Steve Avalos, a former gang member who now serves as vice president of operations at Homeboy Industries, once walked the same streets where he now helps others find a second chance — streets that have long borne the scars of violence, poverty, and disconnection. Today, that transformation is poised to expand dramatically, as Homeboy Industries launches a $100 million campaign to deepen its mission of radical healing and reentry in Los Angeles. The effort, kickstarted by a $10 million gift from billionaire philanthropist and Georgetown University alumnus Frank McCourt Jr., aims to build the Father Gregory Boyle Center for Radical Kinship — the heart of a new Hope Village that will rise near Men’s Central Jail and The California Endowment’s Center for Healthy Communities. This is more than infrastructure; it’s a reimagining of what redemption looks like in America.
Homeboy Industries, founded by Jesuit Father Greg Boyle in 1988, has long been a beacon for those on the margins. With nearly $50 million in annual funding and 8,000 clients across Los Angeles, the organization runs 10 social enterprises — from a bakery to an art academy — that provide job training, tattoo removal, education, and mental health support to formerly incarcerated individuals and former gang members. Its 18-month program doesn’t just offer services; it fosters belonging. As Father Boyle often says, “We are called to be faithful, not successful,” a mantra that reflects the organization’s deep spiritual grounding and long-term vision.
The new Center for Radical Kinship will add over 200 units of supportive and transitional housing and 35,000 square feet of clinical and career development space, creating a holistic ecosystem for reentry. The campaign gained national momentum at the Global Homeboy Network D.C. Summit, hosted at Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy in June 2026. There, Carole Roan Gresenz, the school’s dean, declared, “Belonging is not just an ideal — it is a public safety strategy,” underscoring the policy relevance of Homeboy’s model. With the McCourt School now partnering to guide research and scale the initiative nationally, the ripple effects could reshape how cities approach violence prevention and community healing.
McCourt, who founded the McCourt School with two $100 million donations and once owned the Los Angeles Dodgers, sees Homeboy as a rare fusion of moral clarity and measurable impact. “What I saw in Homeboy is what I learned from the Jesuits in practice,” he said — a vision rooted in dignity, not exclusion. In a world where division often dominates headlines, Homeboy’s expansion is a quiet revolution built on kinship, not charity. As Father Boyle reflected after witnessing community solidarity in Minneapolis during a moment of national tension: “Everything worth happening will grow from below.” That belief, now backed by transformative investment, may just help a city — and a country — heal from the ground up.