About Rise

Founded in 2005 and led by parents impacted by the family policing system, Rise believes that parents have the answers for their families and communities. Our mission is to empower parents to be leaders and to create communities that invest in families and offer collective care, healing and support.

Rise continues to hold fast to a future vision of communities that are free from injustice, separation, and a society that is cultivating new ways of preventing and addressing harm. We imagine a radical commitment to ensuring that all families have what they need to live beyond survival and truly thrive. This new mission does not change that and it reflects the focus of Rise’s current work towards that ultimate vision.

We create safe spaces where impacted parents can reflect on their lives, connect with peers, learn about the family policing system’s history and policies, strengthen their writing, public speaking and advocacy skills, and mobilize their communities for justice.

Learn more about our vision and how you can get involved.

Staff Training

Partners in Planning – When parents are supported to participate in planning, we can make better decisions

August 14, 2016 by

This story is part of Rise’s series by frontline staff at foster care agencies about their experiences working with parents. 

Recently, I facilitated a Family Team Meeting with a mother who was going through tremendous stress. (To protect her privacy, I’ll just call her “Mom.”) Her partner had recently died and she’d been diagnosed with a serious illness. She also suffered from anxiety and depression.

Up until the series of crises in her life, she’d worked, had an … Read More

Partners

Rise and Graham Windham Celebrate Parent Writing Workshop Graduates

June 16, 2016 by

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Five parents graduated from a Rise writing group at Graham Windham on June 14, 2016, celebrating 16 weeks of hard work to complete stories for publication. Pictured from left are Melissa Landrau, Mariya Kolesnichenko, Nelson Lopez, Rise Director Nora McCarthy, Rebecca Cedeño and Monique Diaz. Participant D’Juan Collins also completed a story.

This is the second year that Graham has hosted a Rise writing workshop for parents as part of its Family Success Program. Parents in the group … Read More

Staff Training

Meeting Parents Where They Are – Accepting my own feelings helped me accept the parents I work with

May 30, 2016 by

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Five years ago, I was “green” in the field of child welfare. I was three weeks out of college with a BA in psychology. I was motivated to do the job of case planner because I’d always wanted to work with children. I knew there would be some interaction with parents but I didn’t think it would be too much.

The first time I met parents was probably my second day on the job. I’d heard … Read More

Staff Training

Overwhelmed – High caseloads and paperwork make it harder to invest in human connections

April 10, 2016 by

This story is part of Rise’s series by frontline staff at foster care agencies about their experiences working with parents. 

I took the job of case planner because I wanted to help families, particularly parents.

I believe I have the ability to empathize with people without judging them. I grew up poor in Harlem in the 1980s. My mother received public assistance, and drug trafficking was all around in my neighborhood, so I understand that people can struggle … Read More

Staff Training

Safe Enough to Grow – Both parents and workers need to feel supported and accepted

April 10, 2016 by

This story is part of Rise’s series by frontline staff at foster care agencies about their experiences working with parents. 

I have worn many hats and held many positions at Sheltering Arms, the agency where I started in the field of child welfare. I’ve gone from intern to case planner to senior case planner to supervisor to coordinator of services for families that have reunified. What I have seen is that parents need to feel supported and … Read More

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