LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville's 51st mayor shared what he's learned in his first month in office as he delivered his State of the City address on Thursday.
Mayor Craig Greenberg spoke on the direction he believes Louisville is headed at the Americana World Community Center in the Beechmont neighborhood in south Louisville.
One of Greenberg's biggest announcements during his speech was the creation of Louisville's first-ever Office of Philanthropy and Office of Immigrant Affairs.
The Office of Philanthropy will be headed by former vice president for university advancement at University of Louisville: Mariana Barzun.
Greenberg said the office will work in partnership with local and national foundations and nonprofits to coordinate strategies and investments geared toward solving some of Louisville's biggest challenges.
Louisville's new mayor announced the Office of Philanthropy's first project will be to develop a plan to make universal Pre-K a reality for all 3 and 4-year-old children in the commonwealth.
"Early childhood education is essential to making Louisville safer, stronger and healthier," Greenberg said.
The Office of Immigrant Affairs will be led by Amos Izerimana, previously the leader in the Metro Office for Globalization.
"The one thing I've learned is that we have an incredible team of dedicated public servants who love our city, who work hard every day for the people of Louisville," Greenberg said.
The mayor said in the coming months, the new Community Care Campus will open to help people experiencing homelessness in Louisville, a main topic in Greenberg's campaign.
The campus on East Breckenridge Street will serve Louisville's Smoketown neighborhood, providing various forms of healthcare, employment assistance and more.
Greenberg addressed gun violence in Louisville, saying, "Public safety -- that's the first and greatest responsibility of metro government, in fact, of any government."
The mayor said the 160 homicides, which occurred in the metro last year, is far too many.
"Each of these crimes is a tragedy for the person on the receiving end of the violence and for the person committing that act of violence," he said. "These tragedies hurt their families, their communities, all of us."
Greenberg said he plans top invest in the root causes of crime such as poverty, education gaps and supporting the Louisville Metro Police Department.
"Our goal is to help people who might be on the path of tragedy find reasons to change direction," Greenberg said.
The mayor said he and his team will be visiting every corner of Louisville in the coming months to better understand our community needs.
"Together, we are ready to move in a new direction," Greenberg said.
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