Image above: Brittney Ragin, Renardo Baker, Machelle Pugh, Eric Watkins and Jeffrey Futrell as a panel for Memphis...
Memphis Allies Posts
Most Recent Memphis Allies Posts
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...
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...
More Memphis Allies Posts
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...
Impact, Truth, Grind and Unity
Youth Villages employees learn about Memphis Allies’ tireless work to reduce gun violence Each year, the Youth Villages Employee Conference brings together team members from across the country to Memphis. Not only is it a chance to make new connections—and reconnect...
Not Left Behind
Not left behind, Calvin Sanford finds his mission as a SWITCH Youth life coach In 2010, Calvin Sanford was staring at a potential 66-year prison sentence for aggravated robbery and burglary. “I didn’t do that one,” he said. “I knew who did, but I didn’t tell.”...
Memphis Allies at Autozone Park
Memphis Allies visits the ‘pitch’ at AutoZone Park Awareness knows no bounds. So, it does not matter that in the Memphis neighborhoods with the most gun violence, pick-up basketball games are far more common than impromptu soccer matches. Recently, Memphis Allies used...
Red Door Urban Missions in South Memphis
Memphis Allies partner Red Door Urban Missions has deep roots in South Memphis It is a quiet Monday morning—no immediate evidence of the gun violence that is rife in what Eric Watkins calls the “concrete jungle.” Watkins, founder of Red Door Urban Missions, is sitting...
Chance for Change
SWITCH Youth: Every potential act of gun violence comes with a ‘why?’ Even when a shot has not been fired, the professionals working within Memphis Allies’ SWITCH Youth program understand time is of the essence. Recently, a teenager in the program got into an argument...
SWITCH Hosts Community Event
Raleigh/Frayser SWITCH participants put on event for the community Call it a matter of give and take. Before entering Memphis Allies’ programming, many of the participants had been taking from their own communities. But now, as stage 3 SWITCH participants, their focus...
Helping Heal the Hood
Heal the Hood to provide ‘pro-social’ programming in support of SWITCH Youth Ladell Beamon’s Heal the Hood Foundation of Memphis, which impacts Memphis youth through the arts, is a new supporting partner of Memphis Allies’ SWITCH Youth program. As part of that...