How do you build a business that puts healing, culture, and opportunity first while still making a profit? In this episode of The Homeboy Way, Tom Vozzo sits down with Tepito Coffee co-owners Jose Arellano, Vice President of Operations at Homeboy Industries, and Mike de la Rocha, co-founder of Revolve Impact, to discuss social enterprises, specifically the challenges and successes of running Tepito Coffee. They delve into the significance of providing purposeful structure for those leaving gang life and the pivotal role of social enterprises in creating job opportunities. Tom recounts the creation of the Homeboy Ventures and Jobs Fund, a crucial step in supporting these enterprises. Mike and Jose share their journey from initial struggles, receiving investment, to finding success while staying true to their mission. Through personal stories and lessons learned, they highlight the importance of intentionality, community support, and the transformative power of giving back.

Key Takeaways

• Mission Meets Market Reality

  Running a for-profit social enterprise requires tough accountability alongside unwavering support. It's the "next level" after Homeboy's safety net preparing people for the real workforce.

• Access to Capital Changes Everything

  Predatory loans and exclusionary investors nearly ended the business. Homeboy's low-interest investment provided not just funds, but expertise and belief in modest, impactful returns.

• Homegrown Leadership Is Possible

  From trainee to VP to co-owner: Jose's journey shows what's achievable when organizations invest in internal talent, inspiring others to dream of ownership.

• Trauma-Informed Business Takes Patience

  Hiring system-impacted staff means embracing setbacks, offering dignity in tough conversations, and always leaving the door open for return.

• Cultural Pride Drives Success

  Unapologetically Chicano and Indigenous branding, combined with specialty quality and authentic storytelling, builds loyal community and disrupts who gets to succeed in coffee.

In This Episode:

• 00:00 – Introduction 

• 01:15 – Tom's journey with Homeboy

• 05:28 – The birth of Tepito Coffee

• 15:29 – The struggle for investment and support

• 21:56 – Building a brand with purpose

• 23:56 – The spirit of Homeboy: connecting to the earth and each other

• 24:41 – Training with intentionality: customer service at Tepito Coffee

• 25:18 – Marketing with pride: embracing Chicano and Indigenous roots

• 25:45 – Investing in community: long-term returns beyond capitalism

• 26:23 – Success stories: from barista to business owner

• 28:48 – Balancing accountability and compassion

• 41:13 – Future growth: expanding Tepito Coffee's impact

Notable Quotes

• “ If you have a good product and an authentic story and be unapologetically yourself, you can create a good brand identity and community.” — Mike [06:25]

• “ I've always been clear studying Homeboy Industries, that the future is in social entrepreneurship.”— Mike [07:51]

• “ First, you gotta know how to run a business. Then you can decide how to make it a social enterprise.” — Tom [19:15]

• “ I felt not just rescued by Homeboy, but actually like I felt swooped up by God.” — Jose [38:03]

Resources and Links

Homeboy Industries

• https://homeboyindustries.org/

• https://www.youtube.com/@HomeboyIndustries_LA/videos

• Donate: https://homeboyindustries.org/donate/donate-online/

Homeboy Media 

• https://homeboyindustries.org/social-enterprises/homeboy-media/

Tepito Coffee

• Visit: 695 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA

• Online: https://www.tepitocoffee.com/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tepitocoffee/

Mike de la Rocha

• linkedin.com/in/mrmikedelarocha

• https://www.revolveimpact.com/

Jose Arellano

• linkedin.com/in/jose-arellano-001966a0

Thomas Vozzo

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasvozzo

• The Homeboy Way: A Radical Approach to Business and Life: https://www.amazon.com/Homeboy-Way-Radical-Approach-Business/dp/082945456X

Credits:

Hosted by: Tom Vozzo

Produced by: Podify, and Alexa Rousso and Melody Carter of Homeboy Media

How do you run a real business when your primary mission is healing, kinship, and transformation? In this episode, Tom Vozzo is joined by Homeboy Industries Co-CEO Steve Delgado and longtime advisor Gayle Northrop to explore the social enterprises at the heart of Homeboy.

Their conversation centers on people, not products. People coming home from prison. People who have never held a formal job. People carrying trauma alongside hope and a desire to belong. At Homeboy, businesses are designed around that reality, not in spite of it.

They explore the tension between mission and margin, speaking honestly about the real costs of being trauma-informed and the courage it takes to invest in people before the world believes they are ready. They reflect on bakeries that employ twice the usual staff, leaders grown from within, and workplaces built on dignity, structure, and accountability.

