A Los Angeles-based program that has helped rehabilitate hundreds of former gang members for more than three decades is venturing into a new field as it helps expand opportunities for its participants.
Homeboy Industries, the nonprofit organization behind Homegirl Café and a slew of services that include tattoo removal, substance abuse support and education services, has entered the electronics recycling field. It’s the 14th social enterprise launched by the organization and serves as a way for its clients to get hands-on experience and gain new skills.
“We are really about people, we’re about the planet, and we’re about the purpose,” said Bill Deliman, Director of Marketing and Business Development for Homeboy Industries.
At the recycling plant, workers test the gadgets they are given to see if they can potentially work. Devices that still work are then tested, repaired and certified for quality. Once that checklist is complete, the gadgets are listed for sale and include a warranty.
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“We want to be able to provide people with affordable technology,” Deliman said. “So, being able to provide technology that’s affordable gives people the opportunity to be connected to the world.”
Devices that can’t be refurbished are stripped for parts and responsibly disposed of with certified vendors.
“We have hundreds of pounds of plastic and circuitry that comes through here,” said Franky Valdez, test and repair supervisor.
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Deliman said the social enterprise does more than help make sales at affordable prices – it brings employment to people who’ve faced systemic barriers.
Jose Echeverria, a work readiness trainer at the electronic recycling plant, said he’s a testament to that. He said his childhood led him to juvenile hall by the age of 12, followed by prison, gang life and decades on the streets before finding Homeboy Industries.
“I felt so at home,” Echeverria said. “The way I was received was probably the feeling I had been looking for my whole life as a child.”
Now, he’s balancing his job with his social work studies in college while also volunteering at a treatment center.
“Those are the things I took away from Homeboys and those are the things that I’m really proud of myself for doing, you know what I mean,” he said. “Completely turning my life around, leaving the gang life and everything behind. I just wanted to do better for myself and give myself an opportunity for once.”
