Our Programs

Our Arts & Culture program provides leadership development and art services for immigrant youth as part of their integration to the United States. We provide creative avenues of expression through mixed-media arts such as painting murals, creating mosaics, and learning to play musical instruments. The Memories of El Monte Community Arts Space is an expansion of our arts programming at a satellite location.

Art and cultural connection is an essential part of healing our youth. While high-risk and at-risk youth may struggle with academics, many excel in the arts. They develop assurance and respect while discovering creative expression to be uplifting and a positive release for pent-up emotions.

Libertad con Dignidad (Liberty with Dignity) is our prisoner support project, providing parole board preparation services to immigrant lifers. Homies Unidos understands the structural inequalities that have contributed to mass incarceration, including the hyper-criminalization and incarceration of immigrants from Central America and other parts of the world.

Libertad con Dignidad El Salvador is a project of Homies Unidos that provides transnational reentry services to formerly incarcerated and deported individuals in El Salvador. Amidst a transnational war on gangs, the government of El Salvador has employed gang suppression tactics from Mano Dura, or Tough on Crime, policies to Territorial Control tactics that target individuals presumed to be gang members. This has had a devastating impact on the nation, with documented human rights violations and persecution of youth in the region. Founded in 2020, Libertad con Dignidad El Salvador seeks to address the unique needs of deported individuals, providing them with transitional housing, job placement, and resource coordination services to support their successful reintegration in their country of origin. Homies Unidos is developing partnerships with other transnational reentry service providers addressing the needs and challenges of formerly incarcerated and deported individuals in Mexico and other Latin American countries.

CAPRIL (Committee in Support of Incarcerated People) leads the advocacy and community organizing efforts of Homies Unidos around policies that impact currently and formerly incarcerated individuals and their families. Homies Unidos works with families of our incarcerated Libertad con Dignidad participants to provide policy education and advocacy orientations, and a network of mutual aid and community-based support. Since 2015, we have advocated for policies that promote alternatives to incarceration, family reunification, and investment in community-based public safety and community intervention efforts. CAPRIL has participated in legislative visits with state and local public officials and community forums to provide input on state, county, and city ordinances.

The Epiphany Project is a 12-workshop series designed to support the successful reentry of those returning home from incarceration and prevent high risk behavior amongst youth and adults impacted by the justice system, including current and former gang members. An epiphany is a sudden realization or manifestation of the truth. Through the use of cognitive behavioral concepts, we equip directly-impacted participants with tools and strategies to understand their decision-making and thought processes. Graduates of the Epiphany Project become a part of a reentry support network as community members and justice advocates.

Tattoo Removal is subsidized for participants of the Epiphany Project through our partnership with Sunrise Outreach Center. Homies Unidos subsidizes the entire cost of tattoo removal services for individuals who have been incarcerated within the last 12 months or those who are in ongoing court proceedings, including criminal and immigration court. All other individuals must pay a $35 enrollment fee and $30 per monthly session.

In 2022, the City of Los Angeles contracted Homies Unidos to deliver homeless outreach services to communities impacted by significant rates of gang violence and activity. Our team of community intervention experts is tasked with building relationships with community members impacted by the city’s housing crisis while being liaisons between the community and local service providers, including health care and mental health providers, harm reduction and addiction recovery programs, and housing navigators prepared to support individuals in accessing housing and financial sustainability.

Youth Development is the core of our prevention strategy, engaging at-risk youth and unaccompanied minors from Central America through programming and positive recreational outlets to interrupt cycles of victimization, criminalization, and incarceration. Our youth development programs include the implementation of culturally relevant curriculums, including the Epiphany Project and Joven Noble (Noble Youth) projects that target formerly incarcerated, gang-involved, and recent immigrant youth. By developing the leadership skills of youth in our communities, we empower them to become peace builders and agents of positive social change that will shape the future of tomorrow’s generation.

Example of our work with youth:

• Prison visits to currently incarcerated “immigrant lifers”
• Organizing family members to advocate for prison reform
• Youth leadership training
• Know Your Rights workshops in local high schools
• Internship opportunities
• Community service and engagement
• Annual conference for Central American immigrant youth- (Central American Youth Leadership Conference)