Image above: Melvyn Hayward, senior director of Gang Reduction and Youth Development for the City of Los Angeles...
Memphis Allies Posts
Most Recent Memphis Allies Posts
This Line of Work Chooses You
Image above: Brittney Ragin, Renardo Baker, Machelle Pugh, Eric Watkins and Jeffrey Futrell as a panel for Memphis...
Memphis Allies Statement: April 9, 2025
We are heartbroken over the senseless act of gun violence on Wednesday that claimed the life of a Memphis Allies...
More Memphis Allies Posts
The Means and Skills for Success
SWITCH Youth participant ‘Jaden’ has the ‘means and the skills’ for success Jaden was not in a good place when he entered Memphis Allies’ SWITCH Youth program. At age 17, he was facing an aggravated robbery charge, and he had recently lost a brother in a fatal...
This is ‘Heart Work’
This is ‘heart work,’ says Memphis Allies SWITCH supervisor His name is Earve Mathis, but around Memphis Allies’ South Memphis office, he is better known as “Mr. E.” A life coach supervisor in the adult SWITCH program, Mr. E knows well the cost of making bad...
Carl Davis receives HBCU Empowerment Award
Memphis Allies’ Carl Davis receives HBCU Empowerment Award By his own admission, proud Craigmont High School graduate Carl Davis went to Tennessee State University because he had friends going there. But once Davis reached the Nashville campus, he was introduced to a...
Finding the Light
Step-by-step, SWITCH participant finding the light For decades, Gary was in hiding. He just didn’t know it. “Growing up, I created the mask,” he said. “Be the tough guy to exist in society.” Two years ago, when Gary entered Memphis Allies’ SWITCH program—for adults at...
Nothing to Lose
‘These guys have nothing to lose’ is why Memphis Allies’ Tito Porter does what he does A gun, Tito Porter says, is just a means to an end. In fact, at age 19, it enabled Porter to have his own place. “My first apartment on my own was a jail cell,” he said. Porter...
Quincy reaches potential with SWITCH Youth
SWITCH Youth helping Quincy to realize his potential Memphis Allies’ SWITCH Youth program is not just trying to reach teenagers who might be prone to finding trouble. Rather, the goal is to reach those most at risk for involvement in gun violence. “Quincy,” age 17,...
Trust is Earned, We’re Earning it
Trust is earned, and Memphis Allies is earning it In the spring of 2022 in Raleigh/Frayser, Memphis Allies sent its first team of outreach specialists into neighborhoods rife with gun violence. Carl Davis, who is Memphis Allies’ operations director, and Trevon Toney,...
Gun Violence Reduction Effort
New city/county office another step in the gun violence reduction effort Sometimes, collaboration is a synonym for efficiency and effectiveness. That is the goal—and the hope—for the new Joint Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement. At the recent press...
Think First
‘Think first’ is advice Terranze Sharp wishes someone had given him “You always have the right to choose. You choose the quality of your life by making the right decisions in the critical moments in your life.” –Terranze Sharp, SWITCH Youth team supervisor For...