MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Top minds in Memphis strategized Tuesday to save the city’s youth. My Brother’s Keeper is an action summit, bringing together agencies and figuring out how they can play a role.
“So many of these young men act out and do stupid things to compensate for their deficiencies. That’s how they get positive attention,” Memphis Mayor A C Wharton said.
His youth action initiative addresses what’s causing kids to get in trouble. He says they shouldn’t just lock up troubled youth – they should find out what they need and provide it, from education to health care.
“To a young man who is inactive and he is obese. They call him fatso. What does he do? He goes somewhere where they won’t call him a name. When you go to a gang, they don’t exclude you because they call you fatso,” Wharton said..
Health leaders discussed how to better help families.
“Better link families into care and health care, making sure that children have well chart exams and well immunized and all of those things. In addition, what we also want to cover is healthy communities,” Yvonne Madlock with the Shelby County Health Department said.
The business community weighed in on employment.
“At the end of the day it’s about self-sufficiency and being able to provide for yourself and your family,” Tonja Sesley Baymon of the Memphis Urban League said.
“It’s going back to the businesses to see what’s important to them, to their particular industries, what they are looking for, what skill sets are missing. Then hopefully pull it all together and come out with answers,” George Mabon with the Airport Authority said.
National leaders say it can work in Memphis.
“I hope at least one thing comes from it, that people believe they can make a difference. That the American dream is alive and well and we have to make sure it’s alive and well for everybody,” event speaker Joseph Echevarria with Deloitte Touche LLP said.
My Brother’s Keeper is the national initiative spreading in different cities. Wharton says the focus on education, health services, employment opportunities, and justice reform are the same issues being addressed here in Memphis, so expect to see more from his youth initiative in months to come.