Jerome Smith held a gun to his heart and pulled the trigger when he was 25 years old. “I decided that I had messed up my life and decided to take my life,” he told us. The semi-automatic gun fired, but no bullet pierced Jerome’s body, which he took as a sign. God had spared him, he says. That began a journey back to faith and a life dedicated to others. He got his GED a year later and got his bachelor’s degree in finance after that. Eventually, Jerome became a minister and started Greater Praise Church of God in Christ, initially in his home with his wife and daughter. The congregation outgrew his home within a matter of weeks. Today, the church has a home on West Center Street, and even on a weekday is home to a constantly ringing phone and a hive of activity, including the Joseph Project, a jobs program. Concerned about drugs, violence and poverty in the area, he and Orlando Owens, also featured in “This is Milwaukee,” convened other community leaders who agreed jobs were key. The Joseph Project provides job training and transportation via church vans, otherwise idle during the week, to places more rich in jobs, like Sheboygan. In January, Jerome was among the project leaders who met Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, when he visited Milwaukee.