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.

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.

Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week is an annual collaboration across the country to draw attention to the issues of hunger and homelessness, and will be taking place November 16-24, 2019. Family Tree is extending this week to the entire month of November to help educate our community about homelessness in the Denver metro area and how you can help.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and Family Tree wants our community to be aware of not only the prevalence and impacts of domestic violence, but how you can help in our mission to help people overcome domestic violence, child abuse and homelessness.

Emma grew up in a home exposed to domestic violence and substance misuse until Debbie and Ray welcomed their granddaughter into their house. Denver Human Services contacted Debbie and Ray as no other relatives were a good fit to care for young Emma.