Richard Ring ’68 featured in Boston Globe After ‘Legendary’ Career Helping the Homeless

Boston Globe



The former executive director of the Pine Street Inn homeless shelter in Boston and legendary activist for the homeless Richard Ring ’68 was profiled in the Boston Globe this week after announcing his retirement.

Globe columnist Adrian Walker wrote that Ring is "one of the greatest supporters Boston’s homeless have ever had."

Ring, 72, began his career helping Boston’s homeless in 1969 as a counselor at the Pine Street Inn shelter. He later became the organization’s executive director. Ring would also go on to lead Caritas, an organization that provides housing for low-income, working individuals, and FamilyAid Boston.

In 1998, Ring was honored as one of four winners of the inaugural Sanctae Crucis Awards, the highest non-degree accolade that the College of the Holy Cross bestows on alumni. The Sanctae Crucis Awards are now presented annually to those alumni who have distinguished themselves professionally and in the service of justice.

"Personally, I’ve been lucky and fortunate to be involved in one of the greatest social issues of my lifetime in this city and state," Ring told the Globe. "It’s serious business. It’s life and death for people, and that’s not an exaggeration."

Read the full story at bostonglobe.com.