Keenan Grimes Community Outreach Center

 

About

The Keenan Grimes Community Outreach Covered by the Blood Mission is a 501(c)3 nonprofit located at the corner of Martin Luther King, Jr Avenue and Chestnut St. The Mission provides outreach and support to the least fortunate members of our community, focusing on those experiencing homelessness and struggling with substance abuse.

History

Just a few months after his son, Keenan Grimes, passed away from an overdose on opioids, Ira Grimes, Jr decided to renovate and transform his facility located at 2461 Martin Luther King, Jr Avenue into a drug and alcohol intervention and resource complex. The loss of Keenan devastated the Grimes family, especially Ira who decided in 2017 that he could not just bury his son and grieve; he had to take some action. Ira formed Keenan Grimes Enterprise, Inc and began offering his space on MLK to serve as a friendship house where those who are abusers of drugs, or are potentially headed in that direction, will find friendship and those willing to listen. Volunteers commit to forming friendships first so that they are able to support those in need, as well as their families, throughout their recovery process. In 2020, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with a spike in drug overdose deaths and a growing population of individuals experiencing homelessness in our city. That same year, the Keenan Grimes complex, under the name The Keenan Grimes Community Outreach Covered by the Blood Mission, received our 501(c)3 status and began operating as a federally-recognized, tax-exempt non-profit organization. Throughout the crisis, we have remained open to serve our community members, expanding our outreach to providing shelter, meals, clothing, and other critical services both at our location on MLK as well as at homeless encampments throughout the city.