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Series 1. Client correspondence

 Series

Scope and Contents

The correspondence consists almost entirely of letters from clients of Homeboy Industries and their families. They are almost all addressed to Father Gregory Boyle. They consist of pleas for help, thank yous for assistance, and updates on life changes. Most of the correspondents seeem to have written only one letter, but many engaged in repeated correspondence over a period of years. Many of the letter writers are incarcerated, and discuss their alleged crimes and potential parole. Theses letters provide a candid and wide-ranging view of Homeboy's constituency, a vulnerable and voiceless population subjugated by the carceral state.

Dates

  • Creation: 1954 - 2019

Creator

Language of Materials

From the Collection:

Collection materials in English and Spanish.

Access

Open for research.

Extent

From the Collection: 27 linear feet (40 boxes; 2 record storage cartons; 2 flat boxes; 4 oversize flat boxes; 4 mixed media boxes; 1 shoe box)

Arrangement

The files are in the order determined by the initial archivists.

Processing Information

The initial archivists began an item-level inventory on this part of the collection, including individual names of correspondents, specific dates of every letter, variants in salutation, and the locations the letters were written from (often including zip codes). The final archivist determined that this was an unnecessary and overwhelming amount of detail, and so all of that information, except for the names, have been removed from the finding aid. In the interest of efficient processing, individual names have been omitted from the finding aid for the rest of the collection.

Repository Details

Part of the Chicano Studies Research Center Library Repository

Contact:
144 Haines Hall
Box 951544
Los Angeles California 90095-1544 United States
(310) 206-6052
(310) 206-1784 (Fax)