Help women leave gang life at the Homegirl Cafe!

In February, researchers from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs released results from "Grow. Prep. Serve: Homegirl Cafe Case Study" during an event held at the Homegirl Cafe. The study, which was funded through a grant from the California Endowment, examines the impact of Homegirl Cafe's social enterprise business model and the comprehensive rehabilitative services available at Homeboy Industries on the lives of 50 women who had worked at the cafe for at least six months.

According to the study's authors, "Homegirl Cafe provided both structure and practical support to previously incarcerated women in their attempt to reenter and thrive in mainstream community life. Perhaps the most dramatic illustration of the impact of Homegirl was the fact that not one out of the fifty women interviewed was reincarcerated once she was enrolled in the Homegirl training program or began work as an employee at the Homegirl Cafe."  

Women receiving training at the Cafe spoke eloquently of the program's impact on their lives. "They changed my world," on trainee said, "now I want to make a change in the world." Another client had this to say: "I want to make my commuity healthier -- I want to make sure it's a good and safe place for everyone." Like other programs offered at Homeboy Industries, the training program at Homegirl Cafe has a broad impact on the health and safety of individual trainees, their families, and the communities they call home.

To read more about Homegirl Cafe, please access the full case study, here: http://www.calendow.org/uploadedFiles/HomeGirlCafe_Booklet.pdf.