This is lived experience, not theory. A reminder that at Homeboy, businesses exist to serve healing, and when people are met with kinship and structure, they rise together with their community.

Key Takeaways

• The Foundational Principle

  “We don’t employ people to bake bread. We bake bread to employ people.” The social enterprises exist to provide purposeful, healing-centric work.

• Mission Over Margin Is a Daily Choice

  Homeboy runs real businesses in real markets, but mission always leads. Profit serves people, not the other way around.

• Social Enterprise Is About Disrupting Systems

  True social enterprise challenges who is seen as employable and redefines value in the workforce.

• Trauma-Informed Workplaces Require Structure, Not Slogans

  Being trauma-informed means building roles, teams, and systems that support healing, not just good intentions.

• Investment in People Is the Hard Work

  Raising leaders from within takes time, patience, training, and a willingness to walk alongside people through setbacks.

• Everyone Doesn’t Automatically Know How to Work 

  Employment success depends on stability, resources, transportation, support, and grace, not just effort.

In This Episode:

• 00:00 – Introduction 

• 00:30 – Understanding social enterprises

• 03:00 – Homeboy’s unique approach to social enterprise

• 06:59 – Balancing mission and margin

• 18:27 – Trauma-informed workplaces

• 23:18 – Healing-centric workforce development

• 24:14 – The challenges of homegrown leadership

• 25:41 – Investing in internal talent

• 30:42 – The realities of running a social enterprise

• 34:42 – Breaking conventional business wisdom

• 42:00 – Supporting upward mobility through education and opportunity

• 44:20 – Closing reflections and future conversations

Notable Quotes

• “We don’t employ people to bake bread. We bake bread to employ people.” — Gayle [14:34]

• “ 95% of our full-time staff who operate and manage our social enterprises have come up through our program.” — Steve [04:54]

• “ Mission, at least at Homeboy, I think predominates over margin always. And I think that's the right way. I think that's the Homeboy way." — Steve [10:06]

Homeboy Industries

• https://homeboyindustries.org/

• https://www.youtube.com/@HomeboyIndustries_LA/videos

• Donate: https://homeboyindustries.org/donate/donate-online/

Homeboy Media 

• https://homeboyindustries.org/social-enterprises/homeboy-media/

Gayle Northrop

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/gaylenorthrop/

Steve Delgado

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-delgado-9222523/

Thomas Vozzo

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasvozzo

• The Homeboy Way: A Radical Approach to Business and Life: https://www.amazon.com/Homeboy-Way-Radical-Approach-Business/dp/082945456X

Credits:

Hosted by: Tom Vozzo

Produced by: Podify, and Alexa Rousso and Melody Carter of Homeboy Media

In this episode, Tom Vozzo sits down with Hector Verdugo and Jose Arellano to uncover what real transformation looks like when it rises out of pain, survival, and the quiet moments no one ever sees. Their journeys begin in places shaped by violence, incarceration, addiction, and childhood wounds carried for decades, but something unexpected happens the moment they walk through Homeboy’s doors: they encounter a kind of love they never knew existed.

What starts as a search for a job becomes the beginning of a spiritual awakening, a creative writing assignment that cracks open long-buried memories, a simple handshake that softens lifelong defense mechanisms, a hug from Father Greg that feels more like home than anything they grew up with. Hector and Jose describe how healing does not arrive neatly or instantly, but through tears, reflection, and the slow realization that God was not punishing them; God was accompanying them.

As they revisit these stories, they reveal what the Homeboy Way truly is: radical kinship, unconditional acceptance, and the kind of love that meets people exactly where they are. Their reflections remind us that transformation does not replace suffering; it grows through it, and every moment of honesty, every act of courage, and every small gesture of kindness becomes a step toward wholeness and a new way of being.

Key Takeaways

• Love Comes First,  Transformation Follows

  Hector and Jose explain how Homeboy’s approach is not about fixing people but loving them. Transformation happens when someone finally feels safe enough to be vulnerable and seen.

• Healing Begins with Telling the Truth

  Creative writing classes and quiet moments of reflection cracked open long-buried childhood wounds, allowing emotions to surface for the first time in decades.

• Kinship Is a Radical, Daily Practice

  Accepting, investing, showing up, and staying committed even when it’s messy   is the heart of the Homeboy way.

• Reimagining Love After Trauma

  Both men had to unlearn the violent, survival-based versions of love they grew up with and discover what real compassion, fatherhood, and belonging feel like.

