[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 58 (Thursday, April 25, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CONGRATULATING HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES ON THEIR 25TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 25, 2013

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Homeboy 
Industries, a non-profit organization which offers comprehensive 
reintegration services including job skills training and social 
services to former Los Angeles gang members, on their 25th anniversary.
  In 1988, Jesuit priest Father Greg Boyle began Homeboy Industries to 
address the need for employment opportunities among local youth. Today, 
Homeboy Industries is much more than a jobs program. Homeboy Industries 
gives young people who have lost their childhood to gangs a chance to 
take back their lives as adults by providing former gang-involved youth 
with tattoo removal, case management and legal services, as well as 
mental health and substance abuse counseling.
  Thanks to Father Boyle's leadership during the past 25 years, Homeboy 
Industries has grown from a small job development program in the Boyle 
Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles into the largest, most 
comprehensive and most successful gang prevention, intervention, and 
rehabilitation program in the country.
  According to a recent study from the Vera Institute of Justice, the 
five most common reintegration priorities self-reported by individuals 
exiting Los Angeles County Jail are: employment, housing, substance 
abuse, relationships, and staying out of trouble. Through the jobs and 
support services Homeboy Industries provide, men and women in the LA 
region are finding these needs met. Homeboy Industries has a 70 percent 
rate of retaining clients in services, while similar programs across 
the country have 20-30 percent rates of retention. When weighed against 
the 70 percent recidivism rate nationally among ex-offenders, Homeboy 
Industries' ability to engage clients in the process of reintegration 
and personal transformation is particularly revealing. This 
organization shows the benefits of investing in impoverished 
communities that have been impacted by gang violence.
  Between 240 and 280 people are hired every year in restaurants and 
stores owned and operated by Homeboy Industries throughout Los Angeles. 
When hiring, Homeboy Industries doesn't look for diplomas or job 
experience. They look for visible gang tattoos and juvenile arrest 
records. As a business, Homeboy Industries isn't concerned with profits 
or executive bonuses. Their concern is with their staff and ending the 
cycle of gang violence one person at a time.
  Once again I congratulate Homeboy Industries and their inspirational 
founder and leader, Father Greg. I had the good fortune and honor of 
representing Father Greg and Homeboy Industries for nearly 25 years, 
first in the California State Assembly and then in the U.S. House of 
Representatives. In closing, I want to express my deepest admiration 
both for Father Greg's tireless and dedicated efforts and for all 
former gang members seeking to change their lives and end the culture 
of gang violence once and for all.

                          ____________________