Homeboy Industries

In 1988, Father Greg Boyle founded Jobs for a Future, a small initiative that provided jobs and education as an opportunity for former gang members in Boyle Heights to change the course of their lives. In 2001, the program was expanded and renamed Homeboy Industries. Today, the organization is recognized as one of the most successful and comprehensive re-entry and rehabilitation programs in the United States. Homeboy Industries hosts an 18-month program to 200-plus men and women at a time that features an innovative combination of paid job-training, tattoo removal, substance-abuse treatment, education, and legal assistance to establish a helpful community for former gang members. Homeboy Industries' model is so effective that it has been replicated across the globe and its founder, Father Boyle, is now an internationally recognized expert in rehabilitation and re-entry. Each year, the organization serves more than 10,000 former gang members in Los Angeles who are seeking to change their lives for the better.