Akron Mayor Shammas Malik delivered his first State of the City Address, focusing on his priorities in the first 100 days, the successes and difficulties he has encountered, and what is next for the community. The Mayor’s priorities include public safety, quality education, health, housing, the environment, economic development, and job opportunities.
Mayor Malik’s number one priority is public safety, and he discussed several ways the city and its partners can work together to address concerns. The Mayor announced the upcoming launch of the Street Team pilot program focused on community violence intervention. The program will hire Credible Messengers who will engage with those most likely to be involved with violence and help them understand the consequences of their actions while providing them with support and guidance.
The Mayor noted that Akron continues to build partnerships with the local public schools and higher education institutions. His administration is also focused on tackling universal pre-K, and they are working with community partners so that every family can have access to affordable, high-quality early learning programs. Additionally, Mayor Malik is launching the Youth Success Summit, which is a backbone organization for out-of-school time providers and will empower providers to deliver high-quality programs that meet the needs of youth.
The city of Akron will launch employee resource groups for city employees for the first time, supporting female employees, BIPOC employees, and LGBTQ+ employees and their allies. The resource groups will be employee-led, with support from the administration, and they plan to expand to other groups in the future.
Watch the Mayor’s full address here.
