Isaiah Newsome likes to play sports and hang out with friends, like any 17-year-old. But most of the time these activities are cut short as his body, stricken with sickle cell anemia since birth, fills with pain. Getting health care for the disease has not been easy.
Ako Abdul-Samad saw a disconnect in Des Moines’ low-income, northwest Des Moines urban area in the mid-1990s. Gang violence was costing lives – a young woman one year, Abdul-Samad’s son the next. So he started Creative Visions.
