Father Peter Mcverry has been the voice for the homeless in Ireland since the 70s.
Fr McVerry grew up in Newry, Co. Down and was educated at the Abbey Christian Brothers’ Grammar School in Newry and at the Jesuit school at Clongowes Wood College in Co. Kildare.
In 1962, he entered the Jesuit Order and was ordained in 1975. From 1974 to 1980, Peter worked in the Inner City in Dublin and there he came into contact with young people who were sleeping on the streets because of their home situation. He opened a hostel for homeless boys, aged 12-16, in 1979 and this subsequently became his life-time work.He saw through the work of this hostel that when the boys reached 16 and needed to leave, they had few options open to them and most ended up back living on the streets. This realisation led him to set about providing services and accommodation for these older youths.
In 1980 Peter moved to Ballymun and by the end of 1983 he had founded the Arrupe Society, a charity to tackle homelessness. This charity, subsequently renamed as the Peter McVerry Trust, has progressed from a three bedroom flat in Ballymun to eleven homeless hostels, over 300 apartments, a residential drug detox centre and two drug stabilisation services. His vision for the charity is to support all those living on the margins and to uphold their rights to full inclusion in society. In 2017 the charity worked with over 4,900 vulnerable youths.
Father McVerry has also been awarded a number of other high profile awards in recognition of his work with vulnerable young people. Recent awards include:
Rehab People of the Year Award – April 2018
Honorary doctorate from the University of Dublin (TCD) – November 2015
UCD Foundation Day Alumni Award in Science – November 2015
Special Award at the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2015 – October 2015
Human Rights Prize – Embassy of France in Ireland – June 2015
Lifetime Achievement Award – Pride of Ireland – June 2014
Freedom of Dublin – March 2014
Professional Excellence Award for Outstanding Contribution to Irish Society by Griffith College 2011
The Irish Times Living Dublin Award 2009
Reality Person of the Year Award 2009
Meteor Humanitarian Award 2006
The Harry McKillop Irish Spirit Award 2006
ESB Person of the Year Award 2005
Dublin City University Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy
Honorary Fellowship of Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
https://www.pmvtrust.ie to find out more ways you can help.
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