Find out more about Homeboy Industries.

Homeboy Industries traces its roots to “Jobs For A Future” (JFF), a program created in 1988 by Father Gregory Boyle while he was serving as pastor of Dolores Mission parish in Boyle Heights. Begun as a jobs program offering alternatives to gang violence in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the city, the program soon grew beyond the parish.

With the addition of a small bakery in a run-down warehouse across the street from Dolores Mission, JFF had its own business, one where it could hire the most challenging, difficult to place young people in a safe environment. A tortilla stand in Grand Central Market downtown solidified the evolution of JFF into Homeboy Industries.

Thousands of young people have since walked through the doors of Homeboy Industries looking for a second chance, and finding community. Gang affiliations are left outside as these young people work together, side by side, learning the mutual respect that comes from shared tasks and challenges.

Homeboy became an independent nonprofit in August of 2001, and has since grown into a national model. This year, we celebrate our 23rd anniversary as an organization in our headquarters located in downtown Los Angeles, just two blocks from Union Station. 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 is recognized as the largest gang intervention and re-entry program in the county, and has become a national model.