• The Wilderness as a Healing Classroom

  From snowboarding to sushi to snorkeling with sharks, new experiences help homies expand their sense of possibility and reclaim a life beyond survival.

In This Episode:

• 00:00 – Introduction

• 00:42 – Hector’s arrival at Homeboy and his turning point

• 08:10 – Jose’s near-life sentence, grief, and search for change

• 12:27 – The mystical invitation that led Jose to Homeboy

• 14:39 – Early resistance, fear, and learning to receive kindness

• 17:55 – Childhood wounds resurfacing through creative writing

• 23:11 – Falling in love with Homeboy’s culture of healing

• 31:28 – Defining “the homeboy way”

• 34:57 – Radical kinship and why transformation starts within

• 35:48 – Snorkeling stories and facing a hammerhead shark

• 43:56 – Why nature transforms the homies

• 47:35 – Closing reflections on love, vulnerability, and kinship

Notable Quotes

• “God is too busy being in love with you to ever be disappointed in you.” — Hector [20:54]

• “My mother died as a gang member, and if I had never come to Homeboy, I would have died like that as well.” — Jose [12:54]

• “I think Homeboy fell in love with me first, to be honest.” — Jose [24:18]

Resources and Links

Homeboy Industries

• https://homeboyindustries.org/

• https://www.youtube.com/@HomeboyIndustries_LA/videos

• Donate: https://homeboyindustries.org/donate/donate-online/

Homeboy Media 

• https://homeboyindustries.org/social-enterprises/homeboy-media/

Hector Verdugo

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/hector-verdugo-7297a684

Jose Arellano

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jose-arellano-001966a0

Thomas Vozzo

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasvozzo

• The Homeboy Way: A Radical Approach to Business and Life: https://www.amazon.com/Homeboy-Way-Radical-Approach-Business/dp/082945456X

Credits:

Hosted by: Tom Vozzo

Produced by: Podify, and Alexa Rousso and Melody Carter of Homeboy Media

For decades, the team at Homeboy Industries has stood witness to a quiet revolution. Lives are rewritten not through force, judgment, or programs alone, but through the slow, steady practice of kinship.

In this episode, Tom Vozzo is joined by Hector Verdugo and Shirley Torres to reflect on the stories that have shaped them as much as the people living them. Day after day, people walk into Homeboy carrying the invisible: trauma that shaped them, systems that failed them, and identities formed in survival mode. Over time, through consistency, humor, honesty, frustration, and grace, those same individuals discover the possibility of becoming someone they were never allowed to be.

The three reflect on the privilege of walking alongside that transformation, not as saviors or fixers, but as fellow travelers who are changed in the process. At Homeboy, stories are not trophies or statistics. They are teachers. They stretch us, soften us, call us forward, and remind us that everyone is still becoming.

Key Takeaways

• "Exquisite Mutuality" is the Secret Sauce

  Transformation at Homeboy is never a one-way street. It is a reciprocal relationship.

• Kinship, Not Curriculum, Creates Transformation

  Love, not lectures, is what shifts shame, fear, or survival instincts into openness and trust.

• Judgment Doesn’t Grow People; Gentleness Does

  A butchered tree still grows back; sometimes the most important thing is simply letting go.

• Love That Shows Up Unasked

  When someone calls from federal prison to comfort you in grief, that’s God in work boots.

• Mutual Healing Is the Secret Sauce

  No one here is “saving” anyone; everyone is being changed, challenged, raised, and restored.

In This Episode:

• 00:00 – Introduction

• 00:29 – The power of stories

• 01:37 – Joanna: anger, armor, and the road to law school

• 03:39 – Parole, board meetings, and unseen burdens

• 05:14 – Humor, respect, and breaking the ice

• 07:32 – Mutual raising in community

• 09:20 – Shirley’s story coming to Homeboy as a kid

• 10:52 – Loss, grief, and the surprise phone call that healed

• 13:05 – Unconditional love within the Homeboy culture

• 13:53 – Luis "Coloso," Butchered Trees, and Letting Go of Control

• 16:38 – Addiction, mental health, and spiritual bypassing

• 18:07 – Angelo: from hoodie to hope

• 20:11 – How do you measure transformation without metrics?

