MEMPHIS, Tenn. —
Machelle Pugh is the CEO of the Christopher A. Pugh Center for Men, a Memphis nonprofit that has helped dozens of young men stay on the straight and narrow through job training and mental health resources.
Saturday, April 27, marks five years since 23-year-old Army Sgt. Christopher Pugh, a Memphian, was shot and killed in Oklahoma after trying to break up a fight. No one has been brought to justice for his death.
Out of that tragedy, Pugh's mother and CEO of the center, Machelle Pugh, used his death as motivation to help men in his hometown.
"It's a pain that is indescribable. So, I wanted to make sure that parents here in Memphis, making sure we give them opportunities,” said Pugh.
With the help of nearly a dozen local partners, the Christopher A. Pugh Center for Men center now offers financial literacy classes, a GED program and free clothes for the workforce. There's also job training for film production, music, culinary arts and varied technical certifications.
Edward York, founder of Temperature Control Institute, said he has seen firsthand the difference this nonprofit has made.
"Young men who never considered a vocational trade now embrace it," said York.
It all starts with an eight week need assessment with a tailored curriculum addressing issues like gun violence and mental health. Brenita Seay, owner of Elevated Aspirations Counseling and Consulting, said it is crucial to make sure they are mentally stable before entering the workforce.
"If they're burdened with whatever they have going on, it's hard to focus on anything else. So, if we're speaking to the whole of a person, we've got to speak about the trauma,” said Seay.
The goal is to make sure everyone leaves the program is successful and self-sufficient. Some of the young men, like Carlos Young and Maria Lassiter, said the center helped them transform their lives for good.
"I was coming home from the Feds [Federal Correctional Institute]. The center is somewhere that kids can go and deal with mentors and seek love, so they don't have to go to the streets,” said Young.
"I really feel like my voice is heard. I'm going to be sad when this class is over,” said Lassiter.
The Christopher Pugh Center is also gearing up for its Inaugural Bow Ties and Blazer "Pastors' with Poise” fundraiser to help keep the center and its programs afloat.
The Christopher Pugh Center serves young men ages 14 to 21 from underserved communities in Memphis. If you're interested in signing up, click here.