The RISE: Building Pathways to Housing, Healing & Human Potential
65% will accommodate formerly incarcerated individuals and families
Community Capacity Development (CCD) serves as a co-architect of The RISE, a transformative affordable housing and community development initiative in Brownsville, Brooklyn, creating pathways to stability, healing, wellness, and opportunity for formerly incarcerated individuals and the broader community.
The RISE represents a powerful vision of what happens when housing, human justice, community wellness, and sustainable development come together. More than a place to live, The RISE functions as a community-centered environment that addresses chronic social, economic, and health disparities that disproportionately affect Brownsville and communities impacted by incarceration.
At its core, The RISE recognizes that safe and affordable housing is foundational to human dignity and community well-being. The development combines quality housing with meaningful community programming, wellness opportunities, workforce development, and access to nutritious food to support residents as they rebuild their lives and strengthen their connection to community.
Affordable Housing for Formerly Incarcerated People in Brownsville, Brooklyn
CCD’s Role at The RISE
As a grassroots Human Justice and Healing organization, CCD brings its experience in public safety, youth development, community engagement, violence prevention, wellness, and systems change to The RISE.
CCD provides a dynamic hub for programming and community engagement, creating opportunities for residents and Brownsville community members to access services, participate in programs, build meaningful relationships, and connect to resources that support individual and collective well-being.
CCD provides targeted programming for individuals whose lives are impacted by the carceral system, creating pathways toward stability, personal development, employment, healthy relationships, and meaningful community participation.
CCD’s work also extends beyond the building. The organization offers fitness, wellness, educational, youth, and senior programming designed to engage residents and the broader Brownsville community. Through these activities, The RISE serves as a place where people gather, learn, heal, develop new skills, and build stronger connections with one another.
Designing for Wellness & Sustainability
The RISE centers environmental sustainability and human well-being in its design, incorporating green building practices and biophilic elements that connect residents with nature and promote healthier living.
Biophilic features, including green spaces, green walls, rooftop gardens, and a greenhouse, create opportunities for therapeutic activities and support physical, emotional, and social well-being.
A key feature of The RISE is its rooftop farm, which increases access to fresh, nutritious food while creating opportunities for job training, skill development, and community engagement.
A Culture of Community Wellness
The RISE is grounded in the belief that sustainable communities are built by investing in people, place, and possibility.
Through extensive and dynamic community programming focused on health, wellness, resilience, food access, workforce development, education, and community connection, The RISE creates an environment where residents are not simply housed—they are supported in building healthy and productive lives.
For formerly incarcerated individuals, this means creating opportunities to move beyond barriers created by the carceral system and reconnect with community. For youth and seniors, it means access to programs and spaces that promote learning, wellness, physical activity, and social connection. For the broader Brownsville community, it means having a shared space that contributes to neighborhood vitality and collective well-being.
The RISE: A Model for Human Justice & Healing
CCD believes that housing is a human justice issue. Stable housing creates a foundation from which individuals and families can pursue employment, education, health, safety, and personal growth.
The RISE embodies this philosophy by bringing together affordable housing, supportive services, community programming, environmental sustainability, food access, wellness, and workforce development within one community-centered development.
For CCD, The RISE represents more than a housing development. It is a living example of what is possible when communities have the resources, spaces, partnerships, and opportunities necessary to thrive.
The RISE creates a foundation for healing, opportunity, dignity, and human potential—helping to build a healthier, more resilient, and more sustainable Brownsville for residents and the broader community.
