Nugent Care receives freedom of Liverpool

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A charity which has provided care and support to some of Liverpool's poorest people for 130 years is to be honoured by the city later.

Nugent Care is being awarded the city's highest honour when it will be admitted to the Freedom Roll of Associations and Institutions.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool charity will receive the honour from the city's lord mayor.

It dates back to the work of Father James Nugent in Victorian Liverpool.

The Lord Mayor Frank Prendergast will present the honour at a ceremony in St George's Hall.

"Since its foundation in Victorian Liverpool, Nugent Care has been at the forefront of providing care for children, disabled people and the disadvantaged," he said.

'Social reformer'

"They have been real pioneers in providing care and support services and are very worthy of receiving the Freedom of the City."

Nugent Care's chief executive Kathleen Pitt said: "It is a magnificent accolade to be presented with the Freedom of the City.

"Father James Nugent himself received the honour and we are extremely proud to be recognised for our commitment to continuing his work, maintaining his values and traditions with services relevant to today's society."

Nugent was a great social reformer in 19th Century Liverpool, working among the poor in the city's slums.

The first Roman Catholic chaplain at Walton Prison, he jointly founded the Liverpool Catholic Children's Protection Society (Nugent Care's ancestor) on 16 April 1881 with Bishop Bernard O'Reilly