Memphis Allies Posts

Most Recent Memphis Allies Posts

Memphis Allies Receives Gold Kite Awards

Memphis Allies Receives Gold Kite Awards

Memphis Allies’ Tito Porter and Willie ‘Fresh’ Rodgers receive Gold Kite Awards. It takes a special person to work on the front lines for Memphis Allies. By engaging with people at the highest risk for gun violence, staff members accept several realities.

Journey of Change

Journey of Change

A professional overview of Memphis Allies and its goal of reducing gun violence comes with slides, statistics, graphs and a few words from the leadership team.

Power shift

Power shift

At age 13, with his parents not getting along and his father mostly absent, Deangelo Luckett joined a gang. It didn’t take long for him to find a gun in his hand. With his mother struggling to feed the family, Luckett felt like he now had the means to help.

Memphis sees dramatic drop in homicides — outpacing national trends in new FBI report

Memphis sees dramatic drop in homicides — outpacing national trends in new FBI report

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Crissy Lintner, Director of Public Relations, Youth Villages901-461-3139 | Crissy.Lintner@youthvillages.org Memphis sees dramatic drop in homicides—outpacing national trends in new FBI reportLeading CVI program credits collaborative...

More Memphis Allies Posts

Mayor Young’s Message to Memphis Allies Staff

Mayor Young’s Message to Memphis Allies Staff

Memphis Mayor Paul Young recently visited the Hickory Hill office to express his support for the daily gun violence intervention work being done by Memphis Allies' frontline staff Mayor Young shares message with Memphis Allies front-line staff In the aftermath of the...

Engaging One Block at a Time

Engaging One Block at a Time

Image above: Renardo Baker, founder of “I Shall Not Die But Live!” Memphis Allies and partners: Engaging one block at a time Memphis Allies’ mission to reduce gun violence is carried out daily by going into the city’s neighborhoods. Sometimes when there is trouble,...

Fueling Hope

Fueling Hope

Image above: Memphis Allies staff and J. Machelle Pugh, founder of CPC Fueling Hope: Memphis Allies donates van to the CPC Christopher A. Pugh II Center (CPC) serves as a community partner with Memphis Allies’ SWITCH Youth program. As part of the partnership, Memphis...

This Line of Work Chooses You

This Line of Work Chooses You

Image above: Brittney Ragin, Renardo Baker, Machelle Pugh, Eric Watkins and Jeffrey Futrell as a panel for Memphis Allies Breakthrough Conference 2025 This line of work chooses you, you don’t choose it For Memphis Allies and partner organizations, the work to reduce...

Memphis Allies Statement: April 9, 2025

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 program participant at one of our sites. Our hearts go out to the victim’s family and to the staff members who had been working with the young man. In...

The Means and Skills for Success

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’

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

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

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...

This project is funded under an agreement with the State of Tennessee and with support of other funders