We Need More Programs Like Homeboy Industries to Change Minds About Former Inmates
This community-based program does great things, but more work is needed here in the United States.
“We imagine a world without prisons, and then we try to create that world.” — Homeboy Industries
While we would love for prisons here in the United States to all implement at least some of the Scandinavian model and programs far and wide, we are aware that is a sweeping change and will take years to become reality. Mass incarceration is a serious issue here and though it may not have taken long to become a far-reaching issue, it will take quite some time to be dismantled. However, there are community-based programs, like Homeboy Industries, that have been around since the early 90s, helping inmates and ex-cons alike, that people in society may not know about who are out there making changes each and every day — not only to the system but to society itself.
Homeboy Industries (HBI), formerly called Jobs for a Future, was started in 1992 by Father Greg Boyle. In 1986, when Homeboy Industries’ founder, Greg Boyle became pastor of Dolores Mission Church, it was the poorest Catholic parish in Los Angeles. The parish included Aliso Village and Pico Gardens, then the largest public housing projects…
