☰ History A Proud History of Service For 190 years, Rising Ground (founded as the Leake and Watts Orphan House) has been helping people rise above adversity. Over the decades, we have expanded our services to address emerging needs and help the most vulnerable among us, and in the process, have become an integral part of communities throughout New York City and Westchester County. 1831 Moved by the rise in urban poverty and the reduction of public welfare aid in the 1820s, the Leake and Watts Orphan House was founded by Westchester County Judge and former Congressman John Watts, Jr., with the bequest of his friend John George Leake, a wealthy New York lawyer who passed away without any heirs. At the forefront of the social responsibility movement— the Orphan House was one of the first private charitable institutions in the country dedicated to children in need. 1843 Leake and Watts Orphan House moved to the current site of Cathedral of St. John the Divine at 112th Street and Amsterdam. 1850 Leake and Watts Orphan House opens its doors to girls. 1890 The Home is moved outside the city to the 40-acre farm on the Hudson River in Yonkers. The grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. 1890 The Leake & Watts Orphan House sponsors a uniformed band. Girls and young women gather to enjoy the grounds in Yonkers early in the century. 1921 The “cottage system” is implemented on our Yonkers campus. First implemented for girls, the system featured six cottages with cottage parents, housing 10 to 30 girls each. 1923 Notable philanthropist Edwin Gould founds the Edwin Gould Foundation for Children, through a special act of the New York legislature. As the organization expands from Foster Boarding Homes to include adoption, family stabilization services, services for people with intellectual / developmental disabilities, and intimate partner violence services, the organization would later change its name to Edwin Gould Services for Children and Families. 1937 A Social Services Department with trained social work staff is established. 1944 We established our Foster Home Department in order to find homes for children in the community. 1947 We merged with the Orphan Home and Asylum of the Episcopal Church and the Sevilla-Hopewell Society of Brooklyn. 1979 We established the East Bronx Family Service Center to support families in need. 1985 We became the first social service agency in the nation to support children with HIV/AIDS. 1986 Twelve women placed at the Bedford Hills Women’s Prison testify to their histories of battering and its relationship to their criminal charges. This historic trial creates a call to action that leads to the founding of STEPS to End Violence, which then grows from a two-person court advocacy project into a holistic program of services for victims of gender-based and intimate partner violence with a focus on prevention, intervention, and policy advocacy. 1987 We established five early childhood programs to serve low-income families and expanded our group home services to teenage mothers and their children. 1996 We expanded programming to include juvenile justice services, one of the first human services organizations in the nation to do so. 1997 We opened the Marion and George Ames Early Childhood Center and the Biondi and Middle High School in Yonkers. 2000 We opened the Biondi Elementary School. 2004 We expanded our services to include supports for children and adults with intellectual / developmental disabilities. 2007 We opened our first group home in the Bronx for young adults with developmental disabilities. 2009 Our Residential Treatment Center shifted from serving youth in foster care to a specialized program for youth with a variety of mental health challenges, some of whom are in foster care. 2010 We opened the Children’s Learning Center in Manhattan specifically serving preschoolers with autism. 2011 We celebrated our 180th Anniversary. 2014 We were honored as the Gold Winner of the New York Community Trust Nonprofit Excellence Awards. 2018 Leake & Watts changes its name to Rising Ground as the next evolution in our history. With almost two centuries of service behind us, our expanded services, extended communities, and broader mission is now supported by a name that better communicates our essence. We also join forces with Edwin Gould Services for Children and Families, bringing together two longstanding traditions of supporting New York City children, adults, and families in need. The consolidation strengthens and broadens the supports we provide to children, adults, and family members throughout the five boroughs of New York City, as well as Westchester County. Today Rising Ground supports more than 25,000 children, adults, and families in need each year and is continuing to evolve its services to meet the changing needs of New Yorkers. CHILDREN & FAMILY SERVICES Strengthening families and individuals in need. LEARN MORE EDUCATION & EARLY CHILDHOOD SERVICES Giving kids a strong start and supporting special needs. LEARN MORE INTELLECTUAL / DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES SERVICES Providing housing and supportive services. LEARN MORE HEALTH & WELLNESS Fostering physical and mental well-being. LEARN MORE TAKE ACTION Donate Volunteer Become a Foster Parent Contact Us Corporate Compliance Safe Standards E-MAIL NEWSLETTER To receive regular updates about our life-affirming work, click here 151 Lawrence Street, Brooklyn, 5th Floor, NY 11201 212-437-3500 Privacy Policy | Accessibility | Your Rights © 2021 All Rights reserved