SWITCH Posts

Memphis Allies announces two leadership promotions As Memphis Allies moves into its third year of providing direct services to those most at risk for gun violence, Executive Director Susan Deason has announced two staff promotions: Jevonte Porter has been promoted to...

Right where she is supposed to be, Aviance Brown-Austin was meant for this work Aviance Brown-Austin was born to a 15-year-old mother, and partially raised by a youngish grandmother. “Technically, I raised myself,” she said. “Along with the streets.” Aviance made her...

Memphis Allies: A `peacekeeping’ mission in progress

Recently, Antonio Dowdy’s phone rang in the middle of the night. Dowdy, as a Memphis Allies outreach specialist, works to establish relationships with young people most at risk for gun violence.

BEHIND THE SCENES WITH MEMPHIS ALLIES: CHRISTINA GANN, A GUIDING LIGHT
When the Memphis Allies initiative to reduce gun violence launched in 2021, the enormity of the challenge was understood:

People on the front lines would be working with a high-risk population, but that population wouldn’t just be a collection of clones. Rather, each would have their own story.