My Community’s Keeper Mentor Group in Charleston, SC: A Story of Adversity, Hope, and Leadership

By Mark A Leon

Empowering Charleston’s Youth In Charleston, South Carolina, My Community’s Keeper Mentor Group stands as a beacon of hope for youth and families affected by gun violence, poverty, and systemic inequities. Founded by Keith Smalls, the organization’s mission is to restore, revitalize, and empower the community through transformative mentorship, education, and support services. The group’s approach is rooted in lived experience and a deep understanding of the challenges facing Charleston’s most vulnerable residents.

Programs and Impact

My Community’s Keeper offers a range of programs tailored to the unique needs of young people. Initiatives like “A Girl’s World” and “Boys Will Be Boys” provide safe spaces for empowerment, healing, and personal growth. Participants receive one-on-one mentorship, mental health support, and life skills training, helping them navigate adversity and build brighter futures.

The organization’s work goes beyond individual transformation. By addressing the underlying factors that perpetuate cycles of violence and poverty, My Community’s Keeper aims to create lasting change for the entire community. Their evidence-informed strategies and partnerships with educators, counselors, and specialists ensure that each young person receives the support they need to thrive.

Keith Smalls: From Adversity to Advocacy

Keith Smalls’ journey is one of remarkable resilience and transformation. Born in challenging circumstances—literally on the side of the road in 

Charleston—Smalls’ early life was marked by hardship. 

Despite academic promise in high school, including participation in the chess club and advanced classes, he became entangled in street life and drug dealing, leading to his arrest at age 21.

Smalls spent 19 of the next 21 years in the South Carolina Department of Corrections, an experience that profoundly shaped his outlook. While incarcerated, he worked as a teacher’s assistant and mentored youthful offenders, striving to be a positive influence in a system he found deeply flawed. He earned his GED and later attended Trident Technical College after his release.

Tragedy struck just a year after Smalls regained his freedom: his only son was killed by gun violence at age 17. In a remarkable act of compassion, Smalls asked the court not to send his son’s 15-year-old killer to prison, knowing firsthand the system’s failures. This moment became a turning point, fueling his commitment to break cycles of violence and incarceration in his community.

Leadership and Advocacy

Smalls is now a respected voice in criminal justice reform, serving as the only formerly incarcerated member of the Charleston County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), as well as a Victim Impact Panel speaker and an advocate for youth diversion programs. Nationally recognized, he collaborates with judicial leaders, law enforcement, and reform organizations, insisting that lived experience is essential to meaningful change.

A Legacy of Hope

Through My Community’s Keeper Mentor Group, Keith Smalls channels his adversity into action, offering mentorship, guidance, and hope to Charleston’s next generation. His life demonstrates the power of resilience and the impact one person can have on a community. As Smalls often says, he was “doing something” that wasn’t truly who he was—but today, he is defined by his dedication to helping others find a better path.

Charleston is stronger for his leadership, and My Community’s Keeper continues to empower change, one young life at a time.