The  increased levels in adolescent and teen crime in the Shelby County area has prompted Memphis city officials to initiate an series of youth-driven programs and activities dealing mainly with children suffering from SEDs (Serious Emotional Disturbance). These programs focus on the every children’s need to be stimulated mentally and physically through learning activities in order to fully develop in adulthood. Many of the children that are being dealt with has experienced traumatic events in their lives and the main goal of these programs is to alleviate the problems these adolescents are facing and give them a new hope for a future. It is still too soon to tell if these programs are helping with the ongoing problem of teen crime in Memphis, but only time and more government funds will tell.