KEETA’S PLACE PREPARES GIRLS FOR WOMANHOOD

Keeta’s Place, which was founded in 2020, services girls ages 12-18. With its virtual format is has been able to include girls from seven different states. Photos provided by Lakeeta Williams
Keeta’s Place, which was founded in 2020, services girls ages 12-18. With its virtual format is has been able to include girls from seven different states. Photos provided by Lakeeta Williams

 Keeta’s Place prepares girls for womanhood

BY TIA CAROL JONES
    Lakeeta Williams founded Keeta’s Place in 2020 with the goal of providing a space for girls, 12-18, to learn life skills, so they can grow into adulthood.
    Williams said Keeta’s Place has always been on her heart. And, when she turned 37, she asked God what to do. When the answer was to start Keeta’a Place, Williams said she wasn’t ready because she didn’t think she had the time. Then, the pandemic hit.
     “In the midst of the pandemic and all that was going on, for us as people, during the time of the pandemic, we had the riots
and everything going on in Chicago,” she explained. Williams said sometimes school is the safest place for the young ladies,
and with school not being in session because of the summer and before that, the pandemic, she took up the mantle to check in on the mental health of the girls.
     Williams said working with Chicago Public Schools for 14 years, she has seen what is called the “invisible youth”.
Those are children who are not connected to anything, not good students, or bad students, they’re just looked over. She said the goal of Keeta’s Place is to pull them in and help them grow.
     Williams said there is a partnership with Black Women in Clinical Research. They come in and do virtual sessions and
introduce the girls to a life of opportunities they didn’t know existed. “We’re teaching them early networking skills, we’re also building the mindset that you can. You can see people do it, but when you have those people within your grasp, it makes it even more possible,” she said. Williams added, they are able to not only see it but they have someone who can advise them, if that is a career they want to pursue.
      Williams, who has a degree in applied behavioral science, utilizes it when it comes to the mental health part. She said making healthy decisions comes down to rebuilding the mindset of the girls. Each time they meet, the girls have to name one thing they would change, one thing they would keep
and three I am’s. “I learned a lot of different skills in that program to utilize with the girls to make sure they are putting their best effort forward when they’re talking about themselves. Because what other people say kind of lingers in the mind, so
we want them to speak their truths of what they are, or what they want to be, or what they’re going to be. If you say this daily, then that’s what it becomes,” she said.
    W.O.T. stands for Women of Tommorrow. And, within Keeta’s Place, the W.O.T. Girls are reminded they are working on
the girls they are today and building on the women they are going to be tomorrow.
   Williams said the values are rooted in S.I.S.T.E.R.H.O.O.D. : Strength, Integrity, Support, Teamwork, Encouragement,
Respect, Honesty, Optimism, Openness and Dedication. She added, when the girls come into the program, they are told
the other girls in the programs are now their sisters. “Because sometimes, you don’t want to talk to the adults, you don’t.
But, if you have friends who are mentally in the same space of growth you are, they’re not going to lead you wrong with
the information they’re giving you. Or, they may even encourage you to talk to one of the mentors,” she said. “It sets them up for complete success, totally.”
    Williams said the goal is to let the girls know they are not alone in life, and the mentors in the program are there to
build the girls. She said the youth really can benefit from having life coaches. It results in young girls having more tools to utilize and more experiences for different situations. “Not only are they doing that, but they’re doing it with a group of peers who value those same things they value,” Williams said. “We want to surround our girls with other young ladies, who are
like, ‘yes, let’s move forward.’”
     Williams said while she was nervous about starting the organization during COVID, moving to a virtual platform
enabled the organization to expand.
   Keeta’s Place serves girls in seven states. Going virtual has also expanded the types of guest speakers from all over who talk to the girls. She said it was a big success for the organization.
    For more information on Keeta’s Place, visit keetasplace.org.

Latest Stories

Latest Podcast

Sydney Blaylock-The local skater with national experience