LaKeesha Dumas’ Personal Statement

Growing up in Portland as a young Black woman I experienced a lot of pain, loss, and trauma which led to severe addiction issues. I lost my best friend to gun violence on her 21st birthday. She was shot 14 times, losing her life and the life of her unborn child. She left behind a three-year-old son who is still in my life today. Together we cherish the memory of the beautiful mother he never got to know.

I got clean ten years ago and started working to serve my community. I began to notice that I was going to funerals more and more frequently– funerals of family members, friends, and eventually the children of friends. As I provided financial support, food, and other resources, I began to notice the little children of the deceased who had now lost a mother, father, sibling, or significant relative. Their lives were forever changed. This revelation devastated me. The amount of gun violence and drug-related deaths in Portland has become such an everyday occurrence that in many ways our community has become desensitized to it.

About 9 years ago a dear friend of mine lost her life due to an opiate overdose. I remember visiting her in the hospital hooked up to machines while her young son held onto her foot at the end of her hospital bed, as he stared at his mother's lifeless body. A year later I learned from his grandmother that this same young boy had taken his own life.

These children are the reasons why I created None Left Behind.
These children need hope.
They need to know that the village still exists and that we love them.

None Left Behind strives to create a loving, nurturing, resilience-based community for kids of all ages who have experienced any type of loss, grief, or trauma within their families of origin.

Founder, None Left Behind
LaKeesha Dumas

Keesha is certified by the State of Oregon as a Community Health Worker, Peer Wellness Specialist, Adult Addictions Peer Support Specialist, Adult Mental Health Peer Support Specialist, and Youth and Young Adult Peer Support Specialist.