Welcome to your path to freedom. Your journey starts here
A safe haven for domestic violence victims and their children
OUR MSSION
Fruit Tree’s mission is to help replenish the lives of women, men, and children that are victims of domestic violence. We strive to provide quality, compassionate, and nonjudgmental services in a manner that fosters self-respect and independence in persons experiencing domestic violence. Our goal is to lead the way to end domestic violence through advocacy and community education.
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Helping you find your freedom and learn to live without abuse
Fruit Tree is a nonprofit organization that aims to provide shelter and life enrichment for women, men, and children who are victims of domestic violence.
Our confidential domestic violence shelters and program provide healing environments for families and individuals leaving a dangerous situation. Our shelters give survivors of abuse and their children a safe space to heal.
We know that survivors of domestic violence often need much more than just a safe haven to work through the harmful effects of domestic violence and we are here to give them a safe space and support to do so.
About our shelters & program
Fruit Tree's shelter for victims of domestic violence provides the steppingstones you need to transition into a safe and successful life.
While in our program, individuals are enrolled in our free Collective Approach to Empowering Oneself program where they will receive daily life skills development, educational development, career development, job placement, free childcare, mental health services, and other resources needed to get back on their feet in a safe environment.
Our shelters are unlike any other due to their secret locations to ensure the safety of our residents. When you enter our shelter, it is completed anonymously. There are no cell phones or visitors allowed on the premises and each individual is picked up at a designated location. At no time is our shelter location reveled to anyone other than our staff. Upon entering the program, you will be given the tools and skills needed through our program to successfully sustain a safe home of your own upon exiting our shelter.
Services Provided
Our shelter staff supports residents in rebuilding their lives through providing:
Safety planning
Supportive counseling and support groups
Help building life skills
Housing assistance
Employment assistance
Legal consultations
Temporary childcare
Case management
Peer support
Practical assistance
Educational Assistance
Collective Approach to Empowering Oneself ProgrAm
The Collective Approach to Empowering Oneself program teaches victims necessary life skills. This collaborative approach to empowerment is the keystone to developing self-sufficiency in the individuals we serve. The steps include personal development, vocational training, financial independence training, interpersonal skills building, spiritual development, independent living skills, assertive communication skills, and positive coping skills.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For the safety of our residents, all the locations of our domestic violence shelters are confidential.
If you are a victim of domestic violence and would like to access one of our shelters, please call our Domestic Violence Hotline at: 1(929) 443-8473 and request information for our shelter.
We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Please note that shelter placement is based on availability and is not guaranteed.
Peer Support &
Child/Adolescent Day Treatment Referral
ABOUT OUR FOUNDERS
Fruit Tree was founded in 2022 by Faith Alexander and Crystal Lawson. Faith and Crystal are both survivors of domestic violence which is what led to the founding of Fruit Tree. As survivors our founders understand the struggle of getting away from an abuser safely. Faith and Crystal both have strong ties to the Alamance County community and know the detrimental effect of domestic abuse in Alamance County.
Crystal Lawson has a bachelor’s degree in Developmental Psychology, Certification in Pastoral Counseling, master’s degree in Applied Psychology, is a Qualified Mental Health Professional, a Family Child Therapy Specialiat, and is an ordained minister. Crystal has experience in mental health, law, childhood education, and business administration.
Faith Alexander holds an associate degree in Early Childhood Education. Faith is a certified peer support specialist, has experience in community outreach, CNA, business administration, childhood education, childcare and is an ordained minister.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Every day, Fruit Tree connects with survivors of abuse at very difficult moments of their lives. Often times those entering our shelter come to us with only the clothes on their backs. If you are interested in helping, we take donations of furniture, toys, clothing, toiletry essentials, food, and monetary donations.
You may donate by reaching out to us at 1 (929) 443-8473 or askfruittree@gmail.com.
Donate Here
Fruit Tree Ministries has identified the number of domestic violence calls that were made from July 2020 to June 2021 for Alamance County to local domestic abuse hotlines. The calls reported were 3,942. Of those call only 1,121 individuals seeking help from a domestic violence situation were served. 883 of those individuals were female, 132 were male, and 106 the gender was unknown. The ages ranged from 24 years of age and younger was 250 individuals, 25 years of age and older was 847 individuals, and unknown age was 24 individuals. These numbers unfortunately do not include those that go unreported. According to National Network to End Domestic Violence (2020), in a single day in 2020, 75% of North Carolina’s domestic violence programs served 1,152 survivors and their children. 569 survivors and their children found refuge in emergency shelter or transitional housing provided by local domestic violence programs. Another 57 requests for services went unmet due to lack of resources (National Network to End Domestic Violence, 2020).
By helping domestic abuse victims escape their abusers and become self-sufficient, Fruit Tree Ministries will drive demand among victims locally who are experiencing domestic abuse. The elevated level of need among this demographic is significant in our community.
Follow Us On Social Media
If you could please follow us on social media to help us educate the world regarding domestic violence we would greatly appreciate it. One share of a post of ours could help save a life.
