The Route 80 bus approaches the bus stop in front of MATC on the corner of 6th and State streets to pick up passengers.

It’s no secret that Milwaukee’s inner city is struggling at a historic level right now, and the jobless rates are 10 times higher in inner-city neighborhoods than the greater Milwaukee area as a whole according to officials in charge of the JobLines program. In an effort to fight this unemployment epidemic, the Milwaukee Inner-City Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH), and the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin (BHCW) have teamed up to start the “JobLines” project within the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS).

The JobLines project consists of two routes. The first is JobLine Route 6 that starts at N. Port Washington Road and runs as far as New Berlin Industrial Park. JobLine Route 61 starts at 35th and Capitol and travels as far as Menomonee Falls’ retail hub.

The goal of these routes is to give people that don’t have adequate transportation the opportunities to get jobs they normally wouldn’t be able to obtain.

Thus far the effort has been a success. Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele said, “Thanks to everyone involved in making these routes a reality, there are now hundreds of people who have jobs and thousands more who have access to employment.”

Recently Rev. Willie Brisco shared that his goal for the JobLine project is to bridge the gap between the private sector, the people that are providing these jobs, and the public sector, the people funding the JobLine. In 2014 the JobLine project received a $13 million grant, but that’s not enough money to make this project work in the long haul, according to Brisco. Right now the main goal for the JobLine project is to find a sustainable and permanent funding source so they can continue to fight joblessness and poverty in Milwaukee neighborhoods.

For more information on JobLine routes 6 and 61 visit

www.ridemcts.com.