Chris Riley (Priest)
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Father Chris Riley, AM is an Australian Roman Catholic priest who founded and is CEO of the charity Youth Off The Streets. He is a member of the Salesian order whose mission is to work with disadvantaged youth.
Father Riley was born in Echuca, Victoria in 1954 and grew up on a dairy farm in the district. In 1973 he graduated from a school run by the Salesians. He was inspired by the movie “Boys’ Town” and went on to train as a teacher.
He has worked as a teacher, youth worker, probation officer, residential care worker and Principal of the charity Boy’s Town. In 1982 he was ordained a priest at Oakleigh, Victoria.
Father Riley founded Youth Off The Streets in 1991 with a food van delivering meals to homeless youths in the Kings Cross area in Sydney. In 1997 he opened Key College independent High School in Surry Hills, NSW where he pioneered a "flexible education" model to help youths living on the streets return to school. Father Riley working with the Islamic organisation Muhammadiyah helped build an orphanage in Aceh, Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami.
Today he is the CEO of Youth Off The Streets, which has grown to include crises care, refuges, schools, drug and alcohol programs that employ more than 150 people & has over 800 volunteers. Youth Off The Streets Overseas Relief Fund has projects in Albania, East Timor, Indonesia, Philippines, and Tanzania.
He makes frequent media appearances on behalf of YOTS including a weekly radio segment on the John Stanley Afternoon Show broadcast on 2UE in Sydney and 2CC in Canberra.
In 2006 Father Riley was awarded Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to disadvantaged youth. In 2006, he also received the Human Rights Medal from the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (shared with broadcaster Phillip Adams). [1]
