Dear Susan,

I appreciated the recent coverage of CureViolence in the magazine. An epidemiological approach to ending conflict is a fascinating emerging response to urban violence and I’m keen to keep my eye on it as it continues to scale up.

I’d like to write a piece that examines another model, this one originating in East L.A. under the leadership of Jesuit priest Father Greg Boyle. Rather than seeing violence as a disease, as Dr. Gary Slutkin and his team do with CureViolence, Father Greg Boyle sees it as a cultural imperative. Without “exit ramps,” as he calls them, in the form of jobs, emotional skills etc., young people growing up surrounded by violence have little choice but to get involved in it. Homeboy Industries operates on the assumption that it is not enough to “interrupt” violence, but to, in essence, replace its power with more life- affirming projects.

It is the country’s largest gang member rehab program, serving over 12,000 people each year. The organization claims that it costs them between $20-44,000 to provide a full range of services and training for a young person; juvenile detention in LA County, averages $100-150,000.

Despite what appears to be 25 years of successful intervention, Homeboy Industries has struggled with funding in recent years. I’d like to look into why that is, and also investigate the local limitations of this model, which appears not to have been scaled much at all.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Jane