"Nothing stops a bullet like a job."
The quote by Greg Boyle underscores the power of employment in preventing violence and crime. It suggests that providing people, especially those at risk, with gainful employment can effectively deter them from engaging in activities such as gun violence. By offering an alternative means to earn a living and provide for themselves and their families, jobs serve as a protective factor against the temptation to resort to illegal activities. In essence, this quote underscores the transformative potential of job opportunities in addressing societal issues like crime and poverty.
"Kids don't land on their feet by accident."
The quote suggests that children, like other living beings, don't typically end up in favorable situations without some underlying cause or influence. It implies that there are often factors at play - be it resilience, support, guidance, or a combination of these - that contribute to a child's successful outcome or "landing on their feet." In essence, the quote highlights the importance of recognizing and appreciating the role that nurturing, guidance, and supportive environments play in shaping children's lives.
"I've seen the face of God in prisoners' faces."
This quote by Greg Boyle suggests that he has witnessed a divine or profoundly spiritual quality within those who are incarcerated, implying empathy, compassion, and the inherent worth and dignity of all people, regardless of their circumstances. It emphasizes the idea that redemption and transformation can occur in anyone's life, even among those often marginalized by society.
"The difference between saints and sinners is that every saint has a past and every sinner thinks they have a future."
This quote by Greg Boyle suggests that individuals who are commonly perceived as "saints" - those who show compassion, kindness, and do good deeds - have a history of mistakes or transgressions behind them, whereas people often categorized as "sinners" hold the belief that they will continue to behave in harmful or immoral ways in the future. The quote implies that everyone has the potential for redemption and change, regardless of their past actions. It encourages empathy towards those who have made mistakes, emphasizing that it's never too late for growth and transformation.
"We're not about saving souls, we're about feeding people."
This quote by Greg Boyle suggests that their mission isn't primarily focused on spiritual salvation, but rather on providing practical help and nourishment to those in need. It underscores the importance of tangible actions, such as feeding people, over abstract concepts like saving souls. The focus is on compassionate service, emphasizing the concrete impacts that can be made by addressing immediate needs, such as hunger, thereby promoting human dignity, understanding, and community.
You prevent kids from joining gangs by offering after-school programs, sports, mentoring, and positive engagement with adults. You intervene with gang members by offering alternatives and employment to help redirect their lives. You deal with areas of high gang crime activity with real community policing. We know what works.
- Greg Boyle
In my barrio, jobs work and money saves lives. When I have had the funds to place a gang member on a job site and pay his salary, I've seen him stop banging. When, on the rarest of occasions, an employer has offered a job to one of these youth, I've witnessed kids suddenly have a reason to get up in the morning.
- Greg Boyle
Delegations from all over the world visit Homeboy Industries and scratch their heads as we tell them of our difficulty in placing our people in jobs after their time with us. Americans' seeming refusal to believe in a person's ability to redeem himself strikes these folks as foreign indeed.
- Greg Boyle
You stand with the least likely to succeed until success is succeeded by something more valuable: kinship. You stand with the belligerent, the surly and the badly behaved until bad behavior is recognized for the language it is: the vocabulary of the deeply wounded and of those whose burdens are more than they can bear.
- Greg Boyle
The draconian spirit that seeks to enhance penalties and to lower the age at which juveniles will be tries as adults, is part of the 'whole cloth' of three strikes. Our failure to address the depair of our inner-city youth is only delayed by our over-confidence in a stance that is 'tougher than thou.'
- Greg Boyle
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