Homeboy Industries replaces jail with jobs

By Caroline Mooser

"No hanging, no slanging, no banging." This is the mantra ex-gang members live by at Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles.

Campus Minister Matt Smith, visits the program often, which was set up by Father Greg Boyle, S.J., to help ex-gang members earn clean money and reestablish themselves as valuable members of society, regularly.

Smith attributes the program's success to the founder's ability to love and accept people wherever they are.

Smith said that for many prisoners getting out of jail, "Father Greg is their first stop."

Begun as Jobs for a Future in 1988, Homeboy Industries was Boyle's brainchild during his time as pastor at Dolores Mission Parish in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of East Los Angeles.

Karla De La Torre, student coordinator of Santa Clara's spring break immersion trip to Dolores Mission, explained that some gang members did not grow up in positive family settings in which they were given the necessary support, privileges or means to succeed academically, find good paying jobs or ultimately feel good about themselves or the work they did. This year, seven students, including De La Torre, participated in the trip to Los Angeles.

Today, the Homeboy Industries headquarters is located in a neutral zone that is home to many small businesses which help former gang members move into the job market.

Most companies are reluctant to employ ex-gang members, but as the program Web site explains, those who come to Homeboy Industries are first "hired in transitional jobs in a safe, supportive environment where they will learn both concrete and soft job skills."

According to the Web site, they can build resume experience by working at the Homeboy Bakery, Homegirl Café and Catering, Homeboy Maintenance, Homeboy Merchandise, Homeboy Press and Homeboy Silkscreen and Embroidery.

Homeboy Industries also provides free services for ex-gang members such as tattoo removal, group therapy, mental health counseling and educational courses, which include classes in self-development, computer skills, job readiness and parenting.

There is also GED preparation and a charter school that offers classes on-site to help Homeboy members earn their high school diploma.

Homegirl Café is a popular restaurant that owes its success to the hard working women who decided to give up their gang lives and earn money cooking Latina gourmet cuisine. Business people can often be seen enjoying power lunches at the café, which also provides catering services and cooking classes.

Homeboy Silkscreen and Embroidery is another successful division of Homeboy Industries that has employed almost 500 ex-gang members who work alongside their former rivals. Smith said, "All of the shirts we create for Campus Ministry events are printed or embroidered by Homeboy Silkscreen."

Smith said that prior to visiting Homeboy Industries for the first time in 2002, he had a misconception of gang members. "I thought they were uneducated people who could not contribute positively to society. I thought of them as violent and saw them as murderers," he said. "I perceived entering a gang zone as entering a war zone."

These misconceptions changed when Smith met individuals such as artist Fabián, who described his artwork as, "tapping into those gifts that people have and giving them a chance to express themselves in a way that is helpful to them that's true to who they are. I've seen people talk very passionately about their joys in life."

Members of Homeboy Industries are not permitted to work overtime. Instead, they are encouraged to spend nonworking time with their spouses and family.

Contact Caroline Mooser at (408) 551-1918 or cmooser@scu.edu.