The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday threw a nearly $1.4 million lifeline to the financially ailing gang intervention organization Homeboy Industries, which in spring announced it had laid off 330 of 427 employees and would require a $5 million injection to survive.

The group, founded by Father and bestselling author Gregory Boyle, has been praised for finding jobs and offering tattoo removal for gang members who want to leave la vida loca. But the recession has taken its toll on the nonprofit. The county cash will go towards funding “job development and re-entry programs for high-risk and high-need youth between the ages of 14 to 30 throughout the County,” according to a statement from Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.

Homeboy has also received a $300,000 award from the federal government, according to Ridley-Thomas' office.

“The organization's work has generated long-term savings for the County by enabling young people to lead productive lives,” he said.

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