Why twin brothers are joining fight against gun violence

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A nonprofit is throwing more resources into reducing gun violence in Memphis, and now, they’ve recruited twin brothers to help.

Twins Brandon and Bryan Mathis were born and raised in Memphis. They said they were kicked out 11 times from nine different schools.

They say it started to define them.

“Poverty stricken. Just kind of became a product of the environment,” Brandon said. “Sometimes we would eat just at a repast, because you were losing somebody every day. You were losing a friend.”

The brothers said their father’s abuse forced them to seek male approval somewhere else, and they were recruited by a gang at 10 years old.

“Next thing you know, we thought we were part of a family,” Brandon said.

By the time they were 16, they thought they were invincible.

“All of us would think ah, no harm, no foul, and nothing can really stop us,” Brandon said.

Until, they said it almost did.

The Mathis brothers hung out at the old Raleigh Skateland. It’s also where they said they got caught in a shootout.

“The gunman was shooting towards a crowd of kids. I remembered picking up two of them and moving them out the way,” Bryan said. “And he turned around and shot again. I ended up getting shot.”

“There were individuals, even myself, I was carrying that night,” Brandon added. “Still, nothing prevented the bullet from hitting him.”

“I got shot at the time they say with one of the most dangerous bullets. It was a .22, and it was traveling around,” Bryan said. “I just remember thinking my life was over if I do not begin to make a change.”

The twins said at that point, their older brother was in prison. They were 16, in and out of the system and now in the hospital.

They called it their defining moment. Instead of retaliation, they chose to turn their lives around. First, they pursued a music career, then mentoring and launching a nonprofit called T.W.I.N’s.

“It stands for Together We Impact Neighborhoods and Nations, so we wanted to reach out to the kids who were going through what we went through,” Brandon said.

They started in schools and later moved into Raleigh and Frayser. They built trust, worked with other nonprofits and targeted hotspots fur gun violence.

They did food giveaways, fed the community and held back to school programs.

Two years ago, T.W.I.N’s partnered with Memphis Allies SWITCH team.

It’s an intervention program under Youth Villages with the goal of bringing community groups and resources together to reduce gun violence in Memphis.

They serve young men most at risk of gun violence and link them with a case manager, life coach and clinical specialist.

Part of the work includes debriefing with life coaches and discussing the plan of action. They talk about recent crime, those involved and how they can intervene.

“He feels like he doesn’t have long,” a life coach said during a recent meeting. “That’s where I have to hit home. Give him something to live for instead of waiting for what he thinks the inevitable is.”

They discussed their needs like a stable job, a budgeting course and help them get their birth certificate or ID. Also, link them to an important piece — clinical help.

“You have to have an approach that takes a life course approach,” Shelby County Health Director Dr. Michelle Taylor said.

Dr. Taylor applauds their work and cited crime reductions other cities have seen when they’ve implemented more intervention programs, collaboration and resources to address the root causes of violence.

“Because that kid wasn’t born with a gun in their hand. They weren’t born knowing how to use it. They weren’t born with the attitude they should use it,” she said.

Memphis police report as of the first week of August, violent crime has dropped 8 percent and homicides have decreased 26 percent compared to the same time last year when the crime rate hit a record high.

“My hopeful thinking is that we’ll continue to put a dent into the gun violence that we are suffering here in Memphis,” Bryan said.

The twins said they made strides in North Memphis. Now, they’re moving into Hickory Hill where Memphis Allies opened a new office.

“We love new challenges,” Bryan said. “It’s like a second home, because Hickory Hill was always that place we would come and escape from where we grew up.”

The twins admit their work can be strenuous and even emotional. One of the first men to accept their help was shot and killed days later.

They helped with the funeral and vowed to fight back even harder, because they say the scars only make the heart stronger.

Want to learn more about the SWITCH Program?

For more information about the program and the neighborhoods they are working in: Click here

If you want to help their efforts: click here

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