For 36 years, Father Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries, has had a transformative impact on the lives of thousands of individuals, families and organizations around the world. And now, the city of Los Angeles has proclaimed May 19 as “Father Greg Boyle Day.”

Hundreds of community members attended the Los Angeles City Council ceremony. Mayor Karen Bass, Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez and other guests joined Boyle for a private luncheon hosted by Homeboy Industries at city hall.

The proclamation comes on the heels of the recognition of Boyle as a 2024 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honor. The White House ceremony led by President Joe Biden took place on May 3.

In 1988, Boyle and the mothers who were part of the Dolores Mission parish created Jobs for a Future, a place where formerly incarcerated people could find a second chance and the opportunity to break generational cycles of violence and trauma through job placements and employment. Jobs for a Future and Proyecto Pastoral launched the first social enterprise in an abandoned bakery that donors helped them purchase. They called it the Homeboy Bakery. 

Thirty-six years later, that first social enterprise has expanded to 13 social-enterprise businesses operated by Homeboy Industries, the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world. In addition to the job training and purposeful work model trainees experience, Homeboy Industries provides critical and holistic services including housing, educational and legal services, tattoo removal, substance use disorder support, mental health sessions, classes and programs promoting whole person healing.

For more information on Homeboy Industries, visit homeboyindustries.org and follow them on social media on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.