MEMPHIS, Tenn. — At ABC24’s latest Let’s Talk community town hall in Memphis’ Westwood neighborhood, several people brought up the need for youth intervention and mentorship.
One of them was Joe Cox, the founder and executive director of Youth Of Westwood (Y.O.W.) a nonprofit committed to guiding and mentoring young people in the neighborhood.
Cox created the organization in 2017 after moving back to Westwood, where he grew up. Since then, he has come to be known as “Mr. Joe” by children and young adults in the neighborhood.
“I consider myself a 'manny,'” Cox said. “I take care of the neighborhood and children when the parents are there. Just giving them an extra helping hand, an extra voice, extra support for the parents, for the family.”
That support ranges from the class he teaches at Westwood High School, to cookouts at the community center, to jumping in to help with school or finding a job.
That was the case with Della Isabel, a Westwood High senior who was struggling to get to class in 2023 after recovering from a brain infection that put her in a comma, jeopardizing her ability to graduate.
“Being sick and being a single mom, I never had a babysitter in order for me to go to school and do what I was supposed to do,” Isabel said.
That’s when the school and Isabel’s mother reached out to Cox.
“He was motivating me everyday to make sure that I was in school, made sure my grades were good,” Isabel said.
For the rest of her senior year, Cox drove Isabel to class almost every day until graduation.
Cox said Y.O.W. is dedicated to providing young people with guidance and create a safe space, sometimes literally.
“Three days ago, we were at the community center, me and 25 kids, eating ice cream, drinking cold water,” Cox said. “We hear gunshots. Turns out that there was a shooting at a store less than half-a-mile away that a lot of those kids frequent.”
He believes that level of commitment is necessary to truly change lives.
“I've been called by a parent instead of calling the school first, I've been called by the cops instead of calling the school or parent first,” Cox said. “There's nothing that gives my heart more joy than knowing they trust me.”
Cox said Y.O.W. has about seven regular volunteers who help with their events. He said he has already had conversations with members of the Memphis Office of Youth Services about growing the scope of the organization throughout the neighborhood.