For those who don’t already know, February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month! Family Tree is working toward ending the cycle of violence in teen dating by talking directly with youth in our community. Advocates from Family Tree’s Domestic Violence Outreach Program work closely with Jefferson County schools and students to help promote a safe school culture.

Immigration legislation changes have received attention from people of all ethnicities, races and backgrounds. Many Family Tree clients have become more cautious about sharing personal information, regardless of their immigration status. This uncertainty around recent legislation and its impacts might make families and individuals more hesitant to disclose personal details.

The Family Tree SafeCare® team noticed this impact on the enrollment in their program and decided to do something about this trend.

It can be incredibly difficult and frustrating to know someone you love is experiencing abuse and it can be even harder to feel helpless trying to support them. February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month and Family Tree would like to provide ways you can help or support a teen you know that is experiencing dating violence.

Lani, a single mother, lives with her two sons, Mark, 22, and Jason, 16, and provides informal home hospice care for her terminally-ill brother, Paul. Both sons struggle with substance abuse, depression and anxiety as well as making progress academically or maintaining a job. Jason made poor choices that led him to court and the family was referred to Family Tree Community Family Resource Team (CFRT) due to concerns of child neglect of Jason.

We can readily admit to a housing crisis that is ever more apparent in our community, our state and our nation as a whole. So what are we doing about it? Does everyone count?

The longer I am employed at Family Tree, the more I appreciate the value of an integrated services approach to serving our clients. It’s wonderful to offer help in one area, but it’s even better to be able to address multiple areas of need without sending clients to several different agencies. Collaboration among the programs at Family Tree results in a more client-centered, trauma-informed model of service.

A Message from our Board Chair & CEO, from the FY18-19 Annual Report.

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For more than four decades, Family Tree has been helping people and families discover their strengths so they can create lasting, positive change for themselves, their families and our community.

Last year, Family Tree served nearly 5,000 people with direct, face-to-face services.  While each one of these people’s stories is unique, there is one thing they all have in common; the story never begins and rarely ends with Family Tree.

I met Vicki and her husband Mac in December of 2011. They were both veterans of the United States Navy. And desperate to get off the streets.

Carla Castillo, a former participant in the Family Tree Parenting Time Program, recently shared her story of experiencing cycles of domestic violence, becoming empowered to make a change and how Family Tree helped her family find stability.