Category

Poverty

Category

Homeboy Industries

Here in LA, Father Greg Boyle is a bit of a local legend. I had the opportunity to meet him yesterday and hear his incredible message of hope.  He spoke to my Alma Matter and said, “We are all called to create a community of kinship.”

Father Greg has created that “community of kinship” with thousands of local gang members in Los Angeles.  He not only gives them a chance for a fresh start after life on the streets or in prison but a chance to feel their worth.

He started Homeboy Industries in 1988 as a job project through the Dolores Mission. Their motto is “Nothing Stops a bullet like a job.” Homeboy serves as a place of hope and opportunity for those trying to leave gang life where there is no other way out.

Homeboy Industries is recognized as the largest gang intervention and re-entry program in the county and has become a national model. Father Greg has created a community of kinship and at the end of the day isn’t that what we all want to be a part of?

Copyright © 2011 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

 

My New Red Shoes

Tomorrow is my son’s first day back to school and as I tucked him into bed last night he told me what he had planned to wear. That nervous excitement of seeing your friends for the first time in months brings joy and excitement for most children.

However, for thousands of homeless children the power of that first-day impression brings anxiety and stress. Heather Hopkins, the founder of My New Red Shoes heard her mother’s childhood stories of poverty and decided she could change the first day of school for thousands of children.

Since 2006 over 10,000 homeless children have gone back to school with smiles and new shoes.

Copyright © 2011 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.