The AM/DM podcast: ‘Violence interrupters’ seizing the moment?
“And it doesn’t mean that there will be no crime,” Memphis Mayor Paul Young said. “We’re trying to reduce crime, and I think we have to stay focused on that and not be deterred when bad things happen.” (Greg Campbell/Special to The Daily Memphian file)
For more than a decade, the City of Memphis has tried to quell gun violence by talking to potential victims or perpetrators and intervening with them before they might make life-altering choices.
How does the city do it? Using several nonprofits and people called “violence interrupters,” mostly men who’ve experienced this same danger in their youth. The nonprofits identify people deemed to be at risk of violence — because they are connected either to a known shooter or a shooting victim — and the mentors try to help them stay on a good path.
But now the city is doubling down. And it’s doing so at a time when, potentially, it could seize some of the momentum of the Memphis Safe Task Force to impact crime in a long-term, meaningful way.
Joining us today — Local News Day, no less — is enterprise reporter Samuel Hardiman.
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AM/DMMary Cashiola
Mary Cashiola has been a Memphis journalist for nearly two decades, beginning her career covering city government and local neighborhoods at the Memphis Flyer before being hired by Memphis Mayor A C Wharton’s administration.
Before joining The Daily Memphian, she was the managing editor of the Memphis Business Journal, which was named one of the top 10 Best Designed Newspapers in the world by the Society of News Design while she was there.
She also has a background in advertising, with a focus on higher education and the hospitality industry.
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