Thousands of people in Houston are affected by the foster care system. Many children and families in the foster care system don’t have the web of support they need to thrive.
Imagine the foster care system as part of a fast moving river. Some children are at risk of falling in due to family instability, while others are already struggling to stay afloat.
Many of us are working to support children in The River. Some are working upstream to prevent families from being pulled in. Others are working downstream to guide children as they transition into adulthood.
No single organization or person has all the resources to support every family along The River. We have to work together. By uniting everyone's efforts, we can create a city-wide support system that transforms generations.
On behalf of Houston's children and their families, The Riverside Project brings together organizations and passionate people working as one to help families heal and children thrive.
We were founded in 2018 with a vision to strengthen foster families and their communities through training and collaboration. Our first initiative, the Babysitting Collaborative, launched as a streamlined training process for foster care babysitters. Since then, nearly 1000 babysitters have been equipped to provide quality, trauma-informed support for families parenting children in the foster care system.
In August 2020, we launched a city-wide strategic initiative to mobilize churches to address the various social issues facing their neighborhoods.
This was followed by the Harris County TBRI® Collaborative in 2021, making trauma-informed training accessible to professionals and caregivers.
In 2022, we introduced The Response Network to connect families in need with community organizations who can help.
In May 2024, we released our documentary As One - a Lone Star Emmy-award winning documentary that shares four stories of collaboration in our city.
Today, we are an organization bringing together organizations and passionate people working as one to help families heal and children thrive.