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 decisions. As a teenager, he was affiliated with a gang and served six years in prison for aggravated robbery.

“I was a disappointment to my parents, and even to myself,” said Mathis, now 44.

Back then, he says, there was no gun violence intervention program like Memphis Allies. And the guns, well, they were different, too.

“The guns, they just went ‘pop, pop, pop’” he said, referring to single-action shots that today have given way to the altered pistols that fire like mini-machine guns.

“And back in the day, there was more loyalty,” he said. “More respect for older [gang members]. Now, there are cliques within cliques making it more divisive and dangerous. People saying, ‘This is my territory, what you gonna do?’”

That’s where Mr. E comes in, says Memphis Allies Managing Director Carl Davis.

“Mr. E, he is relentless when talking to guys about the SWITCH program,” Davis said. “Starting off as an outreach specialist before becoming a supervisor, he is all too familiar with guys not being sure about Memphis Allies.

“He takes time to build relationships. He talks to the person about real-life situations and the way the program could improve their life.”

Reaching the vulnerable in the moment

Mr. E. is clear: Prison did not rehabilitate him. What it did do was give him time to start changing his mindset, to work on himself.

When he got out in 2004, he accepted entry-level jobs at Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. They came with benefits, and he got to take home unclaimed food to feed his young family.

Now, as he and other Memphis Allies staff members approach young people at high risk for gun violence, he recognizes when they might be most open to making a change: after losing a loved one in a shooting or just coming home after several years of incarceration, scared and unsure what to do next.

“We have to catch guys quick,” Mathis said. “If we don’t, they’re going right back to their old standard and where they feel comfortable.”

It all starts with being a good listener. Maybe the guy just returned home from prison harboring a fantasy of becoming a famous rapper. Mathis lets him talk about it, but then asks the relevant question: “What’s your Plan B?”

“Some of these guys,” he said, “can’t even comprehend learning a trade.”

The thrill of victory

When participants enroll in SWITCH, they not only gain access to an outreach specialist, but a life coach, case manager and a clinical specialist. Suddenly, they have help with everything from learning how to navigate their emotions and family relationships to obtaining an ID, earning a GED or learning how to conduct themselves in a job interview.

Mr. E celebrates each small victory on a participant’s journey, recalling one hopeful young man who after getting his first ID, said: “I feel like I just won the Super Bowl.”

Mathis is also there when yesterday’s bad choices come back around.

“Mr. E is great at situational analysis and helping guys consider the pros and cons of how they deal with situations that could alter their lives forever,” Davis said. “He is a man of many words and often comes up with different sayings and riddles to make people around the office think.”

One of his favorite mottos about present-day society: “Cars are keyless, phones are wireless, families are parentless, kids are mannerless, relationships are meaningless and feelings are heartless.”

Until, that is, people are willing to consider a proactive change. That’s where Mr. E and the SWITCH program come in.

“This,” he said, “is God’s work.”

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