When Alex Nelson lost his brother to a double homicide in northeast Dallas over 12 years ago, he said he hit the absolute bottom.
But in his moments of anger, rage and grief, he said God spoke to him and gave him the acronym “F.O.E.,” which stands for Fatherhood Over Everyhood, a program under his nonprofit organization called Love Deposit.
Teen violence can be difficult to address. Grassroots nonprofits are at the heart of the work to curb violent crime among children and teens and sustain the progress year-over-year.
Nelson — affectionately known as Uncle JoJo — said Love Deposit, established in 2017, works toward violence and crime prevention in Dallas through two programs: Fatherhood Over Everyhood and Brotherhood Over Anyhood.
Nelson said the primary purpose of Love Deposit is to spread love in a community that otherwise lacks it — which is one of the challenges facing young people today in the city and can be a direct result of the rise of violence amongst them.
Crime in The News
“I try my best to sow a seed and make a love deposit,” Nelson said. “Hurt people, hurt people, as they say, but loved people, love people.”
Love Deposit
Nelson, 43, has been in Dallas all his life. He’s originally from a North Dallas housing development, now referred to as Roseland Townhomes, and he moved to Oak Cliff as a young child.
As a child, Nelson said he watched his mother battle drug addiction. His mother is now sober and getting her degree, but he said watching her struggles shaped the way he views the world. Still, he said that he was blessed because he had a loving grandmother and a present father that taught him life skills and fostered a household “full of love.”
Fatherhood Over Every Hood founder Alex Nelson speaks with The Dallas Morning News, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Dallas.
Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer
Related:South Oak Cliff’s principal talks solutions for rising teen violence in Dallas
“What God later showed me [is] that those were love deposits, and I just really feel like that saved my life,” he said.
The love Nelson experienced during his childhood was an “intentional love,” which is what he said is missing in the community today. Recognizing that lack of love in his community led Nelson to establish his nonprofit.
Two programs operate under Nelson’s nonprofit Love Deposit: Fatherhood Over Everyhood, which is aimed toward young Black fathers in the city, and Brotherhood Over Anyhood, which is geared toward younger children and education.
Fatherhood Over Everyhood was created when Nelson saw his nephew become more fearful after his father, and Nelson’s brother, 34-year-old Simmie Lee Rochelle, was murdered in 2012.
“I saw the impact that it had on [my nephew],” Nelson said.
The program aims to bring men together and provide advocacy and workshops for young fathers trying to find their way, Nelson said, because “that’s the key to what’s going on in the community.”
The ultimate goal of Brotherhood Over Anyhood, Nelson said, is to gather young children together and provide them with core memories of love, fun and fellowship “as early as possible” to keep them from killing each other later on.
All the services offered through Love Deposit, such as tutoring and counseling, come at no cost to the community, Nelson said. He said the nonprofit is funded either directly from his own pockets or through donations.
Rise of teen violence
Violence among teens is on the rise, Nelson said, because “these young men are dying and killing to be seen.” He said there’s a lack of positive male figures right in the community, so young boys are finding their manhood and identity either from their agemates or on the internet.
“For me, that’s a conviction of us as men and us as fathers, us as mentors,” he said.
Furthermore, there’s no opportunity and no love. That is the challenge the youth in Dallas face today, Nelson said.
Alex Nelson, affectionately known as Uncle JoJo, and his mother Yolanda Nelson speak to Erycka Martin, 17, of DeSoto during Alex’s 8th Annual Pull Up to the Pump Love Deposit, where he gives away at least $5,000 in free gas to anyone in need, at the 2503 Lemmon Ave 7-Eleven location in Dallas on Saturday, May 31, 2025.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
Young people should be able to go outside of their homes and find love, Nelson said, whether it’s from neighbors, the schools or community centers.
One preventative measure Nelson’s nonprofit implemented to address the issue was to create a reading curriculum for students — one that will help them stay on track, because when they check out of school, that’s when the behavioral problems begin.
Through F.O.E., Nelson is partnering with judges to get into the jail system and offer a curriculum to young fathers that will help them to be better fathers. As a man who had a child when he was just 17, Nelson said he wants to bring other young fathers out of jail and offer them more direction.
“So we’re working with the young boys … [and] the fathers — we’re advocating and giving them an avenue to build bonds with their kids.”
‘Love thy neighbor’
Can the violence among young people improve? There’s hope, Nelson said.
One strategy that can work is creating opportunities for the youth. Nelson said his organization takes the kids to a retreat annually and exposes them to nature, camping, different types of food as well as business and educational opportunities.
Alex Nelson, affectionately known as Uncle JoJo, hugs Lelani Russell during his 8th Annual Pull Up to the Pump Love Deposit, where he gives away at least $5,000 in free gas to anyone in need, at the 2503 Lemmon Ave 7-Eleven location in Dallas on Saturday, May 31, 2025.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
But that’s not enough, Nelson said. It needs to be available in the neighborhoods and community centers, too. As a community, “let’s show up for each other,” he said, and show up for the kids.
It’s love deposits, Nelson said, and “we have everything that we need.”
“I would challenge you to love the person closest to you the best you can, treat the person that’s closest to you the best you can,” he said. “The greatest commandment: love thy neighbor. And it’s not in a cliche way, it’s in a real way, and that’s why we do the things that we do — to try to inspire that and invoke that for people.”