• 23:51 – Choosing compassion when someone is “difficult”

• 24:57 – Times Square, armor, and becoming nine again

• 25:48 – Closing reflections on patience and second chances

Notable Quotes

• “ I've had sort of my big life moments here and one of those moments was losing my dad and I think about how Homeboy showed up for me.” — Shirley [09:37]

• “ A place like Homeboy is all about the exquisite mutuality.” — Shirley [11:59]

• “It’s just love and seeing you, saying 'Hi, I see you,' and then eventually putting your arm around them." — Hector [19:44]

Resources and Links

Homeboy Industries

• https://homeboyindustries.org/

• https://www.youtube.com/@HomeboyIndustries_LA/videos

• Donate: https://homeboyindustries.org/donate/donate-online/

Homeboy Media 

• https://homeboyindustries.org/social-enterprises/homeboy-media/

Hector Verdugo

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/hector-verdugo-7297a684

Shirley Torres

• linkedin.com/in/shirley-torres-1a9516a2

Thomas Vozzo

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasvozzo

• The Homeboy Way: A Radical Approach to Business and Life: https://www.amazon.com/Homeboy-Way-Radical-Approach-Business/dp/082945456X

Credits:

Hosted by: Tom Vozzo

Produced by: Podify, and Alexa Rousso and Melody Carter of Homeboy Media

In this episode, former Homeboy Industries CEO Tom Vozzo sits down with three powerful voices from the Homeboy community: Fabian, Sergio, and Jose. Together, they explore what it truly means to awaken spiritually, especially in the middle of suffering, trauma, addiction, incarceration, and generational pain.

While Homeboy is often celebrated for its job programs and re-entry success, the real transformation happens in the unseen places: a prison cell, a childhood memory, a moment of collapse, or in the quiet stillness of a 4:00 a.m. prayer.

Fabian, Sergio, and Jose each share how faith emerged not instead of suffering but through it in addiction, violence, poverty, regret, and loss, forming the bedrock of their healing. Their stories challenge the idea of a God who punishes, opening up a more spacious, merciful vision of a God who sustains, accompanies, and restores.

They also discuss how spiritual grounding becomes a daily practice of surrender, gratitude, contemplation, and showing up for others, because as they remind us, every word, every step, and every action is a prayer.

Key Takeaways

• A God Who Sustains, Not Punishes

  Rather than a God who protects us from pain, they speak of a God who walks with us through it, offering mercy, companionship, and unexpected grace.

• Spirituality Is a Daily Practice

  Stillness, early morning readings, gratitude lists, sweat lodge wisdom, and Homeboy’s contemplative culture shape their spiritual lives into something lived, not talked about.

• Community as Evidence of God

  Homeboy itself becomes a sacred space: laughter in the hallways, a hug in the right moment, a homie getting his first apartment. Transformation happens together.

• Forgiveness Evolves Into Mercy and Grace

  Rather than a transactional I forgive you, they learned to offer mercy: Welcome back. Come here. You are home. That same mercy becomes a template for how they see themselves.

• Joy Is the Fruit of a Healed Life

  From seeing their children thrive to watching homies grow into their purpose, joy shows up as a quiet anchor, a reminder of how far they have come.

In This Episode:

• 00:00 – Introduction

• 02:42 – Jose’s spiritual awakening in isolation

• 09:14 – Fabian’s journey from childhood to awakening

• 14:39 – Sergio’s early prayers and spiritual awakening

• 18:18 – Reflections on suffering and God’s presence

• 25:55 – Evolving faith and deepening spiritual insights

• 27:02 – Daily practices for spiritual strength

• 28:01 – Living prayerfully and mindfully

• 29:16 – The power of gratitude

• 32:19 – Faith in action through community and service

• 33:34 – Forgiveness, mercy, and healing

• 40:55 – Finding joy in life, family, and transformation

Notable Quotes

• "If God saw me through that freeway incident, what can He not see me through now?" — Fabian [13:07]

• “Every step you take is a prayer. Every word you utter is a prayer. Every action is a prayer.” —Jose [28:25]

• “God protects us from nothing but sustains us in all things.” — Sergio [26:05]

• “ With Father Greg, he never said, I forgive you. He said, "Welcome back.” — Sergio [35:40]

Resources and Links

Homeboy Industries

• https://homeboyindustries.org/

• https://www.youtube.com/@HomeboyIndustries_LA/videos

• Donate: https://homeboyindustries.org/donate/donate-online/

Homeboy Media 

• https://homeboyindustries.org/social-enterprises/homeboy-media/

Fabian Debora

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabian-debora-886279a/

Sergio Basterrechea

• https://www.instagram.com/sergiobasterrechea/?hl=en

• https://www.godspantry.org/

Jose Arellano

• linkedin.com/in/jose-arellano-001966a0

Thomas Vozzo

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasvozzo

• The Homeboy Way: A Radical Approach to Business and Life: https://www.amazon.com/Homeboy-Way-Radical-Approach-Business/dp/082945456X

Credits:

Hosted by: Tom Vozzo

Produced by: Podify, and Alexa Rousso and Melody Carter of Homeboy Media

In today’s episode of The Homeboy Way, Tom Vozzo and Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J. delve into the hidden weight of the labels society places on people. They revisit pivotal moments in Homeboy’s history, recalling times when homies were swiftly branded as “bad” or “evil,” and how those judgments shaped everything that came after. Through these reflections, Father Greg illustrates how behaviors rooted in trauma, addiction, or mental illness are often misread as fixed character traits, creating barriers that keep individuals shut out from opportunity, understanding, and compassion.

