Researchers at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs have examined Homeboy Industries and its relationship-centered approach to rehabilitation and community support. Among them is UCLA Luskin professor Jorja Leap, whose decades of research on gang intervention, violence prevention and reentry has included close work with Homeboy to understand how mentorship, community and trauma-informed care help people rebuild their lives.

by Ron Mackovich-Rodriguez

An eastbound Metro train rumbles on an elevated track above Homeboy Industries’s home in downtown Los Angeles near Chinatown. It’s part of the city’s burgeoning light rail network, set to connect downtown and UCLA in time for the summer Olympic Games in 2028.

The track noise goes unnoticed at Homeboy’s lively headquarters as scores of people stream in for a big morning meeting.

“I grew up around here, so these people have known me since I was little,” Cianna Ulloa said as she and her father, Cesar Ulloa, passed through Homegirl Café. The popular spot for coffee and uniquely L.A. cuisine is always hopping, and they can’t get more than a few steps before a familiar face stops her for another chat, hug or both.

Cianna and her father Cesar Ulloa.

Cesar lets everybody know Cianna is a third-year sociology student at UCLA. She’s quick to add something.

“My dad inspired me to do it,” Cianna said. “Just to see him better his life for me and for my entire family was so encouraging.”

Cesar Ulloa manages retail merchandizing at three of the organization’s thriving locations. He works nonstop overseeing sales of Homeboy’s popular apparel and mugs, some of which bear inspirational messages.

“You are exactly what God had in mind when he made you,” Cesar reads to Cianna from the back of a Homeboy t-shirt.

Life as an engaged, professional father is decades removed from Cesar’s life as a young man who didn’t expect to live long. He retells his story with clear-eyed reflection, as he did when Julio Frenk became the first UCLA chancellor to visit Homeboy Industries in January.

“Before I got to Homeboy, I was heavily involved in drugs and gangs,” he said. “It separated me from my family, from my kids.”

“One of the things we have to get used to at Homeboy is change,” Cesar said. “When I started, I was like, ‘Change what? I’m used to this. I was raised this way. There were drugs on the floor. Coming out of the house, there was a shooting. I saw older people getting beaten.”

“My dad was in survival mode back then,” Cianna said. “So many Homeboys were in survival mode before they got here. Change starts with being open and being honest, being OK with what has happened in the past to transform into the person you want to become.”

Images of Cesar and Cianna, taken nearly two decades ago, show an undeniable bond. Other pictures of Cesar, taken in and around Ramona Gardens in Boyle Heights, show a young man with a harder expression. It’s a face watching for danger around the dark corners of violent streets and lockups.

When Cianna was just a few years old, Cesar wrote messages to her in a leather journal, believing at the time she might read them after he passed away.

“I would write to Cianna, ‘This is what I want you to do when you grow up. This is what I want you to look out for.’ Then I thought, ‘I want to tell her these things in person.’ It was writing to Cianna that planted the seed for a different future. After a number of rehabs where I didn’t get it, I came to Homeboy Industries and I was able to turn my life around.”

Cesar’s former life is decades in the past, though its memories are never far from the minds of a father and daughter who lost a brother and uncle to gang violence.

“If it wasn’t for Homeboy, I wouldn’t have made it to UCLA,” Cianna said, remembering her teenage years in the organization’s summer youth programs, creating art and strengthening her writing prowess.

“My world expanded. I was able to gain new experiences, new skills and that prepared me for life at UCLA. I’m incredibly grateful that my mom and dad supported me, and I want to be more like my father.”

While still in high school, Cianna authored a research paper about the effectiveness of Homeboy’s rehabilitation efforts.

“I learned how important one-on-one case management is,” Cianna said. “That taught me social work was the path for me, a path of service and helping others.”

That tie between past and future, between UCLA and Homeboy, father and daughter, is illustrative of the connection between the two organizations.

UCLA’s connections to Homeboy include research into the organization’s relationship-focused programs through the Luskin School of Public Affairs. In addition, a UCLA Health physician has supported Homeboy’s tattoo removal services. Several Homeboy alums have also graduated from UCLA, including Romen Lopez.

One of Homeboy’s executive leaders is UCLA alumna Shirley Torres, a strong presence in the lives of the Ulloa family who welcomed Chancellor Frenk during his January visit.

Father Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries and a close friend of Cesar Ulloa, was among key leaders at a multifaith conversation at UCLA in late February. The event was hosted by the UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute and the UCLA Center for the Study of Religion.

Cesar and Cianna Ulloa were in the audience.

Before heading back across town, Cesar takes a walk with his daughter across a UCLA campus enlivened by a Bruin basketball victory over USC at Pauley Pavilion. The energy is noisy and spirited, much like it is every morning at Homeboy.

Cianna is equally at home in both places. The first in her family to attend university, she is past the halfway point through her third year as a sociology major, minoring in civic engagement and social change. Her future is open, but focused.

“I would like to work with at-risk youth, possibly drug rehabilitation or children’s social work,” Cianna said. “The path is still broad, but I do know that I want to help people.”

A future of service, of giving back, is a pleasing vision for a father whose horizons did not extend past graffiti-covered walls.

“Looking at my baby girl walking on this campus with everybody else, it’s a proud feeling to see her succeed,” Cesar said.