Begin Again

Mindfulness Behind Bars Program

Nearly 500 justice-impacted adults and youth served each year and growing.

Equipping justice-impacted adults and youth with tools to pause, regulate, and begin again.


Our Objective

Now in our seventh year, Begin Again brings trauma-sensitive mindfulness and emotional regulation tools to justice-impacted individuals across our region.

What began in 2019 as a pilot at the Douglas County Department of Corrections has grown into one of Flatwater Collective’s most impactful community programs. Today, Begin Again serves adults and youth through weekly classes that foster self-awareness, resilience, and healthier decision-making. Participants engage in meditation, self-compassion, emotional regulation, mindful communication, and gratitude practices, all designed to support wellbeing during incarceration and beyond.

Begin Again currently serves justice-impacted individuals across:

  • Douglas County Department of Corrections

  • Pottawattamie County Jail

  • Court-appointed youth in residential settings

We meet participants with compassion and respect, creating a safe and humanizing space for reflection, connection, and skill-building. Each 4-week series concludes with shared community resources so participants can continue their practice after release.

  • Circle with a light blue background containing white text that reads "A Community Effort".

    Begin Again would not be possible without the steady support of teachers, volunteers, and community donors who have helped bring this work to life. Their generosity, care, and belief in the dignity and potential of every participant have helped this program grow from a single pilot into a trusted and expanding offering in our community.

    Together, they have helped create spaces where justice-impacted adults and youth can experience pause, connection, and practical tools for navigating life with greater awareness and choice.

  • Gray droplet shape with white text that reads 'Your Support Matters'.

    With the ongoing generosity of volunteers, teachers, and donors, Begin Again continues to support participants in building the inner skills needed for healthier futures, both during incarceration and beyond.

    Continued and new funding helps us:

    • Expand weekly programming across facilities

    • Strengthen and formalize our Begin Again youth pathway

    • Deepen partnerships with facility leadership

    • Explore additional weekly meditation practice opportunities

    • Sustain the teachers, volunteers, and program support that make this work possible

Our Begin Again Mindfulness Program Teachers

From L to R: Katie Hupp, Anne Savery, Erin Huerter,

Tracy Astorino, Carlos Figueroa, Kim Dunovan, Matt Evans

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