Before his passing in December 2020, Father Young had devoted over 60 years of his life in service to the community and the church. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1959 and named pastor of St. John’s Church in the South End of Albany, where he became known as a “street priest.” In a parish surrounded by drug dealing, gambling, prostitution and poverty, he learned firsthand how crime and addiction could destroy families and lives.

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In 1959, Father Young founded Peter Young Housing, Industries and Treatment (PYHIT), which would grow into a statewide network of services that helped thousands of people regain their dignity. The homeless, people struggling with addiction, forgotten veterans, reformed men and women held down by criminal records…these are the people who found an ally in Father Young. PYHIT gives the disenfranchised shelter, treatment for their addiction and job training as a pathway back to a productive life. 

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From his student days at Christian Brothers Academy and Siena College, to his travels with the Negro Baseball League, to his stint with the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, and finally as a teacher at Cardinal McCloskey High School and upstart urban priest, Father Young was always a force of nature. He was especially proud of his lobbying efforts that led to the decriminalization of alcoholism in New York State.

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“Father Pete” had a penchant for always leaving things better than he found them. Clearly, he has left all of us in a better place, having lived by the motto: “Unless someone offers a friendly smile, a helping hand, a caring word, with a listening ear, somebody somewhere loses the courage to live.”