Parkway Village Organizations Join Forces for “Stop the Violence” Youth Event

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As crime continues to plague Memphis neighborhoods, a Parkway Village business owner says he’s not giving up on his community.

The Superior Shop on South Perkins has been a mall staple for over 10 years.

Owner T. Ginem said his high-end boutique is his second home. That’s why, right outside his door, he hosted a “Stop the Violence” event for young people on Saturday.

“I can benefit the next person as much as they can benefit from me,” Ginem said. “So the idea is why not put it all together and give back as much as we can? At the end of the day, customers are our neighbors.”

This event comes as crime continues to rise in the city, particularly among young people.

“There is a lot of violence in the streets,” Ginem said. “So the only thing to do right now is try to get everyone together. »

However, Ginem was not alone in his efforts to achieve unity in his community.

He partnered with Ride of Tears, an organization that aims to raise awareness among children about gun violence.

“When you see Ride of Tears, it’s because a baby died or that sort of thing,” said Mary Trice, founder of Ride of Tears. “So this time we wanted to do something positive that doesn’t talk about death, but about being alive. Be happy to be alive. »

Several businesses in the mall and other organizations joined the mission.

“The mission is to try to bring the children of the city of Memphis together to stop so much crime,” said Laticia Lewis of Women on a Mission.

“It’s about partnering with these community businesses, integrating these local nonprofits into the city and creating preventative measures,” said Drew McCraven, CEO of Positive Reaction.

Trice said Saturday’s example of community engagement is necessary if people want to see a drop in crime rates.

“When you’re tired and enough is enough, you want to see your community do better,” Trice said. “You want better for your community, better for the youth, better for the parents, better for everybody, but it can’t get better if we’re constantly killing and hurting each other. So when you bring everybody together, it’s more love.”