On Friday, The Los Angeles City Council issued a proclamation establishing May 19th as “Father Greg Boyle Day” in honor of the Jesuit priest’s decades of life-changing work with former gang members through his nonprofit Homeboy Industries. In this article we talk about LA Proclaims May 19 as Father Greg Boyle Day and Who is Father Greg Boyle.
Who is Father Greg Boyle?
Father Greg Boyle is a Jesuit Catholic priest who has dedicated his life to helping former gang members find a new path. In the late 1980s, he witnessed the devastating gang violence plaguing East LA during the “Decade of Death” from 1988-1998. Serving as pastor at Dolores Mission Church in the heart of the violence, Boyle was moved to take action.
The Birth of Homeboy Industries
In 1988, Boyle joined with community members to launch Homeboy Industries, starting with a simple bakery that employed former gang members and taught them baking skills. This small seed quickly blossomed into one of the largest and most respected gang intervention programs in the world.
From that single bakery, Homeboy Industries has expanded into a comprehensive network providing a wide range of services – including counseling, education, job training, tattoo removal, substance abuse programming, and more. The goal is to provide wraparound support empowering former gang members to leave that life behind and become contributing members of their community.
A Philosophy of Kinship
At the core of Homeboy Industries is a philosophy of kinship, connection, and cherished belonging that Father Boyle calls “the front porch of the house where all of us want to live.” This sense of community and unconditional acceptance is transformative for those who have known only violence, trauma, and rejection.
As Boyle explained when receiving the honor, “This recognition…acknowledges their dignity and nobility and the courage of their tenderness. It underscores for us all the invitation to no longer punish the wound, but seek its healing.”
From Jobs to Healing
Initially, Homeboy focused on vocational training and employment. But over time, a key insight emerged – healing the inner wounds and trauma is the true path to lasting change. As Boyle shared, “We moved from being job-centered to healing-centered…it became our absolute contention that a healed gang member will never go back to prison.”
Homeboy’s therapeutic community provides that healing journey, helping members discover their inherent worth. “You watch people here in a cherishing community as they become that truth and inhabit that truth,” said Boyle. “Then, they’re sturdy. They’re resilient.”
An Unparalleled Impact
In its 35+ years, Homeboy Industries has transformed the lives of thousands who once seemed trapped in an endless cycle of violence and incarceration. The statistics are powerful:
- Served over 120,000 former gang members since 1988
- Provides trauma services to 9,000 annually
- Operates 9 businesses employing 300+ former gang members each year
- Achieved an 86% success rate in re-entry for formerly incarcerated youths (2020 data)
But the true impact goes far beyond numbers. Homeboy has created a beloved community, spreading kinship and compassion in a city once defined by divisions and turmoil.
A Model for the Nation
Father Boyle’s pioneering work has earned international acclaim, including the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022. Yet he remains solely focused on the mission, saying the honor “recognizes the need to invest in people and to create together a community of cherished belonging.”
Indeed, Homeboy Industries stands as a national model for holistic services rooted in healing over punishment. Its success has inspired similar gang intervention efforts nationwide and a growing recognition that affordable mental health services are key to breaking cycles of violence and crime.
As Los Angeles celebrates Father Greg Boyle Day, it honors not just one extraordinary man, but a powerful vision of community-based change. A vision proving that embracing those on the margins with unconditional love, not forcing them to the outskirts, is the way to individual and societal transformation. I sincerely hope you find this “LA Proclaims May 19 as Father Greg Boyle Day? Who is Father Greg Boyle?” article helpful.