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CONTACT: Crissy Lintner, Director of Public Relations, Youth Villages
901-461-3139 | Crissy.Lintner@youthvillages.org

Memphis sees dramatic drop in homicides—outpacing national trends in new FBI report
Leading CVI program credits collaborative grassroots efforts for sharp decline in gun violence

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Aug. 7, 2025) – The FBI this week released impressive new data showing murder and non-negligent homicides were down 14.5% nationwide in 2024.

In Memphis, which led the country in homicides in 2023, murders and non-negligent homicides have dropped a stunning 23% YTD in 2025. This was already after a 22% decrease in 2024 from the 2023 high.

Patrick Lawler, CEO of Youth Villages—one of the nation’s largest mental and behavioral health nonprofits—says Memphis’ drop in homicides is no coincidence. The organization launched Memphis Allies, now one of the country’s largest community violence intervention (CVI) programs.

“The new FBI violent crime data showing the drop across the country is amplified here on the ground in Memphis,” Lawler said. “Since launching in 2022, Memphis Allies, our gun violence reduction initiative, has played a significant role in changing the landscape. While in programming, 91% of our participants have not picked up a new gun charge—a telling metric considering most had at least one previous gun charge.”

These are the kind of results that have led outside researchers to call the SWITCH (Support with Intention to Create Hope) model for Memphis Allies “effective” in reducing violent crime. The SWITCH model incorporates intensive behavioral health counseling, with life coaching and access to resources for those most at risk for gun violence.

Memphis Allies’ staff of 200, with 30 grassroots partner organizations, serves nearly 500 participants a day, all of them high-risk for being involved in gun violence, either as a perpetrator or a victim. The organization is on a growth trajectory, scaling quickly to meet the needs of its community. Since inception, the initiative has served 1,132 individuals at highest risk of gun violence.

“As a country,” Lawler said, “it is vital we continue to fund and support this work, which is proving to be a successful model for reducing violent crime—as illustrated in these new national crime rates released yesterday by the FBI. We’re not in this alone. It takes a collaborative, sustained effort between organizations like ours, community partners, businesses, law enforcement and government officials.”

About Memphis Allies
Launched by Youth Villages in 2021, Memphis Allies is a collaborative initiative, bringing together community groups and resources to reduce gun violence so children, families and our city can thrive. Through community violence intervention program models SWITCH and SWITCH Youth, Memphis Allies identifies, connects and serves individual ages 12 to 35 at highest risk of involvement in gun violence. The initiative’s 200+ employees serve more than 500 individuals across the city every day. Learn more at www.memphisallies.org.

About Youth Villages
Youth Villages is a national leader in mental and behavioral health committed to finding the most effective solutions to help children, families and young adults overcome obstacles and live successfully. Working through direct services and partnerships with other high-performing agencies and advocacy, we collaborate to bring positive change to child welfare, children’s mental health and justice systems. Our 5,000 employees serve more than 43,000 children and young adults in more than 100 locations in 29 states and Washington, D.C. Youth Villages has been recognized by the Harvard Business School and U.S. News & World Report and was identified by The White House as one of the nation’s most promising results-oriented nonprofit organizations. Learn more at www.youthvillages.org.

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