PEORIA ( 25News Now ) - A basketball non-profit is doing more than teaching the game, it’s stepping up to help a growing crisis within the Peoria area.

Hoops Inc. is a sports non-profit that brings a nurturing environment to help young people and adults find their way physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Jared Jackson and Devonte Keeton are from the Peoria area and said basketball has been an outlet for grief as both men lost loved ones to gun violence.

“It was therapy, when I was sad, basketball, when I was mad, basketball, just keep my mind off a lot of things,” said Keeton.

”I can’t put it into words. I would go play basketball or go to the gym and lift. It was just a way to clear my mind," said Jackson.

Devonte Keeton lost his brother, Tommie Forest, to gun violence at age

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