'austraLasia' #47
SALESIAN GIVEN NATIONAL HONOUR
Julian Fox
SYDNEY: 9th February -- Australian Salesian Fr. Chris Riley of Sydney
has received an Australia Day Council Achievers Award for his work with
street kids. The Australia Day Awards are the country's highest form of
recognition of its citizens. Nearly ten years ago Chris founded an
agency called Youth Off the Streets. It is one of the biggest agencies
involved in this work, with eight different services for street kids.
These are integrated to serve what he describes as "our most
marginalised youth - the chronically homeless". One of the services
Chris works with is the St. Vincent de Paul's Society's Sydney youth
refuge - Vinnies for Youth. He also provides 2,266 hot meals monthly on
the streets, has Better Homes Farm for long-stay youth, including State
wards, and a substance abuse programme.
