Life Resources, Inc.

This year, Life Resources is honoring Fr. J. Bryan Hehir as the second annual recipient of the Dedicated Service to Children Award. 

As Treasurer of Life Resources Board of Trustees, Fr. Hehir has been involved with Life Resources for over five years, helping the lives of at-risk youth. Life Resources is dedicated to transforming troubled youth who are in despair and have thus lost their way to those filled with hope that will serve themselves and society by giving them the opportunity to develop the intellectual, emotional and behavioral skills necessary to become positive, caring and constructive members of the community.

 J. Bryan Hehir is the Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Religion and Public Life at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is also the Secretary for Health and Social Services for the Archdiocese of Boston. Prior to assuming these positions, Father Hehir served as President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, the national network of Charities in the United States, from 2001 through 2003. He joined the faculty of the Harvard Divinity School as Professor of the Practice in Religion and Society and served as Interim Dean and Dean of the Divinity School.

Father Hehir took his A.B. and Master of Divinity degrees at St. John’s Seminary and his Doctor of Theology at Harvard Divinity School. His research and writing focus on issues of ethics and foreign policy, Catholic social ethics and the role of religion in world politics and in American society. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society and the Council on Foreign Relations. He serves on the Board of the Arms Control Association, the Global Development Committee and the Independent Sector. He was named a MacArthur Fellow in 1984 and is the recipient of over thirty honorary degrees from American colleges and universities.

The children served by Life Resources face extraordinary challenges which impede the carefree life a child should have. Intervention programs for at-risk youth have been shown to effectively reduce the potential of reoffending. Each year, Life Resources serves hundreds of troubled youth who have experienced abuse, neglect and exploitation. In 2010, we honor Fr. Hehir and his dedication to helping impact the lives of troubled youth. When you help a child turn their life around, we all benefit, because no child should be without hope.