Close call over at Homeboy Industries, a fantastic organization we’ve profiled in the past that offers jobs, training and tattoo-removal to former gang bangers in the Los Angeles area. When the economy tanked, so did charitable donations, and a few days ago it was looking like organization was going to have to send its homeboys (and girls) packing. And since we all know money’s tight all around in California right now, it looked as though the organization’s 20-year effort was going down the tubes.In a late-day save, though, the city has ponied up some cash to keep their 400 employees on the books for at least another 10 months-enough time, hopefully, for the organization to bounce back.In case this needs to be restated, the work done by Homeboy Industries is not just some huggy handout service that takes pity on the “bad” guys and suits them up for a better life. It’s become an essential, results-oriented social service in a city where gang-related violence is a huge problem, and where the people who need the most help are traditionally very hard to get to, and even harder to serve.To support Homeboy Industries, or learn more about the organization, click here.
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