Father Gregory Boyle, Father G, is the Founder of Homeboy Industries, the largest gang intervention, re-hab and re-entry program in the United States. Father Greg served as the pastor of Dolores Mission, 1986-1992. In 1988, he founded Homeboy Industries and he has since received numerous honorary degrees and awards for his work in helping gang involved youth, including the California Peace Prize. Father Greg is the author of the New York Times Bestselling book, “Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion.” He has served on the State Commission for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, The National Youth Gang Center Board and the Attorney General’s Defending Childhood Task Force.
Father Greg Boyle, along with Louis Perez and Fabian Montes, two homeboys who have turned their lives around, provides unique insight into the problem of gang violence in America and how programs like Homeboy Industries are part of the solution. Father Greg explains that “Gang violence is not a problem, it’s a symptom” pointing to larger issues that need attention. He discusses factors that push people to join gangs, such as seeing dysfunctional families and the hopelessness of individuals joining gangs. He offers valuable insight into gang intervention, explaining “you can’t scare any kid straight, because if a kid has stopped caring, it won’t work. You can care a kid straight, through care and loving attention you can get them to a place where they recognize the truth of who they are.” As Fabian Montes says, the goal at Homeboy Industries in to instill “hope for people that are hopeless.” This DVD is a powerful example of hope in action.
