MEMPHIS, Tenn — Big Brothers Big Sisters Mid-South chapter is no longer an active chapter Friday, after months of vacancies in their Memphis office.
“It’s going to have a devastating effect on our young people," said Delvin Lane with youth intervention group 901 Bloc Squad.
The management company of the building at 5050 Poplar Ave, where the mentoring nonprofit used to be headquartered confirmed Friday their offices have been vacant for nearly four months.
For some this reported closure could mean all the difference for Memphis’ youth.
“Mentorship it’s a lifeline to our young people," Lane said. "Some of them if you don’t have a mentor they don’t make it; whether it be prison or the graveyard.”
However, for others, like author of The Art of Engaging with Urban Youth and educator, Ernest Morris III the reported closure presents an opportunity.
“Mentorship is so important man is so important because it allows someone to see where they can go and a lot of times you can’t grow where you’ve never been if there’s no one there to show you the ropes.”
Morris said to increase and repair relationships between adults and youth, adults must focus on three things, the power of transprency, understanding that their young people's lives matter and understanding their authority.
“If we truly come together, man, I don’t believe it’s nothing we can’t do," Morris said. “We’re the resource and if we give and we pour and we’re open; true change can come from it.”
We’ve reached out to Big Brothers Big Sisters for additional information on this closure, but we haven’t heard back yet.