Homeboy Industries’ Father Gregory Boyle on hiring gang

Lorenzo had a hard time concealing his nervousness. Standing in front of a large room packed withBoeing employees in late March, the tall, lanky African American gang member described the arc of his life. At 22, he had spent nearly a third of his life incarcerated.

Peering out of his round, black-rimmed glasses, he talked about his seven months at Homeboy Industries (the largest gang reentry program in the country), and about how he had moved quickly from the janitorial team to become an assistant in the accounting department. “I used to steal money,” he said. “Now I’m counting it.”

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