Homeboy Industries Aims to Steer Los Angeles Youth down Good Path

From 1999 to 2018, James Mason served as the CEO of SynerMed, a managed care and medical group administration company based in Monterey Park, California. During and after his time spent leading Synermed, James Mason has supported organizations that provide a new start for disadvantaged people, such as Homeboy Industries.

A Los Angeles-based organization, Homeboy Industries provides support and training to young men who were previously incarcerated or involved with gangs in order to help them turn their lives around. Each year, more than 10,000 former gang members are reached by the organization, which provides a range of services including tattoo removal, anger management courses, and parenting classes.

In addition, the organization offers an 18-month job training program that gives full-time employment to more than 200 men and women at a time to help them acquire necessary job skills. With a high school dropout rate of over 43 percent for African American students, Homeboy Industries works to keep teenagers focused on finishing school while steering them away from participating in youth gang activities.

Serving Meals at the St. Francis Center in Los Angeles

Now retired from health care administration, James Mason spent nearly two decades as the president and chief executive officer of SynerMed in Monterey Park, California. Alongside his leadership at SynerMed, James Mason served as a board member for the St. Francis Center, which he continues to support.

Established by Father Hugh Noonan and a group of lay Franciscans in 1972, the St. Francis Center exists to assist homeless and low-income individuals and families across Los Angeles. The center’s programs tackle areas ranging from health care to helping veterans transition from homelessness. The center also provides nutritional meals.

Homeless individuals can come to the St. Francis Center six days a week to receive meals served in restaurant fashion. They can also pick up sack lunches. The center requires neither payment nor registration for these services. Special offerings include holiday meals with traditional foods.

Volunteers and staff at the center serve more than 100,000 meals each year. For more information about the center’s programs and becoming a volunteer, visit www.stfranciscenterla.org.

The St. Francis Center Los Angeles Summer Camp Initiative

James Mason is a longtime health care executive and the former CEO of SynerMed. Since leaving SynerMed, he has pursued his passion for helping others as a volunteer, financial supporter, and board member for numerous charitable and nonprofit organizations in Southern California. Among these, James Mason serves as a board member of St. Francis Center Los Angeles.

Founded in 1972 by Father Hugh Noonan, a Franciscan friar in Santa Barbara County, St. Francis Center has grown into one of the most important social services organizations in the Los Angeles area. In addition to operating soup kitchens and food pantries, it coordinates well-being programs for families and homeless individuals. The organization also runs an annual youth summer camp initiative.

Each year, St. Francis Center sends approximately 100 boys and girls from underserved communities to a local overnight summer camp through partnerships with local groups. Currently, St. Francis partners with Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles to send 60 youths to Camp Bob Waldorf and 40 younger children to Camp Whittle. 

St. Francis Center covers all financial and logistical aspects of the initiative, including paying camp fees, supplying appropriate clothing, providing camp supplies, and coordinating transportation to and from the camp.