Will Keeps was a 15-year-old Chicago gang member when he witnessed his friend get killed. He escaped and moved to Iowa to help young people from troubled backgrounds. Now, he is hospitalized following the sort of violence he devoted his life to stopping.
Now, Keeps is hospitalized and in serious condition following just the sort of violence he has devoted his life to stopping: a shooting that killed two teenagers at the Starts Right Here education program he founded in Des Moines. Keeps was also shot in Monday’s attack, which police say was gang-related, and underwent surgery.
In a LinkedIn profile, Keeps said he was 7 when he was sexually abused by his stepfather. Confused and angry, he ended up in a Chicago gang at age 13. Keeps has an unmistakable presence and passion, Smith said, though he’s soft-spoken — except for his laugh. Starts Right Here is funded by grants and donors. Some students are directed to the program by the school district. Others are sent by their parents.
The Starts Right Here website says 70% of the students it serves are members of minority groups. Thirty participants have graduated from high school, the district said, and five others are on track to graduate this spring. The doors at the program are always locked, Smith said. He wasn’t sure if guards were present Monday. The program offers classes in the morning only; many students have internships at businesses in the afternoon. The shooting happened just before 1 p.m. Authorities haven’t said who else, if anyone, was in the building at the time.
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