This is Humanity
In just the last few days, many lives in Milwaukee have been forever changed by a historic flood. According to WISN 12, one neighborhood received 14 inches of rain in one hour. Basements and streets flooded, leaving families wondering what to do. On August 11, 2025, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers declared a state of emergency, but by this time, community members had already been leaning on one another.
Milwaukee native Montréal Cain of MERA was built for moments like these. Through his business or “ecosytem”, MERA responds to crises around the city through its Crisis Intervention Team and with the help of technology. Cain is currently receiving praise on social media from many residents and Milwaukee leaders for how he stepped up, with his son by his side, to clear sewage drains across the city. Cain also created informative social media videos to show others how to clear drains. He said he didn’t plan on going viral; he was just doing what needed to be done.
Cain spent hours clearing drains before he teamed up with another Milwaukee figure, Aziz Abdullah of InPower, a minority, woman, millennial-owned tech-enabled sales and marketing company.
Abdullah usually focuses on tech, admin, and strategy work, but felt it in his heart to step onto the front lines. He and Cain knew of each other but had never really connected. After seeing another Milwaukee resident use a water transfer pump, and with the help of ChatGPT to identify the equipment, Abdullah purchased a few pumps to help remove water from people’s basements. This sparked a partnership between Cain and Abdullah. Neither they nor their volunteers initially knew how to operate the pumps, but through collective problem-solving, they figured it out and began clearing basements one house at a time.
“It was like this organic energy. Nobody had an ego,” said Cain.
More Milwaukee Residents Who Stepped Up
Cain and Abdullah said they were not alone in their work and wanted to acknowledge the following people:
- Andron Lane
- JaQai Ali
- Amir Zakkir
- David Carlson
- Aziz Abdullah
- Todd Jones
- Vaun Mays
- Pastor Walter Lanier
- Vaun Mays
- Kelly Fielder
- Shantae Nelson
- Mark Wade
While in those basements, the men were being bitten by spiders and mosquitoes, all with the potential of being electrocuted because of the wires submerged in water.
“The goal was to help the people,” said Cain. “If we go down, we go down together.”
These men, along with other community members and their children, did work that the city couldn’t do.
“It was just community at its peak,” said Abdullah. He added that even when times became back-breaking and they were pushed to their physical limits, joy filled his heart every time he saw the water being sucked from people’s basements.
$100 Daily Youth Stipends
With no financial gain from their work, the men are expanding to start the Flood Hope 500 emergency rescue plan. For 10 days, Flood Hope 500 will work with Milwaukee youth to remove debris from 50 homes a day for free, prioritizing the elderly, disabled, and disadvantaged. The goal is to raise funds to pay youth $100 daily stipends, with most funds allocated for youth stipends and the rest covering gas, safety gear, and supervisor stipends. Cain and Abdullah will not receive any of the funds raised.
Although the men are doing this work for free, they want to ensure the youth get paid for their work.
“We want to flood the city with hope. We got hit with everything else,” said Abdullah.
As the city of Milwaukee and the surrounding areas look to rebuild what has been lost, the men said this is a great time to come together and support each other, in whatever way seems fit.
“Show up for one another and be a good neighbor,” said Adbullah.
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Nyesha Stone founded Carvd N Stone in 2017 to cover positive news while attending the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Stone has a B.A. in Journalism. She has raised over $30,000 to award grants and scholarships. She has also been featured in ESSENCE and worked with the American Black Film Festival.
