Our Story: Why we Exist

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Picture a young mother on a cold city sidewalk, her two children curled beside her under a thin blanket. Every night she worries less about hunger and more about the invisible wounds her children carry: fear, shame, and the quiet despair that comes from being unseen. What if, instead of just offering a bed for the night, we could help her heal, restore her strength, and show her family a path to lasting stability? This is the vision that sparked the creation of our nonprofit, A New Era America, by our founder, Samir Zakir. 

Samir has seen how trauma silently fuels crises everywhere, shaping so much of human suffering. True recovery begins when we address the trauma that keeps people trapped and give them the tools to rebuild their lives. As an entrepreneur spanning wellness, media, and politics, he discovered a profound truth: mental health remains deeply neglected around the world. Having faced his own challenges, he understands the hidden weight people carry, but also the magic of healing. His insight is simple; we must reimagine humanitarian response by placing healing and mental wellness at the heart of action. When we work to heal trauma, we transform the lives of not just individuals, but entire communities, and the world around them.

Years of research, hands-on work, and listening to hundreds of survivors shaped a vision: crisis relief must go beyond food and shelter to restore dignity, resilience, hope, and helping individuals in reclaiming their own narratives.

Samir invited his longtime friend Dr. Merry Taheri, DNP to join him on this journey. Merry has spent years on disaster frontlines—from earthquakes to homelessness to pandemics—serving families whose pain no blanket could soothe. As an Afghan American orphan herself, she carries the scars of displacement and trauma in her own story, fueling her passion to empathetically bridge the gap between survival and healing.

Together they were joined by Nicholas Berry, LMFT, a compassionate therapist and innovator in trauma recovery, and Bob Burke, Esq., a seasoned public affairs leader and legendary lobbyist who has dedicated his life to the power of connection and community. The four asked one urgent question: What if survivors of crisis didn’t just survive—but had the chance to heal?

That question became our “why.” A New Era America believes that mental health is not a privilege, it is a human right. Every survivor deserves more than survival. They deserve empathy, resilience, relief, and the chance to reclaim their future. This is why we show up and will not stop. Because mental health is the foundation of everything—wellness, justice, and humanity.

OUR WHY:

Our mission is simple yet urgent: to heal minds and restore humanity for individuals impacted by humanitarian crisis (delivering wellness-centered mental health care that empowers them and their communities to thrive). Mental health is often the missing link in every relief effort. ANEA fills that gap: meeting people where they are, restoring stability, and empowering them to rebuild their lives.

Across the U.S., millions silently battle trauma from homelessness, violence, and displacement. When crisis strikes, food and shelter arrive, but emotional recovery rarely does. We believe true recovery begins with mental wellness, because a healed mind heals families, communities, and futures. It really starts and ends with the mind! Mental health matters and it is neglected!