“Kippy, Pray for the Dead and Fish Like Hell for the Living” is a one-woman theatrical imagining of Kip Tiernan, social justice hero and founder of Rosie’s Place, The Greater Boston Food Bank, Healthcare for the Homeless, The Poor People’s United Fund, Community Works and many more.
What would Kip Tiernan say about society today, power in politics and society if she were here today? Gail takes you into what Kip might have thought, her struggles and how we can all still make a difference.
Kip was an inspiration to Gail and to countless others. She had a deep passion for music and theatre that she shared with Gail.
In addition to the theatrical performances, “Kippy” was filmed and edited during the pandemic and is now available for viewing.
Kippy Tiernan was a unique and colorful social justice hero in Boston, Massachusetts. With a $250 donation and an urn of coffee, she opened the world renowned Rosie’s Place in 1974 out of an empty storefront in Boston’s south end. Rosie’s Place is the FIRST EVER homeless shelter and sanctuary for women in the United States. It was at a time when most people had fled the dangerous and filthy South End of Boston. Rosie’s Place has become a hugely important resource over the years and especially during the pandemic.
Rosie’s Place is still one of the most important women’s shelters in the United States and has been used as a model for shelters that work, feed and shelter women with dignity and LOVE.
In 1978, Kip started The Greater Boston Food Bank out of the back of her car. The Greater Food Bank serves over 50 Million meals a year!
Kip believed that you should start helping people with a cup of coffee, a hot meal and a safe place to experience humanity and warmth. Her story is deserving of retelling over and over and her indomitable spirit lives on. She was a true Boston treasure and a savior to those who were forgotten by society.
We are accountable to and for each other. That's the theology of survival in a nutshell. We cannot afford theological elitism as an alternative lifestyle if we are to survive. We cannot hope to survive without contact with each other. We must be aware of each other's anxieties and fears and triumphs. We must support our brothers and sisters in jails, mental institutions and in the streets. We owe it to ourselves and our children. The old litanies don't work. The old words are falling on deaf ears. They-the great god They- have nothing of any importance to say to us. We have the power. We have the strength to survive, if only we look to each other for support.
