Kip Tiernan (1926-2011), an indefatigable activist for social and economic justice, settled in Boston in her 20s. In 1974 she founded Rosie’s Place, America’s first shelter for homeless women, in an abandoned supermarket. With her advocacy partner, Fran Froehlich, Tiernan founded or helped found a wide range of community organizations to address the needs of people, especially the homeless and the hungry. The list includes The Boston Food Bank, the Poor People’s United Fund, Finex House, the Boston Women’s Fund and Transition House. Grounded in the principles of the Catholic left,Tiernan devoted her life to speaking, lobbying and protesting.