Tom presses into these memories, asking why the world is so quick to judge and so slow to understand. Father Greg reflects on what decades at Homeboy have made unmistakably clear: people act from pain long before they act from choice, and when we reduce them to their worst moments, we lose sight of the human being still trying to surface beneath it all.

Together, they explore how demonizing language stalls progress, why accountability needs compassion to truly work, and how healing begins when we stop treating people as categories and start meeting them as individuals.

Key Takeaways

• Real transformation begins with how we see people.

  Father Greg makes it clear that the moment we divide the world into good and bad, we lose the ability to create solutions. Healing only happens when we refuse to label and instead look underneath the behavior to the wounds, trauma, and mental health struggles that shaped it.

• Goodness is always present, even when it is buried. 

  At Homeboy, people learn to reclaim their dignity because the community holds up a mirror that says you are noble, you are worthy, you belong. When people access that truth, violent behavior evaporates because they stop living from fear and start living from their inherent goodness.

• Health replaces judgment. 

  Instead of asking who is bad or who is evil, the better question is who is hurting and how can we help them heal. Father Greg shows that demonizing language ends conversation, but curiosity opens a path toward understanding.

In This Episode:

• 00:00 – Introduction to The Homeboy Way

• 00:44 – Why the "good vs. bad people" myth prevents progress

• 02:16 – The L.A. County Jail as the world's largest mental institution

• 03:00 – The difference between explaining behavior and excusing it

• 04:10 – Moving from "good vs. bad cops" to "healthy vs. unhealthy cops"

• 06:17 – Why Father Greg doesn't believe in "evil"

• 08:18 – How the label "pure evil" almost cost a man his future

• 09:37 – Re-interpreting biblical concepts of demons and evil through a modern lens

• 12:30 – Generational and cultural differences in language (The Pope, the Devil, and Satan)

• 15:27 – Finding heaven in the present moment through kinship

Notable Quotes

• "As long as you think that there are good people and bad people, then we're stuck in the mud. It's why we don't make progress." — Fr. Greg (00:51)

• "Everybody is unshakably good and that we belong to each other." —Fr. Greg (01:03)

• "The minute you call it evil, it ends all discussion.."— Fr. Greg (07:33)

Resources and Links

Homeboy Industries

• https://homeboyindustries.org/

• https://www.youtube.com/@HomeboyIndustries_LA/videos

• Donate: https://homeboyindustries.org/donate/donate-online/

Homeboy Media 

• https://homeboyindustries.org/social-enterprises/homeboy-media/

Father Greg Boyle

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-boyle-s-j-05458514

• Books: "Tattoos on the Heart," "Barking to the Choir," "The Whole Language"

Thomas Vozzo

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasvozzo

• The Homeboy Way: A Radical Approach to Business and Life: https://www.amazon.com/Homeboy-Way-Radical-Approach-Business/dp/082945456X

Credits:

Hosted by: Tom Vozzo

Produced by: Podify, and Alexa Rousso and Melody Carter of Homeboy Media

In this episode of The Homeboy Way, Tom Vozzo sits down with Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J., the founder of Homeboy Industries, to unpack Homeboy Industries’ long and complicated relationship with government agencies. Fr. Greg reflects on how Homeboy went from reviled to revered, yet still receives little public funding, while Tom recalls early encounters with officials who believed they could do Homeboy’s work better inside the system, unaware of the heart and humanity that drive the mission.

Together, they explore why bureaucracy often gets in its own way, shaped by outsider assumptions, political pressure, and a focus on legacy over real impact. They describe shifting relationships with law enforcement, moments of meaningful partnership, and the ongoing struggle to secure support without compromising mission or purity of purpose.

This episode reminds us that hope, community wisdom, and authentic relationships, not top-down policies, are what truly transform lives.

Key Takeaways

• Real change begins with listening to the people on the ground.

