About Acts
Our History
For 30 years, we’ve been coaching families through their homeownership journey, one brave step at a time.
About Acts
Every Homeowner Started Somewhere
For 30 years, we’ve been coaching Milwaukee and Rock County families through their homeownership journey—one brave step at a time.
One Family at a Time.
Acts Housing makes it possible for families with barriers (credit, savings, financial, language, etc.) to become homeowners. We work alongside the families we serve as coaches, guiding them through every step to homeownership. Every family deserves the opportunity to build stability, create wealth, and pass opportunity on to the next generation.
Late 1980's
The idea takes shape
Father Denis Lewis arrives at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Milwaukee’s Washington Park neighborhood and sees two problems; refugee families trapped in substandard rentals and vacant foreclosed homes sitting empty.
1992
ACTS is founded
Father Lewis and city housing official John Worm formally organize ACTS (Allied Churches Teaching Self-Empowerment), operating out of the basement of St. Michael’s near 24th and Vliet.
1995
Grows into a full nonprofit
As more churches join, ACTS becomes Acts Housing Community Development Corporation, attracting foundations and donors and expanding its reach across Milwaukee. Additionally, Acts Housing became HUD-certified. All Acts Housing Coaches are HUD-certified.
2004 - 2009
Weathering the housing crisis
During the housing bubble and bust when foreclosure rates in low-income neighborhoods approached 25% nationally, Acts families maintained a foreclosure rate of only 10% and an 82% sustainability rate.
2013
Acts Lending launches
Acts Housing launches its in-house mortgage program, offering fixed-rate loans with down payments as low as $1,000 and no minimum credit score, serving families turned away by traditional lenders.
2019
Expands to Beloit, WI
Acts Housing opens an office in Beloit, Wisconsin, bringing its homeownership model to a second city facing similar housing challenges.
2022
Acts Homes fund created
Acts Housing launches a $10 million Homeowner Acquisition Fund to purchase properties on the open market and make them available to Acts families first; countering out-of-state investors buying Milwaukee homes in bulk.
2024
Move-In Ready Loan added
Acts Lending expands its product lineup with a second mortgage option for buyers purchasing below-market homes that don’t require major rehabilitation.
2025
Record growth & new programs
1,240 families enter homebuyer coaching; 362 purchase homes. Acts begins selling loans to banks to recapture capital, and launches a Tax Foreclosure Prevention pilot. The lending portfolio surpasses $14 million.
2026
A Milestone for Milwaukee
Mike Gousha and John D Johnson highlight an incredible milestone for Milwaukee: since 2018, the city has gained 4,000 new homeowners, with the vast majority of those gains occurring within Black and Hispanic communities.
At Acts Housing, we are proud to have helped make that progress possible by supporting approximately half of these families on their path to homeownership.
Milwaukee has approximately 96,000 owner-occupied homes. This means that our 4,000+ Acts alumni own approximately 4% of all the owner-occupied dwellings in our city.
That’s thousands of families building stability, equity, and generational wealth through homeownership — and stronger neighborhoods across Milwaukee because of it.
Find Your Home. Take the First Step.
Take the first step right now with our 20-minute virtual orientation.