Common Ground is a 501(c)3 non-profit, racially diverse alliance of congregations, schools, non-profits, small businesses, and neighborhood groups which seeks creative solutions to some of the pressing social problems facing Southeastern Wisconsin. For 12 years Common Ground has addressed issues related to foreclosures, affordable health insurance, education reform, youth summer jobs, athletic field renovations, gun safety, reckless driving, universal broadband access, and the need for numerous neighborhood improvements.  In all its work, Common Ground seeks to bring greater racial equity and justice to its issue campaigns.

Common Ground Works: Common Ground’s ‘Jobs Team’ has spent the last five years studying Milwaukee’s  workforce agency landscape.  Based on this extensive research, it is clear that now is the time to implement a new employment skills training and development organization serving those who have a hard time maintaining stable, sustainable employment.  To meet this need, we created Common Ground Works, Inc (CGW), an economic empowerment and training organization, that will transform lives, and motivate hiring partners to engage in more equitable hiring practices.

Our participants will be motivated adults who want to break the cycle of incarceration, substance use disorder, or homelessness by finding more than “just a job.” They are ready for gainful employment, defined as a situation where their net pay, at the very minimum, meets basic living needs. It is this gainful employment through which an individual derives a sense of purpose, pride, and growth; and it is employment that fuels momentum towards a career – the kind of success that, once experienced, pushes them to better themselves, their families, and their communities.