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The Rev. Peter Young will be honored for his work helping the addicted rebuild their lives
Albany Times
Union editorial, July 18, 2004
The Rev. Peter Young has been so much a part of the Capital Region fabric, and
for so long, that it is difficult to stand back and view his stature in proper
perspective. As it happens, though, those who admire this priest, and his
tireless efforts on behalf of those lost to addiction and imprisonment, will
have an opportunity to appreciate his ministry tomorrow evening. That's when
Father Young will celebrate his 45th anniversary as a priest and, so typically,
raise funds for his causes -- in this case, to provide help for those who do not
receive Medicaid or other support and are struggling to repair their lives. The
celebration will be at the Saratoga National Golf Club. Father Young is CEO of
Peter Young Housing, Industries and Treatment, an alcohol and drug addiction
rehabilitation organization with more than 80 centers throughout the state. He
was a founder of Altamont House, a refuge for nonviolent alcoholic criminals. He
is director of Mother Teresa Community, a social mission in Albany.
And he is a godsend to countless people who are battling the demons of drugs and
alcohol, helping them conquer their addictions and rebuild their lives. Not a
few of these lost souls encountered Father Young as they wandered the streets of
Albany's South End in the late 1960s and 1970s. One of them, an attorney,
recalled in a 1997 interview with our reporter, Paul Grondahl, how he recognized
Father Young from his days at Siena College during the 1950s, where the future
priest was then a classmate and captain of the baseball team. "He said I could
either fight him or come along with him to detox," the attorney recalled. "I
could never lick him, so I went along. He saved my life from an awful disease.
He saved countless others as well, first as a street priest in Albany's South
End, then as an alcohol and drug treatment counselor with the state Department
of Correctional Services, and then as the visionary force behind his own network
of rehabilitation centers.
Now the pastor of the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Bolton Landing, Father
Young reflected on his life last May in an interview with our staff writer,
Joshua Hurwit. "I'm very much a social justice guy," he said. "I believe I've
been put in the right niche." How fortunate for the Capital Region that that
niche is here, in our own back yard.