We are heartbroken over the senseless act of gun violence on Wednesday that claimed the life of a Memphis Allies...
Memphis Allies Posts
Most Recent 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...
This is ‘Heart Work’
This is ‘heart work,’ says Memphis Allies SWITCH supervisor His name is Earve Mathis, but around Memphis Allies’ South...
More Memphis Allies Posts
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...
‘Big Homie’ Partners with Memphis Allies
Founder Tim Jones ‘knows how to reach the streets’ The first time Carl Davis saw him, Tim Jones was on stage at a Holy Hip-Hop event in North Memphis. “Giving his testimony, being relatable to the crowd,” said Davis, who is Memphis Allies Operations Director. “He was...
Meet Team Supervisor TCion
Outreach is local – whether in Memphis or Afghanistan When TCion Cason was a combat medic, his commander had three words for Army troops as they entered a new area of Afghanistan where the locals did not know them. “‘Hearts and minds,’ we were there to capture the...