DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) – A former Decatur gang member is now on a mission to make the city a safer place.

"Our children are broke,” Antwan McKnight, the founder of Youth Invasion for Christ Ministries said. “They're broke. We're dealing with broken children so the only solution we have is to throw them in prison that breaks them even more."

Since 2018, McKnight has worked to help get troubled youth off the streets of Dallas. That included Jesse Champion who was once caught up in the gangs.

"I was running the streets,” Champion said. “I was smoking weed, robbing, (involved in) gun violence (and doing) drugs."

Two years ago, at the age of 13, the now 15-year-old Champion found himself in jail after stealing a car with a friend. It was after the experience that he found Antwan, who at 15 accidentally shot and killed his best friends, and years later would be arrested in Texas for trafficking drugs.

During his time behind bars, McKnight decided to form Youth Invasion to help other youth not fall into the life he did by helping youth on the streets change “their mission and vision for life because that is all it takes."

After seeing the rising gun violence in Decatur, McKnight is hoping to return to his hometown to reach those in the streets to try and curb the gun violence.

"Everyone wants to be a leader, but no one wants to do what it takes to responsibility to do what it takes to health the wounds of these communities and restore the lives of these young people,” McKnight said.

McKnight’s works to get the Decatur program up and running is just beginning. He is looking for mentors and community groups to get involved, and that includes former gang members or drug dealers who have turned their lives around and can connect with youth.

"We see them in the streets, and we engage them,” McKnight said.

The goal of the Youth Invasion program is to mentor youth who have found themselves tied up in the wrong groups.

"Where do you think you'd be right now without Antwan?” WAND News reporter Chris Carter asked Champion. The 15-year-old responded with “jail” and encouraged youth involved in violence to think twice before the took part in violent activity.

"It is not worth it,” Champion said. “Being in the streets is definitely not worth it.  There is more to life than drugs and gun violence."

Youth Invasion has had 20 youth successfully complete it and only two of them have found themselves in trouble with the law since completing the program.

The city of Decatur saw its first homicide of 2021 in February when a 27-year-old father was gunned down. Decatur Police said it was the result of an ongoing feud between two gangs.

At the same time in 2020, the city had seen no murders. The first three happened in April of 2020. In total of 2020, Decatur police investigated 12 murders in all of 2020.