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Second Chances: Helping Ex-Gang Members Find Hope

Published

4 years ago

August 19, 2020

Homeboy Industries is the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry program in the world.
This non-profit organization committed to improving the lives of those in their communities.
The organization believes in second chances and is concerned about how to redirect incarcerated men and women into becoming contributing members of their communities.

Turning the corner and choosing a better life is complicated enough with assistance from others. How much worse could a difficult situation become for people who refused and turned away from their communities?

Father Gregory Boyle is in constant search of how to improve and make an impact in different communities and those searching for hope and redemption in East Los Angeles. From Dolores Mission Church, he wanted to give everyone a second chance.

In 1988, Homeboy Industries was founded, a nonprofit organization committed to improving the lives of those in their communities. This is because the pastor continues to see potential in everyone.

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“We work with the population that nobody desires to work with, and it’s a principle of this place that we stand with them,” Father Greg said.

Homeboy Industries is the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry program in the world. Today, this non-profit organization is structured to include educational programs, training for their members, and social enterprises.

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Plus, this rehabilitation program takes into account the communities’ standpoint. The organization is concerned about how to redirect incarcerated men and women into becoming contributing members of their communities. Father Greg understands that for this to happen, the world needs to believe in them again.

For this and other mentioned reasons, his organization is selected as the recipient of the 2020 Conrad Hilton Humanitarian Prize from the Hilton Foundation. This awarded 2.5M USD to nonprofits that “have made extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering.”