The New York Foundling is an organization that is dedicated to helping underserved children and families, as well as adults with developmental disabilities. The Sisters of Charity founded this organization in 1869 as a home for abandoned children. This organization works hard to give resources to a variety of people in need. The people they help are in a number of tough situations, whether they are abused children in need of foster homes, young people lost in the juvenile justice system, or young mothers who need help raising their children.
It all started on October 11,1869 when Sister Mary Irene Fitzgibbon, along with two other Sisters of Charity, welcomed an abandoned infant into their brownstone. This was just the first of many babies that they saved after finding them abandoned on the streets of New York City. For the past 146 years, this organization has dedicated itself to this mission, expanding its service to other people in need. The New York Foundling now works to empower vulnerable children and families in New York City. With the passage of time, the New York Foundling has altered its approach to the mission with the change of the time, but the organization always maintains the founders’ belief that no one should should be abandoned. The New York Foundling strongly believes that all children deserve the right to grow up in stable and nurturing environments.
The New York Foundling works to ensure that all children are provided with the foundations for success. The Foundling also strongly holds the belief that parents who protect and care for their children can succeed if they are assisted and given the proper tools. Another belief that the New York Foundling holds dear is the the belief that all individuals who have developmental disabilities deserve to live their lives with dignity. The New York Foundling works to counter the devastating effects of violence, substance abuse, poverty and more through the use of proven effective support services.
The New York Foundling serves over 27,000 children and families yearly in all five boroughs of New York City and surrounding counties, as well as Puerto Rico. Foundling works hard to help children whose parents who are unable to care for them but putting them in Foundling foster homes and residential facilities. Over 600 children are living in Foundling foster homes and residential facilities around the city at any given time. The Foundling works to try and strengthen the family so that the children can stay in their homes, but the key priority is also the child’s welfare. Great care is taken to make sure each child’s emotional, psychological and physical health is nurtured in the best way possible.
The Foundling also works to help families that are struggling with instability. There are a number of cases in which the Foundling’s intervention and support helps family members deal with their conflicts while making sure that children stay safe. The organization’s Preventing Foster care Placement Services help 671 families each year and span all five boroughs of New York. Through these services, The New York Foundling utilizes an evidence-based model to address risk factors in troubled homes to keep families together and to keep children out of foster care. Caseworkers meet with families in their homes and closely monitor the progress the family makes.
The New York Foundling is an organization that truly cares about the wellbeing of children and families. The New York Foundling works hard to make sure that no one is abandoned.
