Facing No Money, Homeboy Industries Saved for Now

Workers print T-shirts at the Homeboy Industries shop in the Boyle Heights (AP Photo/Philip Scott Andrews)

Last week, the nation's largest anti-gang program was looking at their own financial crisis. After Friday, Homeboy Industries would have been out of money, thanks to the economy that blew a $5 million hole into the nonprofit's budget this year. For a place with the slogan "nothing stops a bullet like a job," they were considering furloughs.

Now, thanks to a move by the city, Homeboy Industries can pay the salaries of its 400 employees for at least another 10 months. Friday, the L.A. City Council approved a $340,000 contract between the nonprofit and the Mayor's Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development. The money is part of a $2.5 million gang reduction grant from the U.S. Justice Department back in 2003--$2.16 million has already been spent. Jobs at Homeboy include t-shirt silk screening, automotive repair and cooking.

Previously: Homegirl Cafe Expands to Dinner Hours in Chinatown