In 1988, a job training program called Jobs for a Future began operating out of Dolores Mission Parish in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, offering an alternative to gang life for at-risk youth. The program, founded by then-pastor Greg Boyle, has since evolved into Homeboy Industries, now recognized as the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world.
Homeboy Industries serves approximately 7,000 members of the Los Angeles community annually, with its flagship 18-month employment and re-entry program accommodating over 400 men, and women. The organization provides a range of free services, including mental health counseling, legal assistance, tattoo removal, educational classes, function-readiness training, and substance abuse resources. These services are designed to foster healing and growth within a supportive community.
The origins of Homeboy Industries are rooted in the socio-economic conditions of the Dolores Mission parish in 1986, when Father Boyle arrived to find it was the poorest Catholic parish in Los Angeles. The parish encompassed Aliso Village and Pico Gardens, which were at the time the largest public housing projects west of the Mississippi River and also experienced the highest concentration of gang activity in the city. At a time when law enforcement primarily relied on suppression tactics and mass incarceration to address gang violence, Boyle sought a different approach, focusing on providing support to those involved.
In 1992, the organization formally established itself as a non-profit, converting an abandoned warehouse into Homeboy Bakery to create employment opportunities. Initially producing tortillas, the bakery later secured a contract for baking bread, expanding its capacity for job creation. Over the subsequent years, additional businesses were added, solidifying Homeboy Industries’ role as a provider of vocational training and employment.
The program operates on the principle that employment can interrupt cycles of violence, encapsulated in the motto, “Nothing stops a bullet like a job.” Homeboy Industries also established the Dolores Mission Alternative School to offer high school dropouts a pathway to earning a diploma. The organization’s capacity currently ranges between 200 and 235 youth, and its annual budget is $14.7 million.
Homeboy Industries continues to welcome thousands of individuals each year seeking to transform their lives, offering a comprehensive suite of services designed to support their re-entry into society. The organization’s work is affiliated with the Jesuit order and the Catholic Church.