  Policy fails when it’s shaped by outsiders who never ask communities what actually works. Real solutions come from those closest to the struggle.

• Hope moves people more than punishment ever will.

  Longer sentences and tougher policing do not stop violence. Homeboy shows that transformation starts when people believe they have a future.

• Staying true to the mission matters.

  Homeboy refused to reshape its identity to fit government requirements. Protecting the integrity of their work mattered more than chasing funding.

• Humility from leaders creates space for real progress.

  The most impactful officials were the ones willing to listen, ask questions, and admit they didn’t have all the answers.

• Community programs outperform forced systems.

  Government agencies often claim they can do the work better, especially in jails, but voluntary healing at Homeboy is far more effective than captive-audience programs.

• Mental health is the deeper crisis.

  Rising violence in detention centers points to untreated emotional wounds intensified by trauma, isolation, and the pandemic.

In This Episode:

• 00:00 – Introduction to The Homeboy Way

• 00:41 – The government's role: good intentions, slow execution

• 02:03 – Homeboy's journey from "reviled to revered"

• 02:54 – The challenge of partnering with bureaucracy

• 05:25 – Resisting funding to protect mission purity

• 08:49 – The problem of the "outsider view" in policy design

• 11:21 – Addressing the "lethal absence of hope"

• 13:28 – Evolving relationships with police and sheriff departments

• 17:40 – The surprising benefits of youth probation camps

• 21:46 – Conclusion: belief in second chances

Notable Quotes

• "We won't become who you want us to become. We think we know what we're doing. Fund what we're doing, or don't." — Fr. Greg (08:20)

• "We went from reviled to revered. It really was quick." —Fr. Greg (01:49)

• "We're not that concerned about legacy. And every elected official is concerned about legacy."— Fr. Greg (04:06)

• "Rather than say, let's stop the violence, Homeboy says, wait, the violence is about a lethal absence of hope. Let's address the despair."— Fr. Greg (10:31)

• "Mental health is the defining health issue of our time." — Fr. Greg (20:13)

Resources and Links

Homeboy Industries

• https://homeboyindustries.org/

• https://www.youtube.com/@HomeboyIndustries_LA/videos

• Donate: https://homeboyindustries.org/donate/donate-online/

Homeboy Media 

• https://homeboyindustries.org/social-enterprises/homeboy-media/

Father Greg Boyle

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-boyle-s-j-05458514

• Books: "Tattoos on the Heart," "Barking to the Choir," "The Whole Language"

Thomas Vozzo

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasvozzo

• The Homeboy Way: A Radical Approach to Business and Life: https://www.amazon.com/Homeboy-Way-Radical-Approach-Business/dp/082945456X

Credits:

Hosted by: Tom Vozzo

Produced by: Podify, and Alexa Rousso and Melody Carter of Homeboy Media

In this episode of The Homeboy Way, Tom Vozzo sits down with Dr. Robert K. Ross, former CEO of The California Endowment, for a powerful conversation about healing, justice, and what it means to truly see people living at the margins. Reflecting on decades as a pediatrician, public health leader, and philanthropic executive, Dr. Ross revisits the moments that shaped his path from the crack epidemic of the 1980s to the rise of public health as a movement to the day the Homeboy way reshaped how he understood philanthropy.

Through vivid stories, he explains why foundations must stop fixing communities and start listening to them. He shares how Homeboy helped him move from research-driven decision-making to a more human, moral, and spiritually grounded approach.

Tom and Dr. Ross explore how policy shifts when data meets lived experience, why the government keeps missing the mark, and what real support for marginalized leaders requires.

Key Takeaways

• Real community change starts with seeing beyond individual problems.

  Dr. Ross’ journey shows that healing must shift from clinical care to addressing the deeper forces that shape people’s lives. Poverty, violence, addiction, and trauma are not isolated issues but interconnected conditions that require a wider lens.

• Social determinants must guide every decision.

  Health is shaped by safety, opportunity, environment, and dignity. The example of women walking in cemeteries for safety makes clear that neighborhoods influence wellness more than medical systems do. Policy and funding must prioritize these realities.

• Philanthropy works best when it listens.

  Dr. Ross learned to move from top-down decision-making to partnership. Communities hold wisdom born from lived experience, and real change happens when that wisdom shapes programs, funding, and strategy.

• Grants carry strategic, moral, and spiritual purposes.

  They support services, challenge unjust systems, and affirm the humanity of those served. When philanthropy sees people rather than problems, the work becomes deeper, more honest, and more transformative.

• Invest in Infrastructure, Not Just Mission.

