Mayor Mary Sheffield gave her first State of the City address on March 31, 2026, at Mumford High School. The address gives Detroiters a chance to hear directly from Mayor Sheffield about the policies and programs shaping their neighborhoods and daily lives.
From lowering the cost of living and expanding homeownership to investing in families and improving City services, the address outlines how the administration’s priorities are working to make Detroit a more affordable, safer, and more opportunity-filled city for residents.
New Move Detroit incentive aims to make homeownership more attainable
During the State of the City address, Mayor Sheffield announced the launch of the Move Detroit incentive. It is a historic, citywide effort to grow Detroit’s population, build shared prosperity, foster thriving communities, and create even brighter futures for all Detroiters.
The new incentive will award program benefits to support the retention of Detroit talent critical to the city’s growth, including creatives, entrepreneurs, and small business owners, with additional opportunities to welcome new and returning Detroiters back home.
The Move Detroit incentive offers up to $15,000 toward home purchase plus $1,000 relocation bonus for moving into designated Detroit neighborhoods.
Check out www.MoveDetroit.com for more information on eligibility and for info on how to apply.
Mayor Sheffield takes on poverty reduction by committing to pay all city employees a livable wage
Mayor Sheffield joined with City employees and union representatives to announce another bold step in her pledge to address poverty in Detroit by ensuring that every fulltime City employee is paid a livable wage.
The Mayor’s proposal would effectively raise the salaries of hundreds of City workers to a minimum of $21.45 per hour, which according to the Living Wage Institute translates to $44,616 per year.
To achieve that goal, Mayor Sheffield issued an executive order requiring HR Director Denise Starr to produce a report in 60 days detailing every fulltime position currently being paid less than $21.45 per hour. With that information, the necessary salary increases will be reflected in every eligible City of Detroit employee’s paycheck beginning the first full pay period in July, which coincides with the start of the new fiscal year.
For residents and job seekers: learn about related job openings at JOBS PAGE LINK. https://detroitmi.gov/opportunities/jobs
City offering Ride to Rise program, offering free bus rides for Detroit students
with the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) that will offer free bus rides for Detroit students, every day of the year.
The Ride to Rise: Show ID, Students Ride Free program is designed to eliminate transportation as a barrier to student success. By simply showing a valid student ID, K–12 aged youth (under 19 years old) can board any City bus, seven days a week, 365 days a year, at no cost. This means getting to school, after-school programs, tutoring sessions, enrichment activities, employment and more.
This program directly reinforces Mayor Sheffield’s commitment to Detroit’s children and aligns with her administration’s bold new investment in the City’s educational ecosystem.
Chronic absenteeism is one of the most pressing challenges for schools. Research consistently shows that students who miss 10 percent or more of the school year fall significantly behind their peers. For many students, the obstacle isn’t motivation, it’s getting there. Many parents are working multiple jobs, juggling unpredictable schedules, and simply cannot always be there to get their child to school or an after-school program.
Detroit’s Rx Kids program enrolls 1,200 mothers, distributes $1.6M
The groundbreaking initiative provides direct financial support to mothers during pregnancy and throughout a baby’s first six months. Detroit is the largest city in the nation to participate in Rx Kids.
Rx Kids provides a $1,500 cash prescription during pregnancy, followed by $500 per month throughout the baby’s first six months. The program recognizes that pregnancy and infancy are often the most financially vulnerable times for families and aims to provide meaningful support when it matters most.
With approximately 8,000 babies born in Detroit each year, the program has the potential to deliver tens of millions of dollars in direct support to Detroit families while improving maternal and infant health outcomes and strengthening the local economy.
How to apply: Check eligibility and apply online here. www.rxkids.org/detroit.
Mayor Sheffield announces plan to restore Mid-Block Lighting to city blocks
Concerned about dark and underlit areas, Detroit residents in neighborhoods have been advocating for better lighting on their blocks for years. In response, Mayor Sheffield announced she is directing the Public Lighting Authority (PLA) to implement a plan to answer them.
The Sheffield Administration’s plan will prioritize installing lighting in the “mid-block” areas of neighborhoods, in many cases doubling visibility between corner lights all across Detroit as a result.
Mayor Sheffield has long advocated for this improvement, first as City Council President and throughout her mayoral campaign. Earlier this month, she signed an Executive Order directing the PLA to use available resources to prioritize critical lighting needs in order to support Detroit residents.
Find the full schedule here: https://bit.ly/4skAIg6
