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This Thanksgiving, my heart is full for this city. I wake up every day honored and humbled to do the work, but at this time of year, I feel called to acknowledge the power of the opportunity given to me. This is a pivotal moment. We are changing the trajectory. And it takes broad community strength to keep believing, to keep showing up, and to keep building something better together. I am grateful for the support, for your social media messages, and encouraging words. That spirit is what sets Memphis apart and holds us together.
We are proving that when we move with purpose - when we acknowledge that we aren’t just fighting crime, we are fighting for families to have peace - real progress follows. When we trust our strategy and one another, we win. And that is something to be deeply thankful for.
10 Things I’m Thankful For This Season
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Our People. Everyone who comes here says it. Memphis has the best people. I stand on that. You can feel it in how we care for each other, how we show up. If you know us, you know.
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Lowest Crime Levels in 25 Years. Our public safety strategy is working. Memphis is experiencing its lowest level of serious crime in 25 years. While I am not claiming victory, I do not want us to underestimate how important this is. Yes, the task force has helped accelerate progress, but the strategy was home grown. Our work is working.
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MPLOY Record Hiring. City of Memphis’ MPLOY program placed 1,800 students in paid work experiences in 2025 and is setting a goal of 3,000 for next year, continuing to prove that when we invest in our young people, Memphis rises.
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Somerset Demolition Clearing Space for Opportunity. The demolition of Somerset cleared one of the most dangerous and blighted sites in our city, removing a long standing source of trauma and creating room for investment, housing, and a future that restores dignity. Our Community Enhancement, Public Works, and Solid Waste teams are restoring visual peace one neighborhood at a time and turning our streets back into places of pride.
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Neighborhood Impact Tours. Tours in Westwood, Orange Mound, and Alcy Ball have resulted in more beauty and less blight across our city by bringing accountability to the ground level and ensuring that resident voices drive real results.
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Grand Opening of Foote Park. The final phase of Foote Park at South City opened on October 9, 2025, completing a decade long redevelopment and replacing the former Foote Homes with a mixed income community of 712 homes.
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Strengthening Crime Technology and Command Operations. Memphis has added hundreds of new cameras across our city, including key corridors and interstate off ramps, with hundreds more to come. The new Downtown Command Center expands our monitoring capacity and gives officers another fully staffed station, watching cameras around the clock to solve crimes faster and keep families and neighborhoods safer.
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Stabilization and Budding Innovation at MATA. MATA’s progress this year reflects a renewed commitment to delivering reliable resident centered service and modernizing operations. The fare free pilot is helping transform transportation into a true public good that connects people to jobs, schools, healthcare, and each other while building toward a stronger long term mobility system for Memphis.
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Our Generous Spirit. When emergency food assistance ended, the City of Memphis invested 500,000 dollars to help families in need, and our corporate and philanthropic partners more than doubled that commitment. Together, we closed the gap for thousands of households and proved what happens when Memphis steps up for Memphis.
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The Power of Hope. Hundreds of leaders, partners, and residents from across Memphis and across multiple sectors joined the Hope Summit, led by Agape Child and Family Services with the City of Memphis as a committed partner, to declare Memphis a Hope Centered City. Hope is not sentiment. It is a science backed strategy for success, and we are putting it to work in every neighborhood.
“This is a pivotal moment. We are changing the trajectory — and it takes broad community strength to keep believing, to keep showing up, and to keep building something better together.
As we pause to give thanks, I am also reminded that our gratitude can help fuel what comes next. Every act of partnership, every investment, and every sign of progress tells the story of a city that believes in itself.
This is our moment to rise. Together, we are turning hope into strategy and strategy into change. When hope wins, Memphis wins.
Good News!
   Do you have good news to share? We would love to share it! Send us a note at goodnews@memphistn.gov
Track Our Progress
The linked reports below provide evidence to support our public safety strategy and our work to ensure municipal fiscal responsibility. These dashboard provides a quick overview, with the ability to dive in deeper to neighborhoods and divisions. Both dashboards updates daily.
 SAFER COMMUNITIES: For more info on how to use the safer communities dashboard, go here. Or for the whole dashboard, go here.
 FINANCE TRACKER: For more info on how to use the finance tracker dashboard, go here, then follow the prompts to the tracker.
Our Blight Strike Team worked in the following zip codes this week: 38107, 38118, 38127, 38128.
To report concerns related to property violations, potholes, and trash, click the link here or call 311 to speak to a live agent.
Want to know what's happening in Memphis? Explore these event calendars to stay in the loop on all the city has to offer!
Memphis Public Libraries
Memphis Parks
Memphis Travel
Arts Memphis
Choose901
I love Memphis
City of Memphis Meetings & Notices
Greener Mid-South Survey. The Office of Sustainability & Resilience is currently administering the Greener Mid-South public survey to inform the contents of the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan. We want to hear from you on how to reduce our carbon footprint. Take the survey here.
Division of Engineering. The Division of Engineering was proudly recognized at the 2025 ACEC Engineering Excellence Awards Gala, where the Orange Mound Street Project, Accelerate Memphis Activating Memphis 3.0, and Riverside Drive Streetscape Improvements received statewide honors for outstanding civil design.
Memphis is thankful:
This Thanksgiving, we’re sharing a few words from Memphians about what they’re thankful for — reminders of the joy, resilience, and community that make our city special.
From our City of Memphis family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving! 
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