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Since you're in Los Angeles, you might try reaching out to Homeboy Industries: http://www.homeboyindustries.org/ http://www.homeboyindustries.org/ They special
by bcks 10y ago
Since you're in Los Angeles, you might try reaching out to Homeboy Industries:
http://www.homeboyindustries.org/ http://www.homeboyindustries.org/
They specialize in helping get folks back on their feet with job training. They have a bakery program, a line of salsa, solar panel installation training, etc. They hire ex-gang and previously incarcerated men and women.
Disclosure: I have enjoyed the salsa.
- pg_is_a_butt 10y agouh... homeboy industries is for homeboys... admitted gang members (guilty men)
- rcarrigan87 10y agoYes, I love their chips and salsa. Truly a feel good product.
- ClintEhrlich 10y agoI'm a big fan of Homeboy Industries, so I appreciate the suggestion. But I don't think it's fair to put Ray into a program for ex-gang members. Ray is a clean-cut, straight-arrow kind of guy, so it's been very hard for him to spend the last 11 years of his life surrounded by actual criminals. He really wants to become just another person — not an ex-con.
- bcks 10y agoAs you can see from the website, it's not just for ex-gang members but also for previously incarcerated men and women looking for job training and a leg up. Perhaps Ray could decide for himself once your GoFundMe funds run out.
- peteforde 10y agoLook, you've really gone above and beyond here. I think that's awesome. But it's a bit of a drag to see you write off "ex-gang members" the way that you did. These are human beings that deserve your respect. If someone does their time and holds down a job, what's not to admire? Your man was a soldier and he survived 11 years in prison as an innocent man. I suspect that he'd really enjoy meeting the folks at Homeboy even if he didn't end up working there.
- spacehome 10y agoI decide who deserves my respect, thank you very much.
- ZenoArrow 10y agoSo someone who has made mistakes in the past but is trying to turn their life around doesn't deserve your respect?
- spacehome 10y agoHonestly? If that's all I knew about this hypothetical person, then no, I would not feel they deserve my respect. I feel like "trying to turn their life around" is code for doing the bare minimum to live in a civilized society. (Get a legal job, pay your taxes, take care of your kids, and don't break the law)
- ZenoArrow 10y ago> "I feel like "trying to turn their life around" is code for doing the bare minimum to live in a civilized society. (Get a legal job, pay your taxes, take care of your kids, and don't break the law)" For some people, that's a massive change compared to what they've experienced in the past. Those things may all seem easy to us, but imagine if you had the opposite habits and how difficult it could be to take the unfamiliar path towards civilised society. Out of interest, do you feel the same about drug addicts and alcoholics who make an effort to break their addictions? Are they deserving of respect in your eyes?
- spacehome 10y agoWhile you're right that certain things may be quite difficult, just getting to zero or baseline is not enough for me to respect someone when I view their poor circumstance or difficulties as the direct consequence of their poor (and illegal) choices. I get to decide the way I feel about people, and breaking an addiction doesn't meet my bar. Similarly, I don't tell others how they should feel.
- jtrtoo 10y agoYou may want to consider contacting the innocence project: http://www.innocenceproject.org http://www.innocenceproject.org