Breaking Chains Restoring Hope Building Stronger Communities
Empowering Black and Brown women and girls through advocacy, leadership, holistic wellness, and equitable opportunities.StartAnew creates pathways to hope, healing, and lasting success by strengthening individuals, families, and communities through restorative support, culturally responsive programs, and meaningful community partnerships.
Our Signature Initiatives
StartAnew creates opportunities for healing, empowerment, leadership, life skills, and community connection. Through programs serving women, girls, and young men, along with direct resources and family-centered outreach, we support individuals and families in building confidence, stability, dignity, and brighter futures.
Sovereign Sisters
A safe and welcoming healing and leadership space for Black and Brown women who are survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other forms of violence or harm. Through supportive circles, advocacy, life skills, and community connection, participants are encouraged to reclaim their voices, rebuild confidence, and move forward with dignity.
Focus Areas: Healing, leadership, advocacy, safety, confidence, life skills, and community support.
Rooted & Rising
A safe and supportive healing and leadership space for Black and Brown girls who are survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other forms of violence or harm. Rooted & Rising helps girls build confidence, self-worth, healthy boundaries, leadership skills, and the belief that their voices and futures matter.
Focus Areas: Healing, self-worth, healthy boundaries, confidence, leadership, life skills, and positive identity development.
It’s OK 2 B U
An empowerment program with separate groups for women and girls, designed to support age-specific needs through confidence-building, life skills, self-esteem, healthy relationships, school, work, housing, parenting, peer pressure, decision-making, and personal growth.
Focus Areas: Empowerment, confidence, self-esteem, life skills, healthy relationships, school, work, housing, parenting, peer pressure, and personal growth.
Community Holiday Campaign
StartAnew’s Community Holiday Campaign provides seasonal support to families through Thanksgiving community support, youth holiday gift support, winter essentials, coat giveaway, and community care. This initiative helps reduce stress during important times of the year while creating moments of dignity, connection, warmth, and hope for families and children in the community.
Focus Areas: Thanksgiving support, youth holiday gift support, winter essentials, coat giveaway, family support, and community care.
Built Different, Rising Together
Young Men Ages 13–17
A leadership and empowerment program helping young men develop confidence, healthy relationships, decision-making skills, accountability, and positive leadership through mentorship, life skills, and community connection.
Rise With Purpose: Brotherhood United
Young Men Ages 18–24
A leadership and empowerment program supporting young adult men through mentorship, brotherhood, practical life skills, employment readiness, healthy relationships, and personal development.
Threads & Togetherness
Community Clothing Resource Initiative
In partnership with Faith Deliverance Holiness Church, Threads & Togetherness provides clothing to individuals and families in our community, promoting dignity, compassion, and connection through the generosity of donors and community partners.
Our Impact
StartAnew’s work is rooted in healing, empowerment, dignity, and community care. Through programs supporting Black and Brown women and girls, leadership opportunities for young men, clothing assistance, and seasonal community outreach, we help individuals and families strengthen their confidence, build meaningful connections, and move toward greater stability and self-defined success.
Be Part of the Change
StartAnew’s work is made possible through community support, volunteers, partners, and donors who believe in healing, dignity, and second chances. Whether you give, volunteer, partner, or share our mission, your support helps women, girls, and families move toward stability, hope, and a brighter future.
Connect With StartAnew
Interested in volunteering, partnering, donating, or learning more about our programs? We would love to hear from you. Reach out to StartAnew and take the next step with us.
Email: startanew@startanewmn.org
Phone: (612) 223-1305
Testimonials
Start Anew! Wow where do I begin?
I met the founder of Start Anew, at a workshop, on a university campus. I didn’t know what to expect, due to, it being my very first time, educating myself about the prison system and the intricacies of what the “system” is all about.
After the presentation was done, it was time for the breakout sessions, where we could meet the panelists and learn from them. That’s where I met Ms. Cecelia V., and our sisterhood began there. Over the next few months, I’d come to learn and know, that I didn’t know very much about the prison industry.
After coming under the “tutelage” of Ms. Cecelia, by joining her, alongside a group of women, who meet on a weekly basis, to discuss how we can better improve ourselves, our short comings, readjusting to this “new way” of existing, because now there’s a label attached to our names. Admittedly it was a transition to say the least, but with our weekly meetings and interactions with one another, it has truly made adapting a lot easier. Having a sisterhood, so to speak where you can come and let your hair down, laugh, as well as learn how to adapt to your new way of living in society.
Start Anew, has assisted us with our deposits for new housing. Assisted with providing information on housing, starting a new job, advancing on our current jobs, learning about health and nutrition, and having an overall sisterhood, has offered a fresh breath of air, where at times it felt stagnate and immovable.
I thank Almighty God, for our meeting that day on the college campus. Not there as a university student, yet not knowing that Ms. Cecelia and Start Anew would be a new start for me and my future. I am humbly grateful to Almighty God, for Ms. Cecelia and the ladies at Start Anew.
Thank you
Sandra Abu-Bakr