Community Advocates Inc.

Community Advocates Inc., a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based tax-exempt nonprofit organization, operates as a prime recipient of federal grants for homeless services, substance abuse prevention, and mental health training, with secondary engagement as a subrecipient to state departments of health services, children and families, and the Department of Justice.

Community Advocates delivers permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, transitional housing, homeless prevention, case management, rental assistance, Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) implementation, and substance abuse and mental health services. The organization's grant work spans three primary federal programs: the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program under HUD's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development (CFDA 14.267), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and Center for Mental Health Services, and the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Victims of Crime (VOCA) program. Recent prime grants include a $1,558,412 CoC award from HUD (effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027) supporting five program components in Milwaukee; a $1,311,042 CoC grant (July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025) funding rapid rehousing, homelessness prevention, case management, and substance use prevention for African American youth; and a five-year SAMHSA grant for mental health awareness training (awarded September 30, 2021, through September 29, 2026) targeting low-income, underserved Milwaukee County residents across multiple demographic groups, including African American, Spanish-speaking, Hmong, LGBTQ+, and Native American communities.

HUD's Community Planning and Development office dominates the customer base with 58 awards, while SAMHSA accounts for 12 awards and the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families accounts for 10 awards, together representing 85% of total awards. Community Advocates also acts as a subrecipient on grants from the State of Wisconsin Departments of Health Services, Children and Families, and Administration, and from the Department of Justice Wisconsin office, receiving sub-awards for the Brighter Futures Initiative, ALLIANCE WI programs, treatment and prevention services, and trauma-informed housing and behavioral health support for domestic violence victims. Recent sub-awards include VOCA housing and behavioral health support for victims of crime (awarded October 1, 2025 from DOJ Wisconsin) and the Brighter Futures Initiative for the Milwaukee region (awarded February 5, 2026 from the State of Wisconsin).

Activity has accelerated over the past three years — four awards in 2022 rising to eighteen in 2025 — with combined dollars obligated across 101 awards totaling $50.6 million. Five awards carry ultimate completion dates within the next twenty-four months, representing modest near-term recompete exposure. Community Advocates operates as a prime on 68 awards (67% of total) and as a subrecipient on 33 awards (33%), indicating a balanced portfolio split between direct federal funding and pass-through state intermediary relationships.