MEMPHIS, Tenn — During his inaugural address on Monday, Jan. 1, Memphis Mayor Paul Young laid out a specific list of goals for his first 100 days in office.
His goals include meeting with the various stakeholders and decision makers across the city. The first faction Mayor Young mentioned were community groups from each city council district, who he plans to meet with in order to better understand the grassroots efforts already underway in Memphis neighborhoods.
The new mayor knows the number one issue on almost every Memphian’s mind is crime.
“Public safety is not just the law enforcement side of things, it’s also the prevention and intervention activities,” Mayor Young said during his Monday media availability.
That means working with groups like the Memphis Shelby Police Activities League (PAL), a youth mentoring group that works to create positive relationships between young people and law enforcement.
“We lose about three PAL kids a year through gun violence or violence as a whole,” said Memphis PAL CEO Craig Littles.
Mayor Young has pointed to poverty as a major contributor to crime. It is something Volunteer Memphis is currently focusing its attention on.
“We've been doing a lot of work around food insecurity, working with Mid-South Food Bank to make sure that in our events, we’re communicating the need and access to foods,” said Volunteer Memphis President and CEO Reggie Crenshaw.
Sarah Houston, Executive Director of Protect Our Aquifer, wants to see the mayor secure grant funding from the federal government for projects that ensure the area's drinking water continues to be safe.
“We are closest to the problems and to the solutions in the city,” Houston said.
That is why Mayor Young’s goal is to bring as many people to the table as possible.
“I think that our community is going to rally around the solutions we identify,” the mayor said.
A spokesperson for Mayor Young said he plans to release more details about his plans for his first 100 days in the coming weeks.