Sunday, July 10, 2011

Out Spotlight

Today's Out Spotlight who was savior to those who were forgotten by society. She was an activist, advocate, innovator, a militant, poet, help to all kind, and true Boston treasure. Today's Out Spotlight is the founder of Rosie's Place, Kip Tiernan.

Born in West Haven, Connecticut, Kip Tiernan was 6 months old when her father died and orphaned by age 11 with the death of her mother. She was then raised by her maternal grandmother where she learned during the Great Depression to help others.

Faith was a strong part of her upbringing, although being raised in the Catholic tradition did not mean she had blind faith and acceptance. Attending a Catholic boarding school as a teenager she was expelled for failing math and asking too many difficult moral questions. (More likely the latter) At 16, she took up flying, taking lessons, as well as jazz piano.

Starting out as a newspaper reporter, came to Boston in 1947 to attend the Boston Conservatory on a scholarship for piano, only to be expelled for drinking. She told the Boston Globe in 1988, about her Boston beginnings were more than bumpy. “I was raped once, I was 19. Drunk.’’ The experience as traumatic as it was became an asset rather deterrent in Tiernan's life, especially later when she began working with the women who came to Rosie's Place. She said that it connected her to them. “I’ll tell you one thing. It helps me identify with what some of these women have been through.’’

She "joined Alcoholics Anonymous, learned from recovering street drunks how to stay sober, and became a successful advertising copywriter with her own agency."

For the next twenty years, Kip enjoyed writing mail order catalogs, direct mail and advertisements, including TV and musicals. She received a McGraw/Hill award for a public relations campaign for a corporate insurance company. She also ventured into writing and producing musical reviews.

Another way she used her writing skills was to pen articles for the Catholic Left, which was published in Boston papers. Through her parish, she came in contact with the St. Philip’s/Warwick House, which was involved in the civil rights and anti-war movements. In 1967, she was asked to help coordinate a press conference at St. Philip’s and soon joined the team's ministry because “poor people need advertising, too.”

The work took her into housing projects, mental institutions, jails and hospitals where she saw first hand the effects of de-institutionalization and the lack of a coherent public policy to address the needs of poor and homeless people.

In the early 70's Tiernan traveled to meet with legendary Catholic activist Dorothy Day, "from whose life she drew inspiration and spiritual sustenance for the decades that lay ahead."

On Easter Sunday 1974, Tiernan founded Rosie’s Place, the first drop-in and emergency shelter for women in the United States, in response to the increasing numbers of women throughout the country. Rosie’s Place provided and continues to provide poor and homeless women with warmth, pots of piping hot coffee, nutritional meals, a safe place to rest from the dangerous streets, and perhaps most comforting - companionship.

Her vision helped Rosie’s Place evolve from simply providing shelter to offering solutions: a drop-in center, extended stay housing, permanent housing, meals, and a multitude of on-site opportunities for our guests.

In addition to founding Rosie's Place, she founded the Boston Food Bank, the Boston Women's Fund, and Healthcare for the Homeless. In 1980, she joined forces with Fran Froehlich and co-founded the Poor People's United Fund, a “spare change” funding source for grass roots community groups involved in issues of homelessness, hunger and access to justice. In 1981 they co-founded Community Works. They went on to work together for over 35 years.

As a team they went on to create programs including Aid to Incarcerated Mothers, Finex House, Food for Free, John Leary House, My Sister’s Place, Transition House, the Greater Boston Union of the Homeless, and Boston’s Emergency Shelter Commission.

Tiernan also help found Victory House for homeless, alcoholic men with nowhere else to turn. Victory House is residential alcoholism treatment program dedicated to taking in anyone who wanted help.

In 1990, she founded the Ethical Policy Institute, "a multi-disciplinary community of people engaged in political analysis, economics and community activism." As a part of the initiative she taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Massachusetts. Speaking about the mission of the project she said: "We seek justice, not charity and the journey to justice can only be made in the company of others".

