DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — A Decatur organization that’s been working with children for almost four years is closing its doors.

The founder said it’s a safe haven for kids who may otherwise get into trouble. But after helping others for so long — now he’s asking for help himself.

Shemuel Sanders said they’re losing the building they operate in. He said they have kept up with the rent — but the owners of the building got it taken from them. Now the Shemilah Outreach Center has until April 15 to move out.

“You know, it hurts me because of these youth,” Sanders said.

That’s not the only reason Sanders is sad to see his organization forced to close. He turned a tragedy into hope.

“I do this because of what happened to my daughter,” Sanders said. “My daughter was shot and killed in 2020. I went right into effect, to try to turn this these youth around.”

And Shemilah’s Outreach has been helping kids in the community since 2021. They give kids food — help them with homework — and have games to keep them entertained.

“It’s changing our lives very around. Because back in middle school, I was bad. And now I’ve just been caught up like I changed my life around very good,” Yahtavia Harris, a student who has been involved with the group since the beginning, said.

But now the organization is in jeopardy. Sanders said they do not own the building, and the State of Nevada is taking it away from the owners.

“We going to lose it. And it’s not it’s not about me. It’s about these youth that come on a daily basis,” Sanders said.

Sanders said he’s put around $15,000 into the building over the years. The church that shares the space with them also put in around $75,000. Now he has to move all the outreach center’s stuff out of the building in just a few weeks.

“Right now, we are in need. We need a building. We don’t have nowhere to go. It was all of a sudden, we got to April 15 to find out where we going to go,” Sanders said.

He’s hoping they can find a temporary place. If not — he’s not sure what they can do.

“It’s still sad a little bit, but hopefully we find a new building to get back,” Harris said.

Sanders is asking for help either buying a new building — or temporary storage. For example, he has multiple buses and vans to transport kids to and from the center — and no place to park them.

When WCIA asked Sanders why the State of Nevada is taking the building away from the owners, he said he could not share that information.