Homeboy Industries began as a jobs program in Dolores Mission church, offering alternatives to gang violence in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the city. It has since grown into a national model, and in 2008, will celebrate its 20th anniversary. Homeboy serves as a beacon of hope and opportunity for those seeking to leave gang life, for whom the barriers and challenges are great, and for whom there is virtually no other avenue to enter the mainstream.

Homeboy Industries assists at-risk and former gang involved youth to become contributing members of our community through a variety of services in response to their multiple needs. Free programs -- including counseling, education, tattoo removal, job training and job placement -- enable young people to redirect their lives and provide them with hope for their futures.

In providing support services, Homeboy targets and focuses on that segment of the community that faces the most difficult challenges to getting on their feet -- former gang members, parolees, and at-risk youth. Many of these clients have one or more barriers to employment, including: visible tattoos, criminal records, substance abuse problems, limited education and employment skills. In the past year, former members from over half the 1,100 gangs in Los Angeles County have come through our doors seeking specific services (tattoo removal, counseling, job placement assistance, community service placements, and more) in an effort to turn their lives around.

Our annual fundraising dinner, Lo Maximo, will be held May 10, 2008 at Vibiana in downtown Los Angeles. This year promises to be extraordinary as we celebrate our 20th anniversary year.

Fr. Gregory Boyle – best known as Fr. Greg by all who meet him -- was born in Los Angeles, one of eight children. After graduating from Loyola High School in Los Angeles in 1972, he decided to become a Jesuit and was ordained a priest in 1984. Prior to 1986 Fr. Boyle taught at Loyola High School and worked with Christian Base Communities in Cochabamba, Bolivia. He was appointed as Pastor of Dolores Mission in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles in 1986 where he served through 1992.Fr. Boyle was a member of the State Commission on Juvenile Justice, Crime and Delinquency Prevention and is currently a member of the National Leadership Council of the Iris Alliance Fund, and serves on the Advisory Boards for the Loyola Law School Center for Juvenile Law and Policy and the National Youth Gang Center. He has received numerous accolades and recognitions on behalf of Homeboy and for his work with former gang members. On September 17, 2007, Fr. Greg received the “Humanitarian of the Year” Award from Bon Appétit magazine during their 10th Annual Awards Ceremony in New York.

In addition to providing job training and placement assistance and other free programs, a distinctive feature of Homeboy Industries is its small businesses, where the most difficult to place individuals are hired in transitional jobs, thus giving them a safe, supportive environment in which to learn both concrete and soft job skills, while simultaneously building their resume and work experience. Today, our businesses have grown to include Homeboy Bakery, Homegirl Cafe, Homeboy Maintenance and Landscaping, Homeboy/girl Merchandise, Homeboy Press, and Homeboy Silkscreen and Embroidery.