  For charismatic, mission-driven organizations to endure, funders must also support the operational and business-side capacity building.

In This Episode:

• 00:00 – Opening and introduction to Dr. Robert K. Ross

• 01:03 – Dr. Robert K. Ross from pediatrician to philanthropy

• 02:00 – The impact of crack cocaine on communities

• 03:37 – A family story that shifted everything

• 05:08 – Transition to public health and philanthropy

• 09:51 – Challenges and lessons in philanthropy

• 16:27 – The broader view of health and community

• 21:07 – Government’s role in community policy

• 21:47 – The power of stories and data

• 22:15 – School discipline and health

• 24:12 – Campaigning for change with Schools Not Prisons

• 26:08 – Supporting Homeboy Industries

• 29:07 – Challenges and lessons in funding

• 37:52 – Faith and philanthropy

• 41:08 – Conclusion and gratitude

Notable Quotes

• "I wanted to be a healer for a community and not just a patient." — Dr. Ross (05:41)

• "No numbers without stories. No stories without numbers."—Dr. Ross (21:44)

• "Poor people pray hard."— Dr. Ross (39:48)

• “We see you, we hear your story, your pain, your trauma, your hopes and dreams.”Dr. Ross (13:34)

• "I’ve always been attracted by the power of listening and humility" — Dr. Ross (27:41)

Resources and Links

Homeboy Industries

• https://homeboyindustries.org/

• https://www.youtube.com/@HomeboyIndustries_LA/videos

• Donate: https://homeboyindustries.org/donate/donate-online/

Homeboy Media 

• https://homeboyindustries.org/social-enterprises/homeboy-media/

Dr. Robert K. Ross

• https://www.calendow.org/

Thomas Vozzo

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasvozzo

• The Homeboy Way: A Radical Approach to Business and Life: https://www.amazon.com/Homeboy-Way-Radical-Approach-Business/dp/082945456X

Credits:

Hosted by: Tom Vozzo

Produced by: Podify, and Alexa Rousso and Melody Carter of Homeboy Media

In this episode, Homeboy Industries Co-CEO Shirley Torres and longtime Clinical Director Fajima Bedran join Tom Vozzo, former CEO of Homeboy Industries, to discuss what truly transforms lives: healing. While Homeboy is widely known for its job programs and re-entry success stories, Father Greg Boyle recognized years ago that the real work lies in healing trauma. Each trainee has endured layers of pain, childhood abuse, foster care, incarceration, addiction, and the mission is not just to ease their misery but to help them become whole.

Shirley, Fajima, and Tom explain that healing at Homeboy extends beyond therapy rooms and happens in hallways, morning meetings, and even on the dance floor. Therapy is integrated into everyday life, with community-based counseling and cutting-edge modalities like EMDR and neurofeedback. Through stories of transformation, Shirley and Fajima illustrate how Homeboy’s therapeutic community fosters joy, suffering, and, most importantly, belonging, which they believe is the first and most essential form of medicine.

Key Takeaways

• The Community is the Clinic

  Where traditional therapy can be sterile, Homeboy’s healing is woven into its fabric through a tap on the shoulder, a shared dance, or a repaired relationship. This community builds the trust necessary for deep clinical work.

• Healing the Wound, Not Just the Behavior

  Systems often focus on changing behavior. Homeboy’s model digs deeper to address the underlying complex trauma and pain, the why behind the behavior, so people can stop transmitting their pain.

• From "Fixing" to "Accompanying"

  The goal is not to "save" people, but to walk with them, repair ruptures, and hold the door open. As Shirley says, the staff are "hope in the flesh," living testaments that transformation is possible.

In This Episode:

• 03:21 – Whole-person healing and cultural roots of care

• 03:40 – Mental health counseling the Homeboy way

• 07:36 – Building a therapeutic community

• 15:44 – Post-pandemic challenges and psychiatric care

• 19:14 – Dancing, joy, and the power of community

• 22:06 – Father Greg’s philosophy and trauma-informed leadership

• 27:01 – What “trauma-informed” means at Homeboy

• 30:31 – Staying hopeful amid pain and transformation

Notable Quotes

• “We stand with people and we invest in them fully. That means making sure we don't surrender to people just being less miserable.” — Shirley [01:52]

• “It's the sessions plus the community. That's what makes way for when people are in front of us when they get into therapy.” — Fajima [06:54]

• “Joy and suffering coexist. There's that spaciousness. And I think that's such an important belief people love.” — Shirley [19:39]

• “We're not saving people. You're also saving yourself. And we're in this together.” — Fajima [27:23]

About Our Guests

Shirley Torres is the Co-CEO of Homeboy Industries, a role she stepped into after over two decades of leading and architecting its programmatic and healing services. She is a driving force behind the organization's trauma-informed culture and its focus on whole-person transformation.

