not a name for it then.
2017: Certified training in PIWI: Parents Interacting With Infants
2021: Nia Imani's Young Mother's Restorative Program branding and strategic planning

Meet the team

Kendricke Pittman

Director Of Programs

Cynthia Chirinda

NIF Projects & Systems

The Nia Imani Family Name

Nia Imani Family’s name has its origins in two of the seven principles of Kwanzaa, and emphasizes our focus on creating an extended family-like structure to “re-mother” our women, and have them learn how to be supportive and sister-like to other residents, while experiencing a stable , functioning family that most of them never had— so that they can go out and establish their own self-sufficient family upon graduation.

Nia (NEE-yah) means purpose in Swahili. It encourages us to look within ourselves and to set personal values and goals that are beneficial to our children and the community, as a ground for resilience in adversity.

Imani (ee-MAH-nee) means faith in Swahili.

It calls us to focus on our best self, and to strive for a higher quality of life for all, by affirming our self-worth and confidence in our ability to succeed and triumph in righteous struggle and a Good Life.

Board of Directors

Shannon Lopez: Board President & Development Chair

Shannon Lopez is a Wisconsin native and an entrepreneur. She is currently owner of Roots Salons, Be Better Salon Consulting, and Be Better ERC Consulting. Her expertise is in financial planning and business development, budgeting, and goal setting. She strives to provide historical data as well as day to day trending that drive operational decisions and create financial plans to achieve overall company goals. She has a passion for developing systems and processes for evolving business to enhance work experience, client experience, and increase retention. Shannon has had the honor of serving on the Nia Imani Board since 2019. She is passionate about helping to bridge the social, racial, and economic gaps in Milwaukee. She is also passionate about helping young women learn to become empowered through financial understanding and independence.
Carolyn Owens’ Norton: Volunteer Committee Chair

Carolyn Owens Norton, a Milwaukee native, graduated from Vincent High School. I’m an educator of 24 years. My expertise is leadership, education and coaching. As a Learning and Behavior Specialist. I’ve held several leadership positions as Assistant Principal, Instructional Coach and PD content and facilitator. My passion is to remove the barriers that prevent students from being successful. My most important role is being a servant for Christ, where I've mentored women and children to be successful by changing their mindset and breaking negative cycles. I align and believe in Nia Imani’s mission that women can break these cycles through support. I am also a proud wife of 42 years, mother of 3 adult children and grandmother and believe ‘When students don't learn the way we teach....Please teach the way they learn.’.
William Lauer: Board Vice President & Building Committee Chair

William is a local Realtor and the principal owner of a real estate team. Before real estate he had a distinguished career in the skilled trades. Most notably he worked in Nuclear Power Plants, Military Vessels and Rocket Launch Pads. In addition to serving on the Nia Imani Family Board, he also is an active member in his Kiwanis club.
Sonja P. Chojnacki She/Her/Ella: Marketing Committee Chair

Sonja Chojnacki, is a Milwaukee native and graduate of Rufus King High School and earned a BS from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. She is a highly experienced social worker and strategic manager and brings a decade of expertise in candidate and public relations campaigns. Sonja is dedicated to creating equity in the city of Milwaukee and has returned home to help lift up the city and is excited to be helping the women and children of Nia Imani Family.
Dr. Belinda Pittman: Founder & CEO & Board Member

In 1994, Belinda became Founder and Executive Director of Nia Imani Family Inc. , a non-profit organization that began offering critical services to women who had long histories of drug and alcohol abuse. The program has evolved to work with younger mothers between the ages of 18-25 with children under the age of 5. Belinda is a seasoned mentor to women of all ages. She is a proud mother, grandmother, and great grandmother who wants to see women be successful no matter what their past experiences are. Belinda’s service provision has included evidenced based approaches of trauma informed care and restorative circles as part of the learning and skills-building practice process for women who have dealt with addiction, chronic homeless, and poverty.
Dr. Francis Mpindu: Executive Director & Board Member

Dr. Francis Mpindu became Executive Director of Nia Imani Family in October 2023, bringing extensive life, work, and educational experience to support the organization's mission. Originally from Zimbabwe, he studied in Kenya, South Africa, and Canada, where he spent 33 years. Dr. Francis has held senior roles in academia, community development, conflict resolution, and non-profits. Recently, he worked in Northern Ontario with Moose Cree First Nation, focusing on culturally based family support, mental wellness, trauma recovery, and restorative justice. He also facilitated a land-based program to help participants reconnect with cultural heritage for community-driven solutions.
Dr. Francis holds degrees from several institutions, including Harare Theological College, Daystar University, and the University of Pretoria, where he earned his PhD in Humanities. He is a certified life coach and experienced leader dedicated to equipping others with skills for holistic well-being.