‘These guys have nothing to lose’ is why Memphis Allies’ Tito Porter does what he does A gun, Tito Porter says, is...
SWITCH Posts
Most Recent SWITCH Posts
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...
Think First
‘Think first’ is advice Terranze Sharp wishes someone had given him “You always have the right to choose. You choose...
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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...
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...
Meet Case Manager Alejandro
Case Manager Alejandro Salinas 'goes the extra mile' Memphis Allies Case Manager Alejandro Salinas sees it all the time: trauma that impacts decision-making. The trauma might show up in the form of poverty and gun violence. It might be inspired by a lack of love and...
TWINS Founders Brandon and Bryan
Partners Spotlight: TWINS founders Brandon and Bryan Mathis When Brandon Mathis recalls how he and his twin brother Bryan grew up, he describes gunshots as “normal” and joining a gang at age 10 as like being in a fraternity. “You got a color, a letter, a family, a...
Outreach Never Stops
Memphis Allies: Interrupting the drumbeat of gun violence Life coach Briant Kelly, also known as B Radical, has a routine with the guys he works with in Memphis Allies’ SWITCH program: he calls them first thing in the morning and again before they go to bed at night....