Union Industrial Home for Children was founded in
1859, just one year before Abraham Lincoln became president. The
oldest nonprofit serving children in the State of New Jersey grew from the
dedication and vision of 18 women, representing a UNION of Trenton
churches, whose goal was to provide education and training to foster
self-supporting individuals in an INDUSTRIAL society, as well as a HOME
for needy children. The founders were supported in their efforts by
some of the leading business and civic leaders of the
day.
UIH has seen various changes in venue and programs over the years, as the
Agency has responded to evolving social needs. From its early days,
the Agency has consistently offered a safe haven to young people in need,
first as an orphanage then, in the 1960s, as a group home for emotionally
troubled adolescent males. Since the 1980s, UIH has offered
residential services for pregnant and parenting teenage girls. Also,
in the last decades of the 20th century and continuing into the new
millennium, UIH has developed and implemented additional ground-breaking,
community-based outreach programs.
