Youth, Seniors, & Quality of Life

A City That Supports Every Generation

A strong city serves residents at every stage of life. Young people deserve opportunities to learn, work, and thrive. Seniors deserve dependable services, connection, and support to remain independent. Every neighborhood deserves clean streets, welcoming parks, and responsive city services.

As mayor, I will coordinate recreation, health, public works, and community partnerships to improve everyday life in every ward.

Expand Opportunities for Young People

I will strengthen year-round opportunities that give young people safe places to gather, trusted adults to turn to, and meaningful pathways into their future.

My priorities include:

• Expanding accessible after-school, evening, weekend, and summer activities.

• Supporting sports, arts, music, technology, academic enrichment, and life-skills programming.

• Building a school-to-city-government pipeline through paid internships, career exploration, and structured work experiences across city departments.

• Connecting young people with employers, apprenticeships, colleges, and training programs.

• Partnering with community organizations to expand mentoring and support.

• Working with the Youth Council to help shape programs and bring young people’s perspectives into city decisions.

Programs will have clear participation goals, qualified supervision, and regular evaluation. We will review costs, schedules, transportation, and outreach so opportunities reach families throughout the city.

Strengthen Services and Transportation for Seniors

Seniors should be able to access services, participate in community life, and receive help without navigating a confusing system.

I will review senior programming, transportation capacity, staffing, and unmet needs, then work with county and community partners to improve access.

My plan includes:

• Strengthening transportation coordination for senior activities, essential appointments, and everyday needs.

• Expanding recreation, wellness, educational, and social programming.

• Connecting seniors with benefits assistance, food resources, housing support, and available home-repair programs.

• Improving communication through printed materials, telephone assistance, and neighborhood outreach.

• Reviewing accessibility at city facilities and identifying needed improvements.

• Building partnerships that reduce isolation and connect older residents with regular support.

Seniors will have a meaningful voice in evaluating services and identifying priorities.

Improve Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Programming

Our parks and recreation facilities should be safe, maintained, and actively used.

I will assess facilities across all four wards and establish a prioritized maintenance and improvement plan covering playgrounds, lighting, athletic areas, accessibility, and other essential needs.

My administration will:

• Publish seasonal recreation schedules and make registration easier.

• Coordinate routine maintenance and timely repairs.

• Expand activities for children, teens, adults, seniors, and residents with disabilities.

• Partner with schools, neighborhood associations, artists, coaches, and community organizations.

• Use participation data and resident feedback to identify gaps in programming.

Recreation funding should support dependable services, qualified staff, and well-maintained spaces.

Strengthen Mental-Health Support and Family Services

Residents need a clear path to help when they face mental-health challenges, substance use, food insecurity, or family crises.

I will strengthen coordination among city health services, county agencies, healthcare providers, schools, and community organizations to improve referrals and follow-through.

Priorities include:

• Connecting residents with mental-health care, substance-use treatment, and crisis support.

• Coordinating with public-safety partners on appropriate responses to people in crisis.

• Improving access to food assistance and family-support resources.

• Helping families navigate available services through clear information and designated contacts.

• Pursuing partnerships that expand access to primary care, maternal health, and other essential healthcare services.

The city will identify gaps, strengthen connections between providers, and track whether residents can access the help they need.

Coordinate a More Effective Homelessness Response

My experience with homelessness informs my commitment to treating residents with dignity and building practical paths toward stability.

I will work with Mercer County, the Continuum of Care, housing providers, outreach teams, and nonprofit partners to coordinate prevention, outreach, shelter access, and pathways into stable housing.

My approach includes:

• Connecting residents at risk of homelessness with available eviction-prevention and housing assistance.

• Coordinating outreach to people living outdoors and in public spaces.

• Strengthening connections to shelter, healthcare, identification assistance, benefits, and employment services.

• Developing clear procedures for after-hours referrals and urgent needs.

• Tracking barriers that leave residents without appropriate placement or continuing support.

We must address homelessness while maintaining safe, accessible public spaces and following through on residents’ needs.

Deliver Cleaner Streets and More Reliable Sanitation

Clean neighborhoods require dependable service, clear responsibilities, and consistent enforcement.

I will review sanitation staffing, equipment, collection routes, street sweeping, and complaint response to identify recurring service failures.

My plan includes:

• Improving communication about collection schedules and service disruptions.

• Coordinating litter removal and cleanup of recurring dumping locations.

• Strengthening illegal-dumping investigations and enforcement.

• Making legal disposal options and bulk-waste requirements easier to understand.

• Tracking missed collections and cleanup requests through resolution.

• Supporting neighborhood cleanups with city coordination and timely removal of collected debris.

Residents should be able to report a problem, receive an update, and see when it has been resolved.

Strengthen Animal Control and Shelter Operations

Responsible animal services protect residents, support pet owners, and provide humane care for animals.

I will review animal control and shelter staffing, facilities, response procedures, and operating needs. Priorities include:

• Improving responses to dangerous, stray, injured, or neglected animals.

• Establishing clear care standards, staff training, and supervisory oversight.

• Strengthening coordination with veterinary providers, rescue organizations, and adoption partners.

• Making licensing, lost-pet reporting, and shelter information easier to access.

• Pursuing partnerships for affordable spay-and-neuter services and responsible pet ownership education.

• Reporting service demand, response performance, and shelter outcomes.

Put the Plan Into Action and Measure Results

During my first 100 days, I will review youth and senior services, recreation facilities, sanitation operations, animal services, and coordination of health and housing support.

That review will guide a phased plan with staffing needs, funding options, timelines, and priorities for each ward. I will work with Council to align resources with service needs and pursue eligible grants and county, nonprofit, and community partnerships.

My administration will report on program participation, senior transportation requests fulfilled, park repairs, sanitation response times, dumping complaints resolved, animal-service outcomes, and connections to essential support.

GOAL: Strong youth and senior programming, clean streets, well-maintained public spaces, and responsive city services in every ward.

Residents should see progress in their daily lives: activities their children can attend, transportation their seniors can depend on, and neighborhood problems addressed with consistent follow-through.