For decades, the team at Homeboy Industries has stood witness to a quiet revolution. Lives are rewritten not through force, judgment, or programs alone, but through the slow, steady practice of kinship.
In this episode, Tom Vozzo is joined by Hector Verdugo and Shirley Torres to reflect on the stories that have shaped them as much as the people living them. Day after day, people walk into Homeboy carrying the invisible: trauma that shaped them, systems that failed them, and identities formed in survival mode. Over time, through consistency, humor, honesty, frustration, and grace, those same individuals discover the possibility of becoming someone they were never allowed to be.
The three reflect on the privilege of walking alongside that transformation, not as saviors or fixers, but as fellow travelers who are changed in the process. At Homeboy, stories are not trophies or statistics. They are teachers. They stretch us, soften us, call us forward, and remind us that everyone is still becoming.
Key Takeaways
"Exquisite Mutuality" is the Secret Sauce
Transformation at Homeboy is never a one-way street. It is a reciprocal relationship.
Kinship, Not Curriculum, Creates Transformation
Love, not lectures, is what shifts shame, fear, or survival instincts into openness and trust.
Judgment Doesn’t Grow People; Gentleness Does
A butchered tree still grows back; sometimes the most important thing is simply letting go.
Love That Shows Up Unasked
When someone calls from federal prison to comfort you in grief, that’s God in work boots.
Mutual Healing Is the Secret Sauce
No one here is “saving” anyone; everyone is being changed, challenged, raised, and restored.
In This Episode:
00:00 – Introduction
00:29 – The power of stories
01:37 – Joanna: anger, armor, and the road to law school
03:39 – Parole, board meetings, and unseen burdens
05:14 – Humor, respect, and breaking the ice
07:32 – Mutual raising in community
09:20 – Shirley’s story coming to Homeboy as a kid
10:52 – Loss, grief, and the surprise phone call that healed
13:05 – Unconditional love within the Homeboy culture
13:53 – Luis "Coloso," Butchered Trees, and Letting Go of Control
16:38 – Addiction, mental health, and spiritual bypassing
18:07 – Angelo: from hoodie to hope
20:11 – How do you measure transformation without metrics?
23:51 – Choosing compassion when someone is “difficult”
24:57 – Times Square, armor, and becoming nine again
25:48 – Closing reflections on patience and second chances
Notable Quotes
“ I've had sort of my big life moments here and one of those moments was losing my dad and I think about how Homeboy showed up for me.” — Shirley [09:37]
“ A place like Homeboy is all about the exquisite mutuality.” — Shirley [11:59]
“It’s just love and seeing you, saying 'Hi, I see you,' and then eventually putting your arm around them." — Hector [19:44]
Resources and Links
Homeboy Industries
Homeboy Media
Hector Verdugo
Shirley Torres
Thomas Vozzo
The Homeboy Way: A Radical Approach to Business and Life: https://www.amazon.com/Homeboy-Way-Radical-Approach-Business/dp/082945456X
Credits:
Hosted by: Tom Vozzo
Produced by: Podify, and Alexa Rousso and Melody Carter of Homeboy Media