Chris Riley (Priest)
Encyclopedia
Father Chris Riley, AM
is an Australian Roman Catholic priest
who founded and is CEO of the charity Youth Off The Streets
. He is a member of the Salesian order.
He was born in Echuca
, Victoria
in 1954 and grew up on a dairy farm in the district. In 1973 he graduated from a school run by the Salesians. He was inspired by the movie “Boys' Town” and went on to train as a teacher. He has worked as a teacher, youth worker, probation officer
, residential care worker and Principal of the charity Boy’s Town
. In 1982 he was ordained a priest at Oakleigh, Victoria
.
Father Riley founded Youth Off The Streets in 1991 with a food van delivering meals to homeless youths in the Kings Cross
area in Sydney
. In 1997 he opened Key College independent High School in Surry Hills
, NSW where he pioneered a "flexible education" model to help youths living on the streets return to school. Father Riley working with the Islam
ic organisation Muhammadiyah
helped build an orphanage
in Aceh
, Indonesia
after the 2004 tsunami
.
Today he is the CEO of Youth Off The Streets, which has grown to include crises care, refuges, schools, drug and alcohol programs that employ more than 150 people & has over 800 volunteers. Youth Off The Streets Overseas Relief Fund has projects in Ethiopia
, Albania
, East Timor
, Indonesia
, Philippines
, and Tanzania
.
He makes frequent media appearances on behalf of YOTS including a weekly radio segment, broadcast on 2UE
in Sydney and 2CC
in Canberra
.
In 2006 Father Riley was awarded Member of the Order of Australia
(AM) for service to disadvantaged youth. In 2006, he also received the Human Rights Medal from the then Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
(shared with broadcaster Phillip Adams
).
On 20 April 2010 He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Western Sydney
in recognition of his work.
Industry, particularly poker machines. Father Riley has lobbied against the taxation of gambling, stating that "the Government won't fund services like mine and are now also attacking the revenues that we previously did have available." With respect to the his position on the effect of gambling on society, he states "I acknowledge that the great problem facing the community is people who are addicted to gambling and I call for the clubs to put in place systems and supports to help people fight this addiction."
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
is an Australian Roman Catholic priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
who founded and is CEO of the charity Youth Off The Streets
Youth Off The Streets
Youth Off The Streets is an Australian community organisation working for young people who are homeless, drug dependent and recovering from abuse.It was started in 1991 by Father Chris Riley...
. He is a member of the Salesian order.
He was born in Echuca
Echuca, Victoria
Echuca is a town located on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe river in Victoria, Australia. The Border town Moama is on the northern side of the Murray river in New South Wales. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Shire of Campaspe...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
in 1954 and grew up on a dairy farm in the district. In 1973 he graduated from a school run by the Salesians. He was inspired by the movie “Boys' Town” and went on to train as a teacher. He has worked as a teacher, youth worker, probation officer
Probation officer
Parole officers and probation officers play a role in criminal justice systems by supervising offenders released from incarceration or sentenced to non-custodial sanctions such as community service...
, residential care worker and Principal of the charity Boy’s Town
Boys Town
Boys Town or Boystown may refer to:*Boys Town , an organization dedicated to the housing and education of at-risk children, founded by Father Edward J...
. In 1982 he was ordained a priest at Oakleigh, Victoria
Oakleigh, Victoria
Oakleigh is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and is located 14 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Monash. At the 2006 Census, Oakleigh had a population of 6,876....
.
Father Riley founded Youth Off The Streets in 1991 with a food van delivering meals to homeless youths in the Kings Cross
Kings Cross, New South Wales
Kings Cross is an inner-city locality of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 2 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
area in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. In 1997 he opened Key College independent High School in Surry Hills
Surry Hills, New South Wales
Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is located immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
, NSW where he pioneered a "flexible education" model to help youths living on the streets return to school. Father Riley working with the Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic organisation Muhammadiyah
Muhammadiyah
Muhammadiyah is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Muhammadiyah, literally means "followers of Muhammad"...
helped build an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
in Aceh
Aceh
Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
after the 2004 tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
.
Today he is the CEO of Youth Off The Streets, which has grown to include crises care, refuges, schools, drug and alcohol programs that employ more than 150 people & has over 800 volunteers. Youth Off The Streets Overseas Relief Fund has projects in Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, and Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
.
He makes frequent media appearances on behalf of YOTS including a weekly radio segment, broadcast on 2UE
2UE
2UE is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia owned by Fairfax Media. It is Sydney's and Australia's oldest commercial radio station, first broadcasting on 26 January 1925 on 1025 kHz AM before moving to 950 kHz in 1935 when virtually all Australian radio stations were assigned new...
in Sydney and 2CC
2CC
2CC is a commercial radio station on the AM band in Canberra, Australia. It originally began broadcasting on 1210 kHz in 1975 changing to 1206 kHz in 1978. It is jointly owned by regional radio operators Capital Radio Network and Grant Broadcasters....
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
.
In 2006 Father Riley was awarded Member of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(AM) for service to disadvantaged youth. In 2006, he also received the Human Rights Medal from the then Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
The Australian Human Rights Commission is a national human rights institution, a statutory body funded by, but operating independently of, the Australian Government. It has the responsibility for investigating alleged infringements under Australia’s anti-discrimination legislation...
(shared with broadcaster Phillip Adams
Phillip Adams
Phillip Andrew Hedley Adams, AO is an Australian broadcaster, film producer, writer, social commentator, satirist and left-wing pundit. He currently hosts a radio program, Late Night Live, four nights a week on the ABC, and he also writes a weekly column for the News Limited-owned newspaper, The...
).
On 20 April 2010 He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Western Sydney
University of Western Sydney
The University of Western Sydney, also known as UWS, is a multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in recognition of his work.
Funding Controversy
A significant amount of charitable donations to Father Riley's Youth Off The Streets (including work undertaken in Indonesia and ethiopia) come from the Australian GamblingGambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
Industry, particularly poker machines. Father Riley has lobbied against the taxation of gambling, stating that "the Government won't fund services like mine and are now also attacking the revenues that we previously did have available." With respect to the his position on the effect of gambling on society, he states "I acknowledge that the great problem facing the community is people who are addicted to gambling and I call for the clubs to put in place systems and supports to help people fight this addiction."
Sources and external links
- Youth Off The Streets
- Youth Off The Streets Overseas Relief Fund
- http://www.abc.net.au/queensland/conversations/stories/s1640812.htm
- An interview with Fr Chris Riley
- An article about Key College - a school for street kids set up and funded by Youth Off The Streets, founded by Fr Chris Riley