Born the youngest of 13 siblings in War, West Virginia, Anna Young devoted her adult life to promoting peace and redemption for prisoners of painful pasts.

Young’s personal struggles and empathetic, open-minded approach earned her acceptance and authority with inmates over more than 30 years as a volunteer at Lackawanna County Prison. Wardens and corrections officers hailed her as “St. Anna,” a nickname she tolerated but never embraced.

“All glory to God,” she often said in a warm Southern drawl that softened the hardest hearts and soothed the saddest souls.

“I’m doing the Lord’s work,” she said. “If God has work for you, guess what? You’re gonna do it!”

Young’s work included Christmas gift bags, cookies and cards for those behind bars and guidance and support for parolees reentering society and reinventing themselves.

“St. Anna” died in 2022. She was 92 and changed countless lives, freeing legions of prisoners from the personal shame and public stigma stamped on their souls and futures at sentencing.

Determined to honor her ministry and keep her legacy alive, the Scranton Area Ministerium organized the “Anna Young Project.” The ministerium is a multifaith association of faith leaders and social service agencies devoted to promoting dignity and providing opportunities for vulnerable populations.

“It’s not a religious thing,” said the Rev. Tyler Parry, priest-in-charge at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Scranton and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Moscow.

“It’s a human-to-human gift to the community, just a gift out of human love.”

Father Parry is also president and CEO of Cypress House, a post-prison reentry program to teach former inmates life skills like managing their finances while also paying a living wage. A Cleveland native, Parry, 43, took on his multiple roles in March. He resembles a young Santa Claus, sporting wire-rimmed glasses, a bushy red beard and a mustache with coiffed curls on the tips.

“I got that when I was in prison,” Parry said with a grin. He was never an inmate, but served as a prison chaplain at SCI Waymart and other facilities. An inmate barber styled Parry’s mustache. He stuck with it as a reminder of the importance of seeding hope in the hopeless.

“One of the hardest things as a chaplain in the state prison system is that the moment (inmates) leave, they’re gone,” Parry said. “You can’t have any communication. No contact. It’s a very strictly enforced regulation, for lots of good reasons, but you’re like, ‘Man, I hope they found the people who can help them.’

“And that’s the talk you give them. ‘Find the people who are good for you and connect with them.’ And you just hope they do. What we’re doing is shifting perspectives. We’re asking, ‘Can we start to build connections even while they’re (inmates), even if it’s just to say, ‘We’re here if you need us.’ ”

Father Parry never met Anna Young, but said he knows her through her life’s work. Phil Yevics and JoAnne Mayer worked with Young and said they are blessed to help keep her legacy alive.

“She had an unwavering optimism about everything,” said Yevics, a retired University of Scranton professor and a member of many charitable boards, including Cypress House.

“She had just this unshakable belief that everyone deserved a genuine second chance. And her dedication was just so extraordinary. … On numerous occasions, she opened her home to women struggling to find stable housing after release, providing a safe place to transition and rebuild their lives.”

Mayer, a certified recovery specialist, said Young’s openness about her own hard times was the key to earning the trust and affection of inmates. Young’s first marriage brought her to Scranton. Another divorce and years of pain and struggle as a single mother of three led her to earn a degree in human services from the University of Scranton. A lifelong Southern Baptist, “St. Anna’s” path to prison ministry wound through a Jesuit school.

“She offered herself so selflessly,” Mayer said. “She gave endlessly, without a trace of judgment, and kindled an unquenchable fire of hope within the women. … She drove them to overcome their adversity, to believe in the impossible and embrace a transformative journey of redemption and personal growth.”

The Anna Young Project will deliver 1,000 gift bags to inmates at the county prison in January, due to security processes and out of respect for the multiple faiths represented in the population. Father Parry explained that non-Christians might not readily accept a gift specific to Christmas. The delay also leaves more time for donations.

The bags will include the standards Young established: shampoo, deodorant, soap, pens, pencils, writing paper, envelopes, toothpaste and socks. The simple gifts will be delivered by Scranton Area Ministerium volunteers, but Mayer said they are from Anna.

“She’s a living legend in her community,” Mayer said. “Her legacy of love and relentless kindness will endure for generations.”

How to donate

Scranton Area Community Foundation

612 Jefferson Ave.

Scranton, PA 18510

Add “The Anna Young Project” to the memo line.

Anna Young (TIMES-TRIBUNE FILE)Anna Young leads a prayer service for women inmates at Lackawanna County Prison in 2020. (TIMES-TRIBUNE FILE)Anna Young leads a prayer service for women inmates at Lackawanna County Prison in 2020. (TIMES-TRIBUNE FILE)