Ana - Homeboy Industries

Ana is the general manager of the merchandise department at Homeboy Industries. In this interview she describes how Homeboy Industries helped her transform her traumatic experiences to a life of service. 

Grateful People: What’s your name?

Ana: My name is Ana.

Grateful People: What do you do at Homeboy Industries? 

Ana: I’m the general manager of our merchandise department. So I train some of the guys and women that come through our office – like in retail, inventory, money, stuff like that.

Grateful People: Can you say a little bit about when you started here and how you came to Homeboy Industries in the first place? 

Ana: Well, I’ve been here since 2006.

Grateful People: Oh, wow, a long time.

Ana: I’ve been here almost more than 8 years by the grace of God and I came because… I was pregnant at the time. My baby’s father was working here and Father Greg asked me if I wanted a job here because I was doing things I have no business doing. At first I was like, no, but then I was like, OK, I’m just going to go check it out. I came in December 11, 2006 and started working December 12, 2006 and I’ve been here ever since. 

Grateful People: What was the process like when you first got here? What did Father Greg help you with?

Ana: Well, first of all, I just walked in, got the job. It’s not like it is now. I did a lot of work on myself. They put me in charge of the tokens, which is transportation, and keep track of who was getting them and stuff like that.

Grateful People: So how does that work? They give out tokens so people can get around? 

Ana: At that time, yeah, they were just giving them out.  

Grateful People: OK.

Ana: I did a lot of classes to work on myself because I had a really bad attitude, bad temper. I mean I grew up in the streets and stuff like that. So I did anger management. I did parenting classes. I did Four Agreements.

Grateful People: What are the four agreements?

Ana: Four agreements, you know what? It’s a class of teachers who like – I didn’t really finish it. So what are the four steps? 

Male Speaker: I don’t know what they are but like be impeccable with your work …

Ana: Be impeccable with your work.

Male Speaker: Don’t speak about other people …

Ana: People. Think about what you say.

Male Speaker: Yeah, think about …

Ana: And stuff like that. So it makes you – that makes you work on yourself.

Grateful People: OK.

Ana: You know, more than anything, and I took that – with anger management, I took for three years because I really needed that and it really worked. So I now know how to – empathy, so I put myself in other people’s shoes.

Grateful People: That’s great.

Ana: Before I act on stuff.

Grateful People: What are you most grateful for in terms of what you’ve gotten from Homeboy? 

Ana: I’m grateful for Father Greg for actually giving me a chance. Actually he called me in. I didn’t call him. He called me in. Because he saw he never gave up on me. So he called me in and I’m grateful for him because if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be the woman that I am today because everything is so different.

Things that I used to trip before, now I’m like, “Really?” You know, and I’m not perfect. I’m far from perfect. I’m human. We all make mistakes and stuff but I grew up so much from the time – from when I first started to now. I’m like on a totally different level. You know, and I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful for the opportunity, the people that have been here. Even the people that I’ve got into it with before because it’s a learning experience. 

Grateful People: What about actually just from today? From when you got up this morning to coming here now. Looking back, what stands out to you as something that you’re just thankful for, whether it’s people or something that happened?

Ana: I’m thankful for just another day. I mean it’s always amazing. I’m thankful for my kids because my kids are my motivation. They motivate me to want to get up and come to work and do things and be involved in sports and stuff that I never thought I would do because my mom didn’t do that with us. So I didn’t see myself being a good mom.

I’m a single mom so it’s really hard. I have four little kids. So it’s really hard for me – I do everything. Like some people have two heads and some people have one. So I have one and I do everything two people do. I do one. It gets one head and it’s overwhelming and it gets really hard. But I’m thankful just for the challenge because that makes me a stronger person.

Grateful People: Really? So it’s actually the challenge?

Ana: I love the challenge because only the strong ones survive and I’m a firm believer of that and it’s so true because no matter how much a person can try to break you for whatever reason there is, it’s how bad you want it and it’s the challenge of it. 

Grateful People: That’s one of the things I’m really interested in for this blog is that we always talk about being grateful for the really good things that happen to us, but we can also be grateful for the challenges because of what it teaches us. Are there any experiences or any things in your life that at the time you were just like really not happy about but now looking back you’re like, “Wow, I’m grateful for something that that taught me,” or what came out of it?

Ana: I was in a very bad domestic abusive relationship when my daughter’s daddy used to beat the shit out of me all the time and I’m not happy about it, but I’m thankful for it because I learned and now because of what I went through I can help other women. I understand women that go through it. I know how to deal with them. I know what to tell them and I know that they’re not stupid and dumb for being in a situation like that. It’s just that when a man has control over your mind, it’s over.

That’s something that I’m never going to regret going through because that’s what’s making me help other people. I have daughters. So now I will be able to help my daughters if they ever get in a situation like that.

Grateful People: Have you done any work helping other women or other people or just telling your story? 

Ana: I’ve actually helped out women from the [Homegirl] Cafe that come and talk to me and stuff like that. I never really actually did it in a [Indiscernible] and stuff like that because I’m not really – it’s a really, really hard part of my life that I went through as far as that. But with other women or when girls come in for tours and stuff and they ask me, “What’s your story?” and they hear it and they’re like, “Really?” I do. I do open up and I do talk to them and they ask questions. “How did you get away? How did you do this?” I just left one day. I just said, “Fuck this.” I’ve got kids. I’m out and I left.

That man right there, Father Greg, was the one to help me. I don’t know where I was going and I was – I still came to work. He couldn’t break me down. He couldn’t take my spirit. He couldn’t take my joy. He couldn’t take anything from me. He took materialistic stuff but hey, that’s the least of my worries. He didn’t take my peace of mind or nothing. 

Grateful People: So it sounds like you’re thankful for a lot from Father Greg.

Ana: I am. He’s just amazing. He’s like the dad that I never had. I text him once in a while just to see how he’s doing. I know he’s busy and stuff like that. We have the best relationship. He’s like really like my dad. So it’s like that.

Grateful People: Do you share that with him? 

Ana: He knows. I really do not tell him. I really do not sit down and talk to him but he knows and I always tell him, “Thank you for everything you’ve done,” and everything he has done for me. Like he knows it and I’m not the only one but I believe that the woman that I am today has a lot to do with Father Greg actually giving me that chance and the opportunity to grow.

So now I’m very involved with my children with things my mom never did. She – I’m in my son’s – I’m the AT for my son’s football team and I am very involved in the community and stuff like that. So I’m very thankful for Father Greg and everything. Homeboy Industries alone. 

Grateful People: Yeah.

Ana: And the people in here, from Alison to Araceli to just women in general that always have my back. Tom and Jack - they’ve always – like “whatever you need” – because my daughter she gets seizures, so they’re very supportive and I love that.

Grateful People: Do you have any advice to other people about how to be more thankful? And especially for the difficulties. It sounds like you’ve been through a lot and a lot of people, when they go through difficulties, that’s all they can see. So how did you turn that around? 

Ana: I read something one time and I just stuck with it and this is what I’m going to tell you. No matter what you’re going through, somebody else is going through something worse than you and it’s so true. You know, it’s so true. All you might have to eat is a Cup of Noodles. Well, guess what? Somebody else don’t have nothing else to eat out there.  

So to me, like somebody else is worser than me and going through worser stuff than me so that’s how I just go by it. Like, oh, I’m blessed. I’m very blessed because a lot of people don’t have what I have. That’s how I see it.

Grateful People: That’s great. Thank you so much for sharing that. I really appreciate it.

To support Ana and her work at Homeboy Industries, you can donate here.