Will Keeps reinforces message of Starts Right Here while recovering from Des Moines shooting
William Holmes, also known as Will Keeps, said he woke up the morning of Jan. 23 feeling good.
"I had like two or three kids that was about to graduate real soon, but I had no idea it was going to turn into a crazy day. I had three sons, in my eyes they was like sons to me, lose their life," Holmes said in a video released by the Des Moines Police Department.
That afternoon, police say 18-year-old Preston Walls walked into the headquarters of Holmes' anti-violence nonprofit, Starts Right Here, in Des Moines and fired multiple shots, killing 18-year-old Gionni Dameron and 16-year Rashad Carr, and leaving Holmes seriously injured.
Depicted in the video wearing a blue sling holding up his cast-covered right arm and sitting next to a walker, Holmes said he is now more than ever committed to his anti-violence work and belief that it "starts right here."
"You saw all the success when it came down to these kids, and the growth, and it was all just tooken away, because of outside street mentality," Holmes said in the video.
Timeline: The Starts Right Here triple shooting shocked Des Moines. Here's how it unfolded.
Starts Right Here, which sees about 40 to 50 students at a time, has partnered with Des Moines Public Schools through the district's Options Academy, an academic credit recovery program where students can earn their high school diplomas. In the last three years, 28 students have graduated from Starts Right Here, according to the nonprofit's website. This year, 20 students are on track to get their high school degrees.
In 2020, the nonprofit under Holmes leadership prioritized providing educational and other resources to at-risk youth. Friends and family said Holmes has been a driving force for change in the community, providing young people with the resources to complete their high school degrees, seek out mental health services and apply for jobs and secondary education.
But the cloud of violence plaguing the young people Holmes works so hard to support still hangs over his head as he works to move forward and continue on his mission. While he admits he is a little "banged up" and "emotional," he said his work is far from over.
"This will not shut down nothing. This just made me madder," Holmes said.
More:Starts Right Here's founder was shot helping at-risk kids. It won't stop him, friends say.
'Our youth is in trouble'
To end the violence, Holmes said the community cannot give up on its young people.
"I've lived and I've seen it every day of my life. I'm not going to sit up here and ignore the fact that we are killing each other. And we're killing each other as easy as seeing a fly on the wall and swatting it or seeing an ant on the ground and stomping it," he said. "Our youth is in trouble and we constantly keep doing the same thing over and over and over again and it ain't working."
Children on the streets are victims of homelessness and addiction. They're falling into crime and struggling to see a positive future for themselves, Holmes said. No matter who their parents are and how much they are able to support and provide for their kids, Holmes said many young children reach a point at which they "decide to be parented by the streets."
"And when that happens, they think their life is a little bit easier, they think that they're growing," Holmes said.
Des Moines Storytellers Project: How Will Keeps learned to add love, subtract hate and multiply that to stop division
Holmes lived through this decision himself. Growing up in Chicago, Holmes was sexually abused as a child, prompting him to join a gang at 13, according to his website. He survived an attack by a rival gang at age 15. A childhood friend was shot and killed in the same incident.
When he moved to Des Moines in his twenties, Holmes decided to dedicate his life to mentoring youth and helping them feel loved, cared for and safe. He said it will take a collective effort to continue this work, one which should be uplifted by unity and not bogged down by division.
He recounted in the video how one supporter said she didn't feel comfortable donating to Starts Right Here because Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, serves on its advisory board.
"You decide to delay or put a pause on progress because of politics? We ain't got time for that," he said.
Just days after being released from the hospital, Keeps said his mission to better support youth and set them up for success drives him to keep working no matter what.
"We are all in on helping kids that are not reachable in so many peoples' eyes. Our youth is looking to us to not run. If they constantly keep seeing us say 'OK, we're done.' What do you think they're gonna do? They going to be done. They'll become a beast. We need you to fight, to become a warrior. And we need to do it together," he said.
Des Moines Register reporter F. Amanda Tugade contributed reporting.
Francesca Block is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at FBlock@registermedia.com or on Twitter at @francescablock3.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Will Keeps recommits to anti-violence work in video after shooting
