HOMEY headquarters becomes hang-out, second home for young people needing help

By Kelsey Saunders
With its walls covered in paintings of revolutionaries and silkscreen works-in-progress draped over drying racks, the HOMEY headquarters feels more like an artist's hang-out than a community center.

Founded in 1999, HOMEY, or Homies Organizing the Mission to Empower Youth, is an organization that reaches out to a-risk and low-income youth.

Ray Romprey, 26, got involved in the organization two years ago after he got out of jail, and has been dedicated to helping keep kids off his old path ever since. His old neighbor and good friend Executive Director Rene Quinonez introduced him to the idea as a way to put his past behind him.

"A lot of these kids have nowhere to go, whether it's from family background, low income, divorce, violence, abuse, welfare," he said. "It's like a second family."

"It is for me," agreed Quinonez.

HOMEY isn't your average community outreach group. Instead of holding bake sales to raise money, it has its own t-shirt company, Native Graphix, which is run out of the headquarters by volunteers. They produce several designs, and sell them at events that they host.

There is an altar in the main room covered in candles to honor those who have passed, and friends and relatives of the staff members regularly drop by.

"It's all about family," Romprey said as he played with his nephew, Antonio.

By providing kids with a family structure, HOMEY strives to keep kids out of trouble and help them succeed in school.

"It's a jungle out here, and this used to be my jungle," Romprey said. "You have to be a beast. I'm trying to teach that beast mentality in a positive way. I'm gonna go and get top honors in my classes like a beast, yunno what I'm saying?"

Romprey says that our youth need to know that they can achieve and make a difference despite the odds that are against them, whether it's social, racial, or otherwise.

In addition to providing help with school, HOMEY also has educational programs such as Homies Skoolin Homies, which teaches youth about current social issues, and Kalpulli, a council that fights for social justice and teaches kids how to initiate change.

HOMEY feels strongly about the school system, and is looking to get more politically involved in change. Romprey feels that inner city students are being treated unfairly compared to those in more affluent areas.

"Our education system is horrible right now," he said. "The statistics show it's failing. But it's failing right here, in the Bay Area, in the inner city of San Francisco, in the Mission, in Hunter's Point, in the Fillmore. But when you go to a place like Walnut Creek, it's accelerating."

Two weeks ago, HOMEY participated in a rally at City Hall in protest of recent violence in the Mission. Hundreds of high school students mainly from the June Jordan School for Equity demanded that something be done to keep the streets safer, and that more resources be given to inner city schools.

Romprey says that this will pave the path for future rallies. "Expect us there," he said. "Don't think you're gonna do us unjust and we're just gonna sit down. We gotta stand up for our children, our community."

He feels that the organization is a success. "Work is being done," he said. "We empower [youth]. We tell them that you can do it, you can achieve if you put your mind to it."

He is confident that HOMEY's success will spread outside of San Francisco. "I see it being a lot like Kentucky Fried Chicken," he said. "There's one in every city across America and the world. We have the potential to be in every city, every neighborhood."