Every Friday, Anitrice Jackson, better known as “Mama Joy,” devotes her only day off from working as a health information specialist at Jackson Hospital to feed and clothe underprivileged families in Overtown.
Jackson, 62, is the founder and chief executive officer of Nana’s Restart, a nonprofit organization created in 2013. Under her guidance, Nana’s Restart has provided hundreds of school uniforms, meals, and basic necessities to youth in one of Miami’s oldest Black neighborhoods.
Born and raised in Liberty City in 1962, Jackson grew up an only child. At 14, she became pregnant with her daughter, Lakeycia, and dropped out of Miami Edison Senior High School. Two years later, she got her first job at her father’s restaurant, Narobe’s, as a cashier.
Anitrice Jackson, in red, poses with one of the families she’s helped through Nana’s Restart.
(Courtesy of Lakeycia Garcia)
“I was a teenage mom and a dropout,” Jackson said. “All in one.”
Four years after Lakeycia was born, Jackson gave birth to her first son, Gecobe Sr. Four years after that came James Jr. And then in 1991, twin girls Jamie and Jane arrived. During this time, she was married to an infamous drug dealer. Jackson says her then-husband went to jail twice facing trafficking charges.
“I was in a domestic-violence relationship,” Jackson said. “Nobody knew until I got divorced in ‘94.”
Throughout her marriage, Jackson was subject to physical and verbal abuse. Although she recognized the signs, she wanted her children to grow up with a mother and father.
With tears in her eyes, Jackson recalled the day she nearly committed suicide; she stood before the bathroom mirror, pills in her hand, with her mother, Gladys, on a phone call.
“She said, ‘You’re a great mama…Your kids need you. I could give them grandmother’s love. But I can’t replace a mama’s love,’” Jackson said.
Gladys instilled faith in her from a young age. She encouraged Jackson to live another day to be there for her children.
Jackson relied on multiple forms of financial aid to feed her family while her husband was incarcerated. Then at age 28, she was hired at Susanna Wesley Health Center as a nursing assistant. She earned $4.25 an hour and was the youngest one there.
When Jackson moved to Overtown in 2008, she says the locals welcomed her. Five years later, she founded Nana’s Restart. She says she was inspired by the Angel Tree Program, a national program that provided new clothes and toys to her family and many others across the nation.
As the leader of Nana’s Restart, Jackson has learned the value of listening.
“I want to let people know there is help here,” Jackson said. “But I just love people. I love to see people smile.”
So far, Nana’s Restart has raised over $50,000 in grants. Organizations such as Catalyst Miami and Overtown Youth Coalition have made donations ranging from $1,000 to $3,000. Jackson hopes to retire from her job at Jackson Hospital in 2027 to be a full-time leader at her nonprofit.
“It’s impeccable, like, as far as where she’s come from and where she has gone…it’s amazing,” said Jackson’s oldest daughter Lakeycia, who is vice president of Nana’s Restart.
Nana’s Restart has allowed Jackson to give back to Overtown what Liberty City gave her as a single mother: clothing, food, and a community. In August 2025, Nana’s Restart helped 275 students by providing more than 500 sets of school uniforms.
Jackson also hopes to work in a police department, where she can hear the stories of domestic-violence victims.
“I want to be the chaplain…for mothers who went through so much domestic violence,” Jackson said. “That’s my goal. To let them know my story.”
Jaime Rubio contributed to this report.