Jesuit’s Homeboy Industries, LA County Partner for At-risk Youth Program

Los Angeles County supervisors have approved spending $1.3 million on Homeboy Industries, a nonprofit, gang intervention program founded and run by Jesuit Father Greg Boyle.

The effort will involve “tattoo removal, job development and re-entry services (for) high-risk, high-need probationers and at-risk individuals between the ages of 14 (and) 30,” said William Fujioka, the county’s chief executive officer.

Program participants will work on a detailed educational and vocational plan with Homeboy staffers. They will also have access to job placement and legal services, as well as classes, job training, and therapy, including mental health and substance abuse counseling.

The money will help fund salaries for nonprofit staff, and twenty trainees will be hired to assist with the pilot program.

Homeboy Industries laid off 300 employees in May because of a decline in donations; Fr. Boyle himself stopped taking a check.

Fr. Boyle told the Los Angeles Times that he was heartened by support from Los Angeles and its residents. Since Homeboy’s layoffs in May, he said, the organization has received donations totaling $3.5 million. About 100 people are back on the payroll, and others have stayed on as volunteers.

Homeboy Industries will be required to report back to the county in several ways, including a quarterly report to the board, while the 10-month program is underway. Researchers from UCLA will also evaluate the pilot’s effectiveness in helping participants break gang ties and contribute to their community.

Homeboy was established as a nonprofit in 2001. In addition to the jobs and counseling programs, the organization has established a series of small businesses staffed with program participants, including the Homeboy Bakery, Homegirl Café and Homeboy Merchandise, which sells T-shirts, mugs, tote bags and mouse pads with the nonprofit’s logo. [Southern California Public Radio]