Fajima Bedran is the Director of Mental Health at Homeboy Industries, a licensed clinician who has been with the organization for 20 years. She has been instrumental in integrating advanced, evidence-based clinical practices like EMDR and neurofeedback to address complex trauma within the Homeboy community.

Resources and Links

Homeboy Industries

• https://homeboyindustries.org/

• https://www.youtube.com/@HomeboyIndustries_LA/videos

• Donate: https://homeboyindustries.org/donate/donate-online/

Homeboy Media 

• https://homeboyindustries.org/social-enterprises/homeboy-media/

Shirley Torres

• http://linkedin.com/in/shirley-torres-1a9516a2

Thomas Vozzo

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasvozzo

• The Homeboy Way: A Radical Approach to Business and Life: https://www.amazon.com/Homeboy-Way-Radical-Approach-Business/dp/082945456X

Credits:

Hosted by: Tom Vozzo

Produced by: Podify, and Alexa Rousso and Melody Carter of Homeboy Media

Dr. Frank Anderson shares the science of healing and how it connects to the Homeboy way of kinship.

Dr. Frank Anderson, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist, trauma expert, and best-selling author, breaks down the science and spirituality of trauma healing and how it connects to the work of Homeboy Industries. We discuss why trauma is externally defined while PTSD is a personal response, the difference between single-event trauma and complex trauma, and how healing requires corrective experiences, community, and patience, and why forgiveness should follow healing, not precede it.

Dr. Anderson shares why spirituality (not organized religion) is vital for healing, why premature forgiveness can be harmful, and how leaders themselves must confront their own trauma to create workplaces where people thrive. Together, we explore how Homeboy Industries is modeling a trauma-informed approach to community transformation, and why this model can ripple into corporate spaces, executive leadership, and beyond.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• The neuroscience of trauma and why love is the most powerful healing agent.

• Why forgiveness should follow healing, not precede it.

• How both victim and perpetrator roles live inside us, and why acknowledging this duality is essential.

• How trauma-informed workplaces increase productivity, belonging, and engagement.

• Why Homeboy Industries’ holistic approach offers a blueprint for rethinking therapy, reentry, and leadership.

In This Episode:

• 00:00 – Introduction

• 00:39 – Why trauma is at the center of healing

• 02:27 – Dr. Anderson’s journey from psychiatrist to healer

• 06:42 – What is trauma, really?

• 08:47 – Understanding complex trauma

• 11:41 – Why mental health therapy works and when it doesn’t

• 14:47 – The power of positive regard and compassion

• 16:09 – The role of forgiveness in healing

• 19:44 – How to release pain and rewire the brain

• 22:58 – Love and connection as tools for recovery

• 25:59 – How Dr. Anderson connected with Homeboy

• 28:09 – Why spirituality matters in healing

• 33:18 – Trauma in leadership and corporate life

• 37:23 – How love transcends fear and violence

• 39:30 – Final reflections

Notable Quotes

• "Trauma blocks who we are. And so a lot of clearing and healing in order to be able to kind of step into that position." — Frank Anderson (06:32)

• "Complex trauma is relational trauma. It's trauma that happens relationally." — Frank Anderson (08:47)

• "The mental health field has this: you're bad, you're broken. You need to be fixed mentality." — Frank Anderson (13:35)

• "Trauma blocks love, Love heals trauma." — Frank Anderson (23:14)

• "Love supersedes violence and fear. It's gotta be elevated because trauma is about fear and being violated." — Frank Anderson (37:23)

Resources and Links

Homeboy Industries

• https://homeboyindustries.org/

• https://www.youtube.com/@HomeboyIndustries_LA/videos

• Donate: https://homeboyindustries.org/donate/donate-online/

Homeboy Media 

• https://homeboyindustries.org/social-enterprises/homeboy-media/

Frank Anderson, MD

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-anderson-654b1836/

• https://www.frankandersonmd.com/

Thomas Vozzo

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasvozzo

• The Homeboy Way: A Radical Approach to Business and Life: https://www.amazon.com/Homeboy-Way-Radical-Approach-Business/dp/082945456X

Credits:

Hosted by: Tom Vozzo

Produced by: Podify, and Alexa Rousso and Melody Carter of Homeboy Media.