Homegirl Café & Catering, one of six social enterprises run by Homeboy Industries, catered the event. The parish hall at St. Catherine of Alexandria in Riverside, which hosted the evening, was packed with those who wished to show their support for Catholic Charities and the work of Fr. Boyle.
Fr. Boyle spoke for about 30 minutes about the shared mission of Homeboy Industries and Catholic Charities: to stand with those at the margins until the margins themselves begin to disappear. He frequently invoked the phrase, “no kinship, no justice; no justice, no peace.”
Homeboy Industries, founded by Fr. Boyle 26 years ago in Los Angeles, serves up to 1,000 formerly incarcerated gang members each month. It offers services such as job training, tattoo removal, therapy, as well as classes to address anger management, substances abuse, and life skills such as parenting.
Auxiliary Bishop Rutilio del Riego attended the event, as did the Riverside County Sherriff Stan Sniff, Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin, and public defenders from San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
Those who attended the event also had an opportunity to bid in a silent auction on donated items, such as a weekend getaway at a beachfront condo. Tickets were also sold for those who wished to participate in an opportunity drawing in which three signed copies Fr. Boyle’s book, “Tattoos on the Heart,” were given away.