Advocate for Inner-city Youth to Speak in Chico
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Joe Wills
Tel: 530-898-4143
Stacey Schooler, Public Affairs Intern
Advocate for Inner-city Youth to Speak in Chico
Father Greg Boyle, internationally known for his efforts to reduce gang violence, will visit California State University, Chico April 19 and 20, during Founders Week. Father Boyle was pastor of Dolores Mission Church from 1986 to 1992. Dolores Mission is the poorest parish in the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese and home to the largest public housing developments west of the Mississippi (Pico Gardens and Aliso Village). These housing projects have the highest concentration of gang activity in the city.
Father Boyle will take part in two speaking engagements during his visit. On Tuesday, April 19, he will speak at the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Catholic Community Center on “Tattoos on the Heart: Community as a Response to Gang Violence.” The Newman Center is located at 346 Cherry Street in Chico. This presentation will begin at 7 PM.
The following day, Father Boyle will take part in the Conversation on Diversity along with faculty, staff and students. The topic for the conversation is “Gangs: A Growing Presence in Our Community.” The conversation will be held in Harlen Adams Theatre (PAC 144) at noon. Both events are free and open to the public.
Father Boyle spent time as a teacher at Loyola High School in Los Angeles, and worked in Cochabamba, Bolivia, with the Christian Base Communities. He served as chaplain of Folsom State Prison and the Islas Marias Penal Colony in Mexico.
While he is known worldwide for his work, Father Boyle has focused his efforts on areas of California. where gangs are a growing problem. Throughout his life, Father Boyle has made it his mission to help those living in the inner city areas of Los Angeles, said Jacque Chase of the geography and planning department. Chase was instrumental in planning Father Boyle’s visit.
He is the founder and director of Homeboy Industries/Jobs for a Future, which offers employment to those who may otherwise be likely to join a gang, Chase said.
One of the young men Father Boyle has mentored will be graduating from CSU, Chico in May. Leo Ochoa grew up in the Pico-Gardens Housing Projects in east Los Angeles. This is where Ochoa first met Father Boyle. Ochoa says that he avoided a life of violence due to the attention Father Boyle paid him as a young person.
Father Boyle’s visit is being sponsored by the Multicultural and Gender Studies Program, as well as Movimiento Estudiantal Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA).
For more information on Homeboy Industries, Father Boyle, or his visit, please go to: http://homeboy-industries.org or http://rce.csuchico.edu/homeboys.
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