Back to the Start

06/03/2026

We are pleased to announce that Assemblymember Mia Bonta will be joining our Reflections for Freedom Event on June 9th at the Parkway Theater in Oakland.

Stay tuned for announcement of our the rest of our amazing panelists in the next few days.

Brought to you by Back to the Start and Bay-Peace, this double-feature film event and community conversation that uplifts stories at the intersection of intergenerational trauma, poverty, and incarceration. Hear directly from individuals whose lived experiences challenge dominant narratives and deepen our understanding of how cycles of harm take root and how they can be transformed.

Access the QR code or visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reflections-for-freedom-tickets-1985963744019?aff=oddtdtcreator to RSVP or for more info.

06/01/2026

✨Policy Highlight✨
Today, we're putting the spotlight on AB 2247, a bill that provides funding for youth survivors and witnesses of gun violence to receive free, timely mental health and counseling services regardless of immigration status or prior/current involvement with the juvenile justice system.

Visit our linktree to learn more and see how YOU can get involved! 📣

05/28/2026

✨Policy Highlight✨
Today, we're putting the spotlight on AB 1969, a bill that would reduce child poverty and increase economic mobility's for children and famlies who are disproportionally affected by intergenerational poverty.

🔗 Visit our website at https://www.backtothestart.org/advocacy-legislation to learn more about the bill and what YOU can do to support!

05/28/2026

🎥 ‼️ WE ARE 2 WEEKS AWAY from our Reflections For Freedom and Free Our Kids Film Screening! Join us to uplift stories at the intersection of intergenerational trauma, poverty, and incarceration. Hear directly from individuals whose lived experiences challenge dominant narratives and deepen our understanding of how cycles of harm take root and how they can be transformed.

Access the QR code or visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reflections-for-freedom-tickets-1985963744019?aff=oddtdtcreator to RSVP now! 🎟

05/13/2026

👏 Thank you to College of Marin and the Rising Scholars program for showing our film ""Reflections Behind Bars"" last Wednesday, May 6th! 👏

💜 Shoutout to all the panelists that consisted of the amazing Rising Scholars students and Back to the Start co-founders Brian and Jenny! We appreciate all the panelists being vulnerable and sharing their life experiences and journeys.This film viewing was the kickoff to a much larger event for the general public planned for this fall.

Visit our website at http://www.backtothestart.org to stay updated.

05/08/2026

On Tuesday, April 27th, Back to the Start had the opportunity to join numerous organizations and coalitions in the Alliance of Boys and Men of Color Policy Day at the Capitol in Sacramento. We met with numerous Assembly member's offices and advocated for multiple bills with aligned priority areas including Community Safety, Youth Leadership, and Justice.

There were youth and system-impacted individuals from all across California that shared testimonials to assembly member's staff about their experiences, and how each of the bill resonates with them and why its important to advocate and pass each of the bills.

We ended our day with a reception where we were able to connect with different organizations who share similar values and we look forward to further collaborations and advancing legislative efforts to support youth and families.

Visit our website at https://www.backtothestart.org/advocacy-legislation to stay updated on our policy priorities.

04/23/2026

We are launching our legislative policy priorities for 2026! Join us as we gear up for action! 📣📚

Back to the Start's 2026 Legislative Priorities are focused on Health and Education, Investments in Families and Communities, Youth Justice. Investments particularly in upstream development remains our focus, rather than mass incarceration which are only treating the symptoms of policy failures. 📝

Stay tuned in the next few weeks, as we will be highlighting each of the legislative policies.

For more information, to lend support individually or organizationally, please visit https://lnkd.in/g4AhPR8X! 🔗

04/16/2026

✨ We are announcing some exciting news! ✨

Back to the Start is expanding to a second site--California Medical Facility (CMF) in Vacaville! And Co-Founder, Brian Asey Gonsoulin, will be leading this effort as our inaugural Director of Prison Program Expansion 🙌

We are thrilled to see the impact at of our work at San Quentin finally spreading to other facilities in California (and more to come). Stories and perspectives of the incarcerated deserve to be uplifted and are vital to reshaping narratives and breaking the cycle!
📚📝

Inclusivity is top of mind as we expand to this site, which houses a large proportion of medically fragile incarcerated individuals. We are committed to ensuring that our program is accessible to all—regardless of literacy level—and responsive to those with complex health needs and disabilities.

We look forward to highlighting CMF’s program leads and participants, as well as sharing special enhancements to the curriculum that we will be piloting at this new site. ✨

04/10/2026

🗓 SAVE THE DATE!
We are excited to collaborate with College of Marin Rising Scholars program for our ""Breaking the Cycle"" Film Viewing and Panel Discussion! 🎥🗣

Hear powerful childhood stories from incarcerated individuals inside San Quentin, and together, we can break the cycle ✍️ 📚

The viewing will be followed by a panel Q&A where you will get to hear reflections and experiences from system-impacted individuals and students from the College of Marin Rising Scholars program and Back to the Start co-founder, Brian Asey Gonsoulin.

Date: Wednesday, May 6th
Time: 12:30pm-2pm
Where: College of Marin, Room 200
Refreshments will be provided

🔗 Visit https://www.backtothestart.org/events for more details on how to RSVP!"

03/20/2026

📝 Check out an Op-Ed published in the LA Times written by Edwin E. Chavez, one of our extraordinary program co-founders! 📚

✨🙌 Stories and perspectives like Edwin's are very crucial to reshaping narratives of the incarcerated and breaking the cycle. It's more important than ever to highlight these experiences and and the impact of policies on incarcerated immigrants under the current administration.

Visit https://www.backtothestart.org/post/la-times-op-ed-by-edwin-e-chavez to see the full article 🔗

We are excited to share Edwin E. Chavez, one of our distinguished program coleads and tireless social justice advocates, wrote an provocative and heart wrenching Op-Ed that was published in the LA Times.