Our Story
We’re not big business. Omar and I (Anikka) Stokes are a couple, born and raised in Baltimore, that saw a need and got tired of sitting on the sidelines. Mental illness and addiction have touched both of our lives so this is not just a business - it’s our personal, God given purpose to help you and your loved ones HEAL & RECLAIM your lives.
Can’t say we always knew we’d end up here ..while I was on bedrest with our son, it happened. Omar grew frustrated with the care and treatment options for clients battling addiction and mental illness at the clinic where he worked. We felt a tug at our hearts - Baltimore was battling an opioid epidemic, kiddos were struggling with depression at record numbers - we’d both seen how if left untreated these conditions can tear apart families & communities. We prayed, cobbled together a plan, pooled our resources & took an enormous leap of faith to create A Clean Start.
Our Family
A Clean Start is a safe haven for you & your loved ones where we believe in the power of serving others and advocate for healing from addiction and mental health trauma. Recovery from your past, from your illness, from your harmful behaviors is possible and we’d love to support you on the healing journey.
If you’re thinking …sounds good, but y’all are newbies. Don't fret. Even when we didn’t know it, we’ve been working towards this moment for a long time. And, we’re fortunate the buck doesn’t stop with us because our care team is amazing - they do the heavy lifting in your care and each have extensive experience with all the fancy letters behind their names to prove it.
“Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.”
As for who we are, most weekends we’re cheering our daughter on at swim meets (that’s right, 8 hrs in the stands for a 30 sec swim), chasing our little guy around the playground (tired kiddos make for good naps) and hitting up local farmer’s markets so we can show off our cooking skills (just call us Chef Stokes). We love to fish, watch sports (Go Ravens) and have impromptu dance battles - yes, we post them on IG for your viewing pleasure. We are youth ministry leaders and think loving, learning about & leaning into God is cool (don’t worry, we’re not pushy or preachy #liveandletlive). We each have 12+ years of professional experience under our belts and are committed to putting it to work for our local community.
Hope, service, compassion and kindness are engrained into who we are and how we serve. We strive to live out our faith and are eager to open our hearts and our doors to you. Don’t be a stranger, subscribe so we can stay in touch. We’re all family at A Clean Start, Your Recovery Journey Starts Here.
