Imagine dedicating your life to helping teens in trouble - this is an amazing and inspiring story of one man who has done just that! Throughout his journey, he has helped up to 55,000 street kids and now looks positively toward his future. We meet Fr Chris Riley….

A man who felt a sense of worthlessness himself through childhood, Fr Chris Riley has a complete empathy and understanding of the kids that he helps. He works tirelessly to rid troubled youths of drug addiction, abuse and isolation, giving them greater possibilities to grow and enhance their own opportunities to become committed and appreciated members of society.

Fr Chris Riley's attitude to the development of homeless youth and his passion to better educate Australia as a whole, is an inspiration to us all about how we can do something to reach out, speak out and help those who are less fortunate!

You began the organisation 'Youth of the Streets' 17 years ago, what was your main motivation to provide this outlet for young people?
Initially I had become a priest to work with the most disadvantaged young people in the country and was particularly moved by the old Boys' Town movie. Prior to setting up Youth Off the Streets, I had spent 17 years working with disadvantaged young people and became the Principal at Boys' Town.

In the mid-late 80s, there was a great deal of media attention given to homeless kids in the inner city. I was disturbed that so many kids had no support, were addicted to heroin, had no place to sleep and were involved in violent crime. I started to go onto the streets on school holidays and weekends and grew very close to these kids that other people wanted nothing to do with. Eventually, I would travel from Boys' Town to the City every night to make sure that the kids were at least fed!

For years I had pleaded with my Superiors to allow me to leave Boys' Town to work with street kids. At the end of 1990, I was given permission to do so.

It has been said that as a teenager yourself, you were quite shy and found yourself under the radar in most instances, do you find that is something that allows you to empathize with the youth you work with?
Certainly the feeling of isolation and not belonging anywhere has given me great empathy for this group of kids. I was lucky to have good family support, but for much of my life I felt pretty worthless and often prayed to die.

What my childhood did give me, other than empathy, was a real strength. It prepared me for tough moments and a legacy of no fear of death. Nothing intimidates me when it comes to advocating for young people. I was once greatly concerned with what people thought of me, I now don't care what people think of me when I feel I am speaking the truth and supporting young people.

What in your opinion are the major issues surrounding young people today and what reasons do you think give people the idea to resort to the streets?
The greatest evil in this country that kids need to deal with is sexual assault. At the recent 2020 conference, a couple of us were involved with Child Protection, we raised this as a major issue but the facilitator hissed back at us saying, "I will not put those words up on the board."

In the early days working on the streets, I never met a girl who had not been sexually assaulted and 90% of the boys had also been assaulted. At that time, 90% of the kids I worked with were using heroin as a pain killer that temporarily took the pain of sexual abuse away. 88% of sexual assaults are done by family members or people well known to the young person.

Often kids become homeless as their mother will enter a new de-facto relationship. The young person often does not get on with the new partner, and the mother often makes the choice to kick their son or daughter out of home, so she can maintain her new relationship.

Parental alcohol and substance abuse play a significant part as does parental mental illness.

What is the harsh reality of street life?
Many people think that young people run away from home because they don't like the family's rules. If these people spent one night on the streets, they would understand that only desperation and abuse triggers a young person's move to the streets!

As a young person arrives at Central Station, having travelled from their suburb, country town or interstate city, there are predators hanging around the station waiting for these vulnerable young people to arrive. They often support them by giving them money, drugs and entrap them in a life of sexual abuse and prostitution. Drugs become their only purpose in life and every waking moment consumes them in relation to where they will get their next (drug) hit from.

For those who don't fall prey to these predators they quickly get involved in drug abuse and crime as it becomes the way in which they get the cash for drugs through break and enters and violent assaults. Street violence is intense and brutal young people who live on the streets walk the streets at night as they are too fearful to sleep at night in a park as they often become victims of violence at these times. Being out of control on drugs and alcohol means that they often behave badly and so become involved in confrontations with the police.

One of the biggest triggers that made me leave Boys' Town to pursue helping kids on the street was one night when I was feeding the kids at Town Hall, it had been pouring rain for days and it was cold out. I approached one young man, a tough and brutal young person, and one that I was close to. He was crying and I couldn't understand what was causing him so much pain - I had seen him stabbed, beaten up, brawling with police - but no tears. Eventually I understood that he was crying because of the pain of the cold. I often returned kids to their squats - squalid, filthy, rat infested, damp and cold. Much of my time on the streets was bandaging their recent wounds, taking them to emergency departments, supporting them in courts, getting them out of police stations.

At the end of the day, you can trust no one when living on the streets.

Are you working on any major projects at the moment?
I am currently tackling the major problems in Western and South Western Sydney.

I am struggling to get Governments to commit to providing infrastructure that is youth friendly. They refuse to do this at their own peril as we see youth violence spiral out of control.

I also want to introduce a strategy to stamp out child abuse. Bring it to people's attention and get them involved. Arrests and notifications of abuse are a signal that it is too late for many. We need people to be informed enough to be able to recognise someone who could abuse kids. As I said, 88% of child abuse is done by family members, or people well known to the family. Parents need to be given the skills to keep their kids safe!

I read that the number of teenagers you have helped is above 45,000. That is an amazing achievement, what drives you to keep helping the younger generation?
It is probably closer to 55,000 youths now over the past 18 years.

I see the potential and goodness in young people. I see their strength to overcome great odds and pain. They are the most vulnerable group in our community without a voice.

The Native American Indians say, "That the only reason we adults exist, is to raise children." I really embrace this philosophy. It is our job to keep kids safe, to care for them and to educate them.

What gives you hope?
Knowing that given the right environment and opportunities, the most troubled young person can turn their life around. Also, seeing their strength, witnessing their maturation and development gives me great hope.

Within your life as a priest working with Youth Off The Streets, what has been a defining moment for you?
The most significant moment for me as a priest, that gave me the strength to leave the religious community life, was through one particular experience that happened in the middle of the night (around 3 a.m.). As I stood in the darkness of Town Hall, having bandaged the wounds of some kids who had been stabbed, standing alone - a feeling of great relief swept over me - a feeling that I no longer feared death. It was with this realisation that nothing could ever stand in my way, that from that moment, my life was geared to working with the most troubled young people. I was 33 years of age at the time.

Another time that was defining for me was when I was kneeling down on the footpath at town, trying to talk down a young person who was very drunk and he was abusing all the people on the footpath. As he was screaming out, I was trying to get him to stop. An elderly man approached me and said, "Please Father, get up off the ground. You are demeaning yourself." I realised then that the group I had committed to would define who I was, what I did and how people would judge me.

I understand you have had some amazing success stories with youth's finding their feet after trying times, what factors do you believe contributed to them overcoming their issues?
Highlighting their strengths, ensuring they experience success, giving them community connections, educating them.

How can the community of Australia help with troubled youths?
Embrace a strategy to spot kids who are in trouble and do something about it. An African saying is used extensively now, but not lived out, which is: It takes a village to raise a child. Every adult needs to reach out to kids in their families, communities, streets, and support them.