Kip Tiernan Tribute
Excerpted from Cintia Lopez WBUR October 05, 2018
Tiernan was born on June 17, 1926 as Mary Jane Tiernan. By 11 years old, both of her parents had died and her maternal grandmother took to raising her. She moved to Boston in 1947 to study at the Boston Conservatory, but eventually became an advertising copywriter, starting her own agency. It was then that she discovered advocacy work, by volunteering at Warwick House, a Catholic ministry focused on civil rights and poverty.
Kip Tiernan was a woman of action. When she learned there was nowhere for unhoused women to seek refuge, she founded the first homeless women’s shelter in the country, Rosie’s Place in Boston, in 1974. When she realized the homeless needed more than just shelter — they needed health care too — she helped start the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program. The fruit of her advocacy labor for the vulnerable can still be seen all around Boston, from the Greater Boston Food Bank to the city’s Emergency Shelter Commission.
Tiernan died from cancer on July 2, 2011, leaving behind a legacy of social justice work that’s still felt today and that will now be represented in a memorial in her honor.
This Kip Tiernan Memorial sculpted by Carla Ceruzzi and Ryan Murphy of Ceruzzi and Murphy Projects is located between Boylston and Newbury Streets on Dartmouth Street, Boston, MA 02116 around the corner from Poor People’s United Fund’s offices at Old South Church.
The sculpture…commands attention from those who walk by, much like Tiernan’s voice commanded attention. Funded entirely by private donations, the memorial is comprised of three interconnected stainless-steel arches, with an interlaced structure at the top. The words engraved into the memorial were carefully chosen by a team at Rosie’s Place.
“Cui Bono?” One of the quotes on the memorial reads, “Who sets the terms of the debate around poverty and homelessness? Who decides who gets the condo and who gets the cardboard box?”
Kip Tiernan A Legacy of Love Video
Kip Tiernan Memorial Dedication October 12, 2018 includes comments by City of Boston Mayor, Martin Walsh and co-founder, Fran Froehlich
Sanctuary by Christine McDonnell introduces young readers to Kip's life as a relentless advocate who offered unconditional love to poor and homeless women...learning early lessons from her Granny.
