--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I founded Homeboy Industries in 1988…" description: "\"I founded Homeboy Industries in 1988 after I buried my first young person killed in our streets because of gang violence.\" — Greg Boyle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/greg-boyle-3692_first_i-founded-homeboy-industries-in-1988-aft_2694598.png" --- # I founded Homeboy Industries in 1988 after I buried my… ![“I founded Homeboy Industries in 1988 after I buried my first young person killed in our streets because of gang violence.” quote by Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/greg-boyle-3692_first_i-founded-homeboy-industries-in-1988-aft_2694598.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/greg-boyle-3692_first_i-founded-homeboy-industries-in-1988-aft_2694598.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/greg-boyle-3692_first_i-founded-homeboy-industries-in-1988-aft_2694598.png) > “I founded Homeboy Industries in 1988 after I buried my first young person killed in our streets because of gang violence.” [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Founded organization after personal loss to address gang violence impacts. **In simple terms:** Started Homeboy Industries after losing a young person to violence. Key Takeaway Support at‑risk youth through employment and mentorship. Themes social work violence prevention community Mood hopeful determined Type practical inspirational When to use this quote - job training - counseling - policy advocacy Key Concepts trauma rehabilitation Questions to Reflect On - How can communities heal from violence? - What programs best empower at‑risk youth? A Different Perspective Funding and societal resistance may hinder efforts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gang violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gang-violence/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) ## Related quotes > [Gangs are bastions of conditional love, and one of the ways to counteract it is to offer community, which will always trump gang, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/gangs-are-bastions-of-conditional-love-and-one-of-the-ways-to/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [Delegations from all over the world visit Homeboy Industries and scratch their heads as we tell them of our difficulty in placing our people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/delegations-from-all-over-the-world-visit-homeboy-industries-and/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [For over twenty years, Homeboy Industries has chosen to stand with those on the margins and those whose burdens are more than they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/for-over-twenty-years-homeboy-industries-has-chosen-to-stand-with/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [Businesses have come and gone at Homeboy Industries. We have had starts and stops, but anything worth doing is worth failing at. We started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/businesses-have-come-and-gone-at-homeboy-industries-we-have-had/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [Homeboy Industries is a healing center for broken children. I was a broken child, and they showed me how to put all those pieces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cabral/homeboy-industries-is-a-healing-center-for-broken-children-i-was-a/) [Richard Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cabral/) > [Homeboy Bakery is an alternative to kids who have found themselves, regrettably, in gangs and want to redirect their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/homeboy-bakery-is-an-alternative-to-kids-who-have-found-themselves/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [I know now that gang warfare is not the Middle East or Northern Ireland. There is violence in gang violence, but there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/i-know-now-that-gang-warfare-is-not-the-middle-east-or-northern/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [You can't reason with gang violence: you can't talk to it, sit it at the table, and negotiate with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/you-can-t-reason-with-gang-violence-you-can-t-talk-to-it-sit-it-at/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [What do we know to be true about gang violence? We know we will fail if we fixate on the symptoms and not address…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/what-do-we-know-to-be-true-about-gang-violence-we-know-we-will-fail/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [Me and my homeboy Almighty Jay - he YBN too - we used to just be freestyling in XBOX parties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ybn-nahmir/me-and-my-homeboy-almighty-jay-he-ybn-too-we-used-to-just-be/) [YBN Nahmir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ybn-nahmir/) > [Also, that's a high G and the keychange. And it's sang that way, who said homeboy ain't got pipes?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-worsnop/also-that-s-a-high-g-and-the-keychange-and-it-s-sang-that-way-who/) [Danny Worsnop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-worsnop/) > [“I glance at the red-stenciled words crossing my chest—HOLDEN CAULFIELD IS MY HOMEBOY.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lia-riley/i-glance-at-the-red-stenciled-words-crossing-my-chest-holden/) [Lia Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lia-riley/) > [Ralph Waldo Emerson would definitely be my homeboy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainn-wilson/ralph-waldo-emerson-would-definitely-be-my-homeboy/) [Rainn Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainn-wilson/) > [Also, that's a high G at the keychange. And it was sang that way, who said homeboy ain't got pipes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-worsnop/also-that-s-a-high-g-at-the-keychange-and-it-was-sang-that-way-who/) [Danny Worsnop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-worsnop/) > [God is my homeboy. Jesus is my homeboy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-latifah/god-is-my-homeboy-jesus-is-my-homeboy/) [Queen Latifah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-latifah/) ## More by Greg Boyle > [The truth is this: Brutalized, victimized children invariably will brutalize and victimize when they grow up. Is our only response to this the certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/the-truth-is-this-brutalized-victimized-children-invariably-will/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [I don't save people. God saves people. I can point them in the right direction. I can say, 'There's that door. I think if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/i-don-t-save-people-god-saves-people-i-can-point-them-in-the-right/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [Gang members aren't frightened into acceptable behavior by increased penalties, enhanced punishments, and the promise of new detention facilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/gang-members-aren-t-frightened-into-acceptable-behavior-by-increased/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [The idea that any law enforcement agency or person would ever know these gang members better than Homeboy Industries is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/the-idea-that-any-law-enforcement-agency-or-person-would-ever-know/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [You can't reason with gang violence: you can't talk to it, sit it at the table, and negotiate with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/you-can-t-reason-with-gang-violence-you-can-t-talk-to-it-sit-it-at/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [I have never seen a hopeful person join a gang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/i-have-never-seen-a-hopeful-person-join-a-gang/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [Most citizens viewing the tape of Rodney G. 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I want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/on-most-days-if-i-m-true-to-myself-i-just-want-to-share-my-life-with/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [The poor evangelize you about what's important and what is the Gospel, and that that's where the joy is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/the-poor-evangelize-you-about-what-s-important-and-what-is-the-gospel/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [“Leon Dufour, a world-renowned Jesuit theologian and Scripture scholar, a year before he died at ninety-nine, confided in a Jesuit who was caring for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/leon-dufour-a-world-renowned-jesuit-theologian-and-scripture-scholar/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [When the vastness of God meets the restriction of our own humanity, words can't hold it. 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