She helped people the world labeled “helpless and hopeless,” "In her presence, no one was ever to call the homeless 'helpless and hopeless.' Heaven help you if you did, " one reporter recalled.

Tiernan spent her life at the center of the fight for economic and social justice, advocating and lobbying for affordable and accessible housing, health care, education, jobs, civil rights, and peace.

“If we care enough to take the risk of being human, together we can change the world”.

Tiernan was unique and unmistakably recognizable in one of her trademark hats and khakis, occasionally enjoying a cigar, she blazed her own trail, while still being rooted to her faith, the cross she wore every day was more than a symbol. Boston Globe columnist James Carroll, wrote her cross “marks her not for piety or for a religion of easy answers, but for being, in her words, ‘an angry daughter of Christ… . I find that the cross of Jesus is the radical condemnation of an unjust world. You have to stay with the one crucified or stand with the crucifiers.’ ’’

Kip lost her longtime companion of decades, Edith Nicholson, in the early '90s. Tiernan helped raised Nicholson’s three children, and was grandmother to seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

After losing Nicholson, Tiernan found love again with Donna Pomponio, together for the last 15 years. They were married in 2004.

Kip Tiernan passed away on July 2, 2011, leaving a family, a community, a city, and a world profoundly changed by her presence here on Earth.

17 comments:

Special K said...

Kip attended Arlington St Church, a Unitarian church in Boston. When Wicked came up for a visit she wanted to go to services at Arlington St. church (it is absolutely gorgeous inside). After service, I looked around and there was Kip. You could feel an energy that radiated from her and could see how she touched so very many lives.

One of the fundraisers Rosie's Place has is their annual Funny Women…Serious Business luncheon. It has attracted celebrities like Lily Tomlin, Kristen Wiig, Amy Poehler, who come and bring the laughs to help raise millions of dollars over the years to help women in need.

Something else Rosie's Place has done since 1996 is a Women's Craft Cooperative.

It helps women who are who are a part of Rosie's Place "to help themselves by turning new and vintage buttons into crafts and accessories."

Check out some of cool stuff they sell.

Women's Craft Cooperative

Twitter said...

AUS10NICHOLS AUSTIN NICHOLS
Just watched original TRON. I'm geekin so hard right now.
55 minutes ago

prairiegirl said...

Alright. LOLLLLL.

Now both Austin and Roberto are following each other again.


I am not kidding, you guys.

prairiegirl said...

Wow, incredible Out Spotlight, Special. She was some kind of special lady. How wonderful, too, that she found a special someone a second time around before she passed away.

I am watching a National Parks video. Right now, we're touring the Everglades. The Everglades have never really fascinated me but they do have a really interesting looking white heron-type looking bird with a long flat beak and it has pink feathers!! And no, it is not a flamingo, lol. It looks like it got washed with something dark red, lol.

prairiegirl said...

Did you guys know that the redwoods of California produce their own moisture at their tops? Because it would take a lot of rain and water from the bottom to reach the top of the trees, they would die from the top because of lack of moisture. So they produce their own dew and there's so much dew up there in the trees, that it falls down as rain in the forest. That was just incredible.

I must go see these redwood trees. How beautiful it is wherever it is they're at. Must be near the Pacific Ocean. I missed parts of the show because I was getting my dinner.

I made this thing in the crockpot with turkey meatballs: milk, Campbell's French Onion Soup, cream of mushroom soup, 8 oz cream cheese, sliced mushrooms. Serve over pasta and man, was it good. It wasn't just good, it was darn good, lol. If I say so myself.

prairiegirl said...

You will not believe the name of the new dog in my brother's family. You won't guess it in a million years. Of all the names out there to pick from.

They named her after a favorite candy. Reese's. I mean, they couldn't call her Hershey's, then? Or Payday? Or Skittles?

I cannot believe it. I've got to go to bed on that one. Big day tomorrow, as Mondays always are. Short work week this week! Woohoo!

destiny said...

Oh no PG. LOLLLL! And I didn't know that about the redwoods. I'm sorry you didn't get to see them on your trip to California, they are sure something to see.

Wow, I can't believe how many organizations Kip founded. What a remarkable woman.

the real m said...

Poor PG. I cant imagine having to call the dog Reese. Not much you can do about it. Oh and you actually were not that far from giant redwoods when you visited Sausalito. I'm not kidding. Maybe another 5-10 miles north if even that. You just have to come back for another visit and spend a couple more days around San Francisco. Its a beautiful state with lots to see.

prairiegirl said...

M&M!!!!!! LOLLLLL!!! Next time, M&M!!

lol. Nah, we were supposed to go into San Francisco, too, but let me tell you. I wouldn't have missed our stay at where we were at for nothing. We were soaking up every second until check out at that place. It was a dream.

But next time and Lord willing, there'll be a next time, you can bet on it. I'll be back!

I am learning so much from this video, though. I didn't even know there were sand deserts in the U.S. I can't remember now what they're called, Zion? No. Petrified Forests, no that was New Mexico. Darnit. I think they were in Las Vegas. You should've seen all that sand blowing downnnnnn the hills, it was gorgeous. And it was pretty sand, too, real fine looking.

As you can tell, I don't retain a whole lot since I can't remember where those sands are for sure or what the park is called. LOL!!! Oh well. They were pretty.

And the Grand Tetons are at the end of CD #2. I cannot wait. It's going to be so gorgeous.



Can you believe that about my brother's family new little dog? She's called Reese's!!!! Oh brother. The irony of it all.

Aah, I can't wait to go see her, though. Aunt PG is going to spoil her rotten.

prairiegirl said...

Hey new pictures of Jake on IHJ. Dining with his cell phone.

lol. Nah, I don't know who that chick is - is that one of his people? She looks kind of familiar. Seems like all of his business people are brunettes, doesn't it?

Jake's little shaved head cracks me up. Every time I see it like that, it reminds me of my brother when he was like 5 years old and he had a buzzhead like that.

Can't wait already until he's done filming and hopefully the family won't be spread clear across the continent like they are. Sure is tough. But not for long.

Well, running late, better get busy. My big buddy is going to be hacked at me because I didn't go in early. He's my personal watch dog, I swear, sort of a mini supervisor. Always asking "So what time're you coming in tomorrow?" when he knows it's going to be busy. Just never you mind, buddy. Just never you mind. Aw, he's okay. I love my big buddy. He was going to the Royals game Friday night so I'm anxious to hear how it went. He just loves those Royals.

prairiegirl said...

Death Valley!

prairiegirl said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
prairiegirl said...

Before the day starts, I can't let this one go.

What came to me about the dog's new christianed name, Reese's instead of August which the shelter had named her. I would've liked to have asked, "Well, whatever happened to August?!"


LOLLLLL!!!

July 11, 2011 8:11 AM

Special K said...

It is pretty funny what the kids named their dog, but it is a really cute name for doggy. And naming it after the candy you love, already tells you they love their new dog. And yes you will totally spoil her.

Special K said...

Here's the link for the new picture of Jake at Cafe Gratitude that are over on IHJ.

Looking at the date, it looks like he was there on Sat night. Jake you wild man you rollin' in your Prius and hitting the raw vegan restaurant.

Jake at Cafe Gratitude Sat July 9

destiny said...

I love the desert; Death Valley is an amazing place too. So many great national parks out West. Man, you're giving me the bug to travel PG. I will be visiting the family later this summer, but don't think I'll get to any place too exciting.

the real m said...

Thats our boy.The wild and horny single man, eating alone, or with staff, at a cafe on a Saturday night. He is so married!

Any True Blood fans here? The story line so far is leaving me bored but last night Eric was off the charts smokin hot. He was shirtless half the episode and looking his best ever. There is even a resemblance to my trainee which I had not realized before. Now I know why I find the new guy so sexy. Swedish descent for both.