Homeboy Industries and Los Angeles County officials Wednesday celebrated the opening of a new Homeboy Cafe at the Behavioral Health Center on the Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Campus in Willowbrook.
The cafe, located inside the behavioral health facility, will serve coffee drinks, baked goods, sandwiches, salads and Homeboy Cafe’s signature “chilaquiles” to health care workers, patients’ families and visitors, according to officials.
The venture is also designed to provide jobs and workforce training opportunities for participants in Homeboy Industries’ 18-month reentry program for formerly incarcerated and gang-involved individuals, officials said.
“Homeboy Industries is a community of cherished belonging and a place of tender kinship,” Homeboy Industries founder Father Greg Boyle said in a statement. “This new social enterprise marks the creation of even more purposeful training and jobs for those on the margins. This new venture will continue the work to hold the door open for people seeking a second chance.”
According to Homeboy Industries, the cafe is part of a broader partnership with Los Angeles County that began in 2023. Since then, the organization has provided meals to patients at the behavioral health center while creating employment opportunities for program participants and alumni, officials said.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell said the partnership reflects the county’s commitment to supporting rehabilitation, employment and behavioral health services.
“Homeboy Industries stands as a beacon of hope and is aligned with our shared commitment to investing in the promise of each resident,” Mitchell said. “Integrating Homeboy into our County facility also sends a clear message that healing, employment, and behavioral health belong in the same space.”
Lisa H. Wong, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, said the cafe represents an investment in both the community and the people it serves.
Homeboy Industries was founded in Boyle Heights in 1988 and has since grown into what it describes as the world’s largest gang intervention, rehabilitation and reentry program. The organization said it now operates 17 social enterprise businesses and serves thousands of people annually through job training, counseling and support services.