Most people have never thought about where foster visits actually happen
Court-ordered visits between foster children and their parents are supposed to rebuild connection and trust. The setting those visits happen in changes everything.
The Conference Room
Fluorescent lights. Plastic chairs. A caseworker watching from across the table. No kitchen, no yard, no couch to sit together on. Children who are already frightened, in a space that confirms every fear they have, that something is terribly, permanently wrong.
This is where most court-ordered foster family visits happen in America. Right now. Tonight.
Safe Haven
A real living room. A kitchen where a parent can cook their child's favorite meal. A backyard where kids can run and laugh. Bookshelves. Toys. Comfort. A space that says, simply: you belong here, and this family matters.
Because you cannot rebuild a family in a conference room.
These are Arkansas children. Right now. Tonight.
The foster care crisis is not abstract. These numbers represent real children in our state, many of them right here in the River Valley.
foster care right now
statewide, half of what's needed
every year with no family
by age 24
New Start cannot fix the entire system. But for every family in the River Valley who walks through our door, we make sure their visit happens in a real home, and that no child arrives at a new placement empty-handed.
New Start is more than Safe Haven
For 13 years, Laura and the New Start community have shown up in every way a family could need. Here is what that actually looks like.
Safe Haven
A real home for court-ordered foster visits. Real kitchen, real yard, real connection, not a conference room.
Learn more →Welcome Kits
Children often arrive with nothing but a trash bag. We make sure every new placement starts with what they need.
Learn more →Food & Groceries
Monthly food giveaways and grocery distributions. An outdoor food pantry that stays stocked around the clock.
Get help →Free Resource Giveaways
Clothing, furniture, coats, costumes, baby food, prenatal vitamins, and more, given freely to families who need it.
Donate items →Community Events
Family Fun Day, National Night Out, turkey giveaways, book fairs, and more, bringing the River Valley together every year.
Get involved →Thrift Store COMING SOON
Coming to Van Buren. Every dollar of profit funds Safe Haven and programs, shop here and you fund a family.
Learn more →the River Valley
community services
volunteer funded
who need help
This is what the work is for
Every Safe Haven visit, every welcome kit, every food giveaway, it all adds up to something that cannot be measured in dollars. It is measured in days. In years. In moments when a child finally comes home.
New Start exists because Laura Caldwell believed that one person in one community could change things. Thirteen years later, the proof is in every family who has walked through those doors.
"Every child deserves to feel at home, even during the hardest chapter of their family's story."
We do not do this alone
New Start works because of an incredible network of partners who show up with time, resources, and belief in this mission.
Every family needs someone in their corner
Whether you give, volunteer, or refer a family in need, you become part of the reason New Start exists.
Donate
$60 funds one Safe Haven visitation. $100 covers a complete welcome kit. 100% of every dollar serves families in the River Valley.
Give NowVolunteer
Help with Safe Haven sessions, food giveaways, Family Fun Day, and more. Your time is as powerful as any donation we receive.
Get InvolvedRefer a Family
Know a foster family or caseworker? Reach out. Referrals go directly to Laura and receive a same-day response, no exceptions.
Make a ReferralThe River Valley's children need you.
New Start runs entirely on the generosity of people who believe every family deserves better than a plastic chair in a government office.
Donate Today