Jason Stein, and Mary Spicuzza

Milwaukee

In the wake of the Sherman Park violence, Gov. Scott Walker is directing at least $4.5 million more to Milwaukee to train workers, help businesses and deal with foreclosed homes.

The Republican governor will make the announcement Friday morning at a jobs center a mile and a half from Sherman Park along with cabinet officials and two top Democrats, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and County Executive Chris Abele. It will come only hours before the funeral for the man whose shooting by police triggered a weekend of unrest.

The money, a mix of state tax dollars, federal money and funds from a court settlement, is being shifted from other regions and programs to the city as a direct response to the recent unrest.

"At the state, we are going to utilize new methods to market job and health services for people who need them, and we are also going to make a significant investment in worker training. This is all about helping people move from government dependence to true independence through the dignity that comes from work," Walker said in a statement.

It's a small down payment on solutions to deep problems. Milwaukee and its suburbs are one of the most segregated areas in the nation, and the inner city has been devastated by the effects of lost manufacturing jobs and high rates of unemployment and incarceration.

COMPLETE COVERAGE: Milwaukee Sherman Park turmoil

Walker, a longtime former resident of Wauwatosa, has related better to the conservative suburbs of Milwaukee than to its liberal urban core, first as county executive and then as governor. But in the face of this crisis, the governor has visited the affected areas and sent his top African-American aides, Workforce Development Secretary Ray Allen and Children and Families Secretary Eloise Anderson, to do the same to respond.

The initial response, which does not need the approval of lawmakers, includes:

$1.5 million in federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families money to work with city officials to run employment programs for those in need of jobs.

$2 million to help the City of Milwaukee to demolish 50 foreclosed properties owned by the city and renovate 60 more. With matching dollars from the city, the money will help employ 200 young and unemployed area residents who will work on the homes as well as clean up all vacant lots, alleys and other blighted properties in the city.

$1 million to Milwaukee businesses to help them train workers in the city.

An effort by the Department of Workforce Development to send out mobile teams into distressed neighborhoods, where they'll set up job centers in churches and community centers to give the unemployed better access to work.

Work by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. to see whether the state can use existing jobs programs to help businesses that were damaged or destroyed during the burning and looting.

Milwaukee officials were still being briefed late Thursday on the full details of Walker's announcement. But they said the problems being targeted are in need of solutions.

“We are working together to put resources into some of the most significant issues facing Milwaukee neighborhoods. With a focus on Sherman Park and adjoining areas, I want to initiate an effort that will address both the lack of job opportunities and the condition of neighborhood housing stock in a meaningful way,” Barrett said in a statement.

"While it's incredibly upsetting that it took another tragedy to create a true call to action throughout our community, I'm encouraged by the efforts of state and local leaders," Abele said in a statement. "I look forward to partnering with Gov. Walker and Mayor Barrett on this new development effort, as well as the County's existing efforts such as the Office on African American Affairs and our successful UpLift MKE job training program."

The recent unrest in Sherman Park was sparked by the Aug. 13 fatal police shooting of Sylville Smith, a well-known figure in the neighborhood.

Authorities say Smith, 23, was armed and turning toward the officer when he was shot. Body camera footage of the incident exists but won't be released until the state Department of Justice completes a review of the shooting and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm decides whether to charge anyone in connection with it.

Sherman Park was once a thriving neighborhood, but the quality of life there has diminished and tense episodes involving residents, businesses and law enforcement have become almost routine. Residents face concentrated poverty, high unemployment, pessimism about the future and a sense that those in power don’t care about helping the community or are unable to do so.

There and in some surrounding neighborhoods, police are struggling to rebuild the public's trust as homicides and shootings tick upward.

Speaking on a separate conference call earlier Thursday, Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) said helping the area's economy won't eliminate the need to better the relationship between police and the African-American community.

"It's really two different issues," Taylor said.

But creating opportunities is essential for the state's minority businesses and communities, she said.

"We will build upon efforts at the city, county, and state, and in collaboration with the private sector, to engage job seekers through a proactive approach and connect them with skills training and other resources," Allen, the workforce development secretary, said.

"Through this proactive and collaborative approach, we will build awareness of the resources that are available to help job seekers overcome employment barriers, develop skills that employers are seeking, and advance toward good-paying jobs and a stronger future in Milwaukee."