Joseph Battista, Editor

Freaky Friday, “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”, the weekend is known for getting weird. Its breath of fun from a week’s labor is provocative. The smidge of freedom gets the people going. What becomes of a person who’s gotten going too far, who dabbles in more than the smidge?

Memphis, Tennessee, currently facing one of the biggest crime epidemics in the United States, may have the answer. Memphis Mayor Paul Young and Memphis gang leaders believe a lack of job opportunities for youth has gotten the people going, and is a major cause of the city’s crime issues. A possibility to tame the lost smidge could be a New Deal-esque employment program.

“Our young guys just need something to do; they steal cars because it’s fun, because there’s a lack of activities in their communities,” said Memphis Mayor Paul Young during a press conference.

As wild of a quote as it may sound, he is not wrong. Similar after-school activities of grand theft auto are happening in Connecticut where the Kia Boyz reign supreme. His finding comes from a meeting with local Memphis gang leaders on reducing crime in March 2024. The city government has been working proactively to pacify crime through sponsored programs like the Violence Intervention Program (VIP) and bolstering police programs by increasing funding by $1.9 million.

During the meeting, gang leaders requested resources that would lead to employment for their members, reducing crime. Mayor Young cited a study from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service that agreed with their request, which found violent crime reduced by 45% with youth employment programs. The program was a success, but the main criticism is the costly operation.

If reducing crime through employment is Memphis’ plan, they need to take a page from Teddy’s book. President Theodore Roosevelt’s New Deal alleviated mass poverty and crime in the US during the Great Depression. Creating new development projects that demanded employment gave inexperienced workers a job, new skills and funds to spend which strengthened local economies.

A similar program in Memphis could lower crime rates and rejuvenate Memphis’ community. Creating city development projects, offering employment for said projects, educating participants on career-generating resources like FAFSA and subsidizing employers for hiring from the program are just a few ways the program can take shape.

Memphis crime prevention programs, like the VIP and community mentorship programs and gangs (they requested the resources, maybe they are willing to chaperone the field trip), could partner with the job entry program to increase effectiveness and participation. Working collaboratively, mentors can use the employment program as a tool to assist their mentees in employment. Operational costs of the job entry program would be reduced by utilizing existing mentors, alleviating criticism of employment programs.

I am no money guy, so the budget needed for the project is mysterious to me. Maybe it is too expensive to be feasible. Regardless, precedent shows employment programs work and painting a picture of what a Newer Deal could look like is a good start.