WE PROVIDE HOUSING, TREATMENT AND JOB TRAINING
to help disenfranchised people struggling with addiction, poverty
and other challenges so they can find employment
and achieve independence.
ANNUAL HOLIDAY APPEAL
It’s the season of giving, a time when we ask for your support of the Peter G. Young Foundation.
Please open your hearts and celebrate the spirit of the holidays by making a donation.
Your generosity will help us continue the vital work of freeing people in need from addiction and homelessness.
We thank you and wish you the best for the holidays and New Year!
Our PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
STREET NAMING TO HONOR FATHER YOUNG
The City of Albany will rename the corner of South Ferry and Green streets “Father Peter G. Young Way” on December 9th—the fourth anniversary of Father Young’s passing. It’s a fitting and permanent tribute to the positive impact Father had on the South End and the region.
All are welcome to attend the ceremony scheduled to begin at 11am. The event will be hosted by city officials and representatives of PYHIT.
Father Peter G. Young
1930-2020
He was a ballplayer. A Navy veteran. A teacher. A human rights advocate. A Catholic priest. And a community activist. Father Peter G. Young left an indelible mark on the Capital Region, with his tireless dedication to helping
some of society’s most downtrodden people. In fact, his impact was felt all across New York State.
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.
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.
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.
“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.”
