As the founder of Homeboy Industries, Greg Boyle, S.J., has spent the past 30 years reaching out to former gang members through one of the largest and most successful gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry programs in the world.
It is a problem with which Father Boyle is all too familiar. A Los Angeles, Calif., native and the former pastor of Dolores Mission Church, located in one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods, he has seen the impact approximately 1,100 gangs have had on individual lives and communities within Los Angeles County. He has buried 200 young people killed in gang violence in the past 27 years. However, he has never given up on the idea that if you are “willing to participate in the slow work of God,” progress and positive change can occur.
Father Boyle recently brought his inspirational message of hope to the Le Moyne campus, where he spoke about the thousands of individuals he has helped return to school, find meaningful employment, and escape life at the margins.
“Everyone’s a whole lot more than the worst thing they’ve ever done,” he said during his talk to a full house in the Panasci Family Chapel.
Father Boyle founded Homeboy Industries in 1988 in order to help former gang members find jobs, complete their educations, and escape life at the margins. Today, nearly 30 years later, more than 10,000 men and women seeking to change their lives walk through the organization’s doors every year. In addition to educational and employment services, Homeboy Industries offers tattoo removal, legal and mental health counseling, and a solar panel training and installation program. As Father Boyle has traveled across the country speaking about Homeboy Industries, it has become a national model for other gang intervention programs. He’s also reflected on his work and young people he’s met, whom he affectionately calls “homies,” in his New York Times best-selling book, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion.
During his time in Central New York, Father Boyle also gave a public address at Saint Ann’s Parish in Manlius, and held two workshops for people working with former gang members at the Bishop Harrison Community Center. In addition, he participated in a roundtable conversation to explore innovative, effective approaches to combatting gangs that included civic, nonprofit, law enforcement and grass roots community leaders. Held on Le Moyne’s campus, it was hosted by President Linda LeMura and David McCallum, special assistant to the president for mission integration and development David McCallum, S.J., ’90.
Father Boyle has called his work with young men and women living at the margins of society “the honor of his life.” It is one of his greatest joys to give people a sense of hope, a sense of kinship and a sense of belonging.
“The truth be told, we’re all in need of healing,” he said. “We’re all a cry for help.”
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