Stanislaus aims to copy Father Boyle's Homeboy Industries approach to gang intervention

Feb. 7—Stanislaus County officials and partners paid a visit last week to Father Gregory Boyle's gang intervention and rehabilitation program in Los Angeles, which could serve as a model for a local program.

Boyle sparked enthusiasm with spirited talks at the Ceres Community Center and Modesto Junior College in 2016. Homeboy Industries, an organization he started in 1988, became the largest gang intervention, rehab and re-entry program in the world, according to its website.

The Stanislaus County group that took a closer look at Homeboy Industries on Thursday was composed of county officials from the chief executive's office, district attorney, public defender, probation and the community.

County Supervisor Terry Withrow later posted on Instagram that it was an inspiring visit. "Father Greg Boyle's organization (is) rescuing individuals from gangs," Withrow's post said. "Coming soon to Stanislaus County."

An effort is under way to design a Stanislaus County program that replicates Homeboy Industries and also incorporates local ideas.

Withrow said Monday the new program will focus on gang intervention and providing opportunity for people coming out of prison.

The Stanislaus County group learned about the proven vocational programs at Homeboy Industries that create a purpose for former gang members, such as its bakery, sandwich shop, restaurant and silk-screen operation for making T-shirts. Boyle's program also offers tattoo removal and solar panel training.

Michael Baldwin, executive director of Legacy Alliance Outeach of Modesto, said he was impressed with Homeboy Industries for creating an environment of compassion, accountability and a holistic way of viewing the individual. He said the Stanislaus program will be designed to welcome people coming out of incarceration back into the community.

Baldwin said key members of the program design team are Alex Bequette, Sammy Provencio and Sara Clammer, who bring lived experience to the process.

In July, county supervisors approved $150,000 for county Behavioral Health and Recovery Services to contract with a program coordinator and research whether a program like Homeboy Industries would be viable here.

Ruben Imperial, a county assistant executive officer, said last year that there's a need for a community-based program to build a support network for people released from incarceration who need job skills, intervention services and case management.

Withrow said it appears funding through the Community Corrections Partnership can be used to support a local program. There's no timeline yet on when the program will begin.

"We have been working on this for years," Withrow said. "We are to the point where we are making progress. We don't want to reinvent the wheel and we're looking at the best practices that are out there."

Boyle, author of "Tattoos on the Heart," says his program injects hope into the lives of young men and women escaping the gang culture and gives them opportunity. "No hopeful kid in history ever joined a gang," Boyle told the audience in Ceres. "We're not talking about good kids or bad kids. We're talking about kids who are hopeful or not."

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