·S1 E24
Healing Through Art at the Homeboy Art Academy with Fabian Debora and Barbara Fant
Episode Description
When Tom Vozzo first walked into Homeboy Industries more than 12 years ago, he was skeptical. “Shouldn’t we be doing work here at ‘Industries’?” he wondered, seeing art classes throughout the building.
In this episode, Tom sits down with Fabian Debora, Executive Director of the Homeboy Art Academy, and Program Manager Barbara Fant to explore how art reaches wounds words cannot and why creativity is central to Homeboy’s model of healing and belonging.
Fabian shares how, as a child hiding from domestic violence, drawing became his refuge, a sanctuary that carried him through addiction, recovery, and ultimately national recognition as a Heritage Fellow with the National Endowment for the Arts. Barbara reflects on losing her mother at fifteen and turning grief into poetry, using verse as both prayer and therapy.
Through the Art Academy, rival youth create side by side, guided by Fabian’s Three R’s: Reconnect, Re-identify, and Reimagine.
Key Takeaways
Art is refuge
As a child, Fabian learned art did not just express him, it held him. Hiding under a coffee table from violence, he found safety and hope. That same refuge is what the Art Academy now offers every young person who enters.
Mentorship restores what shame steals.
When a teacher destroyed Fabian’s artwork, Father Greg Boyle saw him for who he truly was and gave art back. That moment of being seen and reassured that his gift mattered changed everything.
Poetry can be prayer.
At 15, without therapy, Barbara turned sermon notes into poems, using them to grieve, pray, and make sense of losing her mother.
Healing is intentional.
The Art Academy practices a healing-centered approach: circles, reflection, the three R’s, creative exercises aligned with specific aspects of healing, and structured closing reflections.
Identity can evolve.
The young man known for his face tattoo begins with gang writing and gradually discovers artistry, leadership, and gentleness within himself.
In This Episode:
00:00 – Introduction
01:26 – Fabian’s childhood and art as refuge
03:32 – Mentorship and artistic development
05:28 – Barbara’s story: poetry as prayer
11:03 – The Homeboy Art Academy
12:32 – Healing-centered approach and the three R’s
14:25 – Community, safety, and transformation
16:29 – Co-designing the Academy’s modality
18:09 – Stories of transformation: Giselle and Jesus
20:13 – Managing gang dynamics and building kinship
21:55 – Team approach and wraparound services
24:03 – Challenges of the work
27:07 – Resilience and returning youth
28:17 – Fabian’s artistic recognition and advocacy
30:21 – Barbara’s writing and influence of Homeboy
31:52 – Future vision: accredited school of art
32:44 – Graffiti, tagging, and artistic expression
Notable Quotes
“People really do heal through the arts.” — Tom [01:16]
"Art gave me a sense of purpose, existence, and, most importantly, hope." — Fabian [02:08]
“ I started writing as just this way of processing, of talking to God and of prayer.” — Barbara [07:14]
“The toughest part of the job has been the heartbreak.”— Tom [26:23]
Resources and Links
Homeboy Industries
Homeboy