MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In an effort to reduce crime and violence, some Frayser teens are asking their peers to pick up the phone.
Thursday, young people gathered at Union Grove Baptist Church to announce the launch of “Love Watch,” a 24/7 hotline to help young people deal with different issues.
The church placed more than 120 stakes in the ground to represent this year’s Memphis homicide victims.
About 30 Frayser youth want to prevent any more.
“We have to start to realize that we’re just not living for us anymore. I have a younger sister,” said 3V Leader Program participant Brilann Coleman.
3V stands for visible, vocal, and valuable.
Under Pastor Charlie Caswell’s leadership, Coleman and others in the program celebrated the launch of Love Watch, a 24 hour hotline for young people.
“As we talked throughout the summer, how do you get in touch with someone if you need help? They didn’t know who to call,” Caswell said.
“We wanted to be able to give back and start here and then spread. So, the hotline is an easy way for you to get… any type of help you need, whether it’s shelter, food, clothing, and so forth,” Coleman said.
She helped develop a free app version of Love Watch. She said the app has already had about 30 downloads.
“We chose Frayser to start with, as I said, because it’s our community. So, once we’re all on board, we can get out there and scatter and spread it all across the world,” she said.
Caswell said most of the kids he works with are at-risk. They might have a parent who’s incarcerated or working multiple jobs.
He said he and other pastors are taking shifts, so there will always be someone on the other end of the line.
“It’s my shift right now,” Caswell told WREG with a smile.
The hotline’s phone number is 901-235-0553.
