Planting Hope: How Backyard Gardens Are Growing Healing at Branche

At Branches, healing doesn’t just happen inside the walls of our shelters—it also happens under open skies, hands in the soil, surrounded by peace and possibility.

This spring, thanks to the generous support of the Women’s Club of Huntington, our Cabell County shelter’s backyard garden is blooming once again. Their continued investment in this space is about so much more than flowers and vegetables—it’s about dignity, restoration, and healing.

For survivors of domestic violence, a quiet garden can be a powerful thing. It’s a place to breathe, reflect, and reconnect with life beyond trauma. It offers moments of calm in a time of uncertainty, and for many, it becomes a space to rediscover confidence and control—one seed, one sprout, one peaceful morning at a time.

Gardening also offers tangible benefits:

• Therapeutic support through calming, repetitive tasks

• Opportunities for children to explore, play, and grow in a safe space

• Nutrition and nourishment with fresh herbs and vegetables

• Community building through shared care and collaboration

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We are so grateful to the Women’s Club of Huntington for recognizing the deep value of this project and making it possible year after year at our Cabell County location.

If you or your group are interested in helping us expand this effort to our Putnam County shelter, we would love to hear from you. Whether you’d like to donate materials, volunteer time, or simply learn more, please reach out to an advocate at 304-586-3865.

Because when we plant together, we grow together—and every garden we build is another reminder to survivors that beauty and hope can thrive after hardship.

🌿 Learn more about how to support our work at www.branchesdvs.org