Rising Ground is a large[1] human services organization in New York City, with approximately 1,600 employees[2] supporting more than 25,000 children, adults, and family members annually. Founded in 1831 as the Leake and Watts Orphan House,[3] Rising Ground focused on providing child welfare services for much of its existence. Currently, Rising Ground services include child welfare, juvenile justice services, services for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, special education school programs, services for survivors of gender-based violence, early childhood services, and services for unaccompanied minor children, among others.[4] The organization has approximately 50 programs located at about three dozen sites in New York City and Westchester County, New York. In April 2018, the organization changed its name from Leake and Watts to Rising Ground.[5]
Rising Ground won Gold in the New York Community Trust Non-Profit Excellence Awards 2014,[6] and is the recipient of the Strategy Counts! Award from the national organization, Alliance for Children and Families.[7]
