Sister Mary Scullion, R.S.M. is a Philadelphia-based American Roman Catholic Religious Sister and activist, ranked in 2009 as one of the "World's Most Influential People" by Time.[1]
Scullion joined the Sisters of Mercy and began working on behalf of the homeless in 1976. She has been involved in service work and advocacy for homeless and mentally ill persons since 1978. She was a co-founder in 1985 of Woman of Hope, which provides permanent residences and support services for homeless mentally ill women.
In 1988 she helped to found the Outreach Coordination Center, an innovative program coordinating private and public agencies doing outreach to chronically homeless persons in Center City Philadelphia. The following year she and her associate, Joan Dawson McConnon, co-founded Project H.O.M.E., a nationally recognized organization providing solutions to homelessness and poverty. She is an advocate for the homeless and mentally ill. Her efforts resulted in the right of homeless persons to vote as well as a landmark federal court decision that affects the fair housing rights of persons with disabilities.
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Scullion has received numerous awards and honorary doctorates for her leadership in the City of Philadelphia. She was also awarded the Liberty Bell Award from the Philadelphia Bar Association, the Prudential National Nonprofit Leadership Award and the 1992 Philadelphia Award. In 2002, she was awarded an "Eisenhower Fellowship", and that same year, she and Ms. McConnon were national awardees of the Ford Foundation's prestigious "Leadership for a Changing World Award".
She also serves on the Board of the The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation and of CeaseFire PA, and in 2010 she was appointed by Mayor Michael Nutter to serve on the City of Philadelphia's Board of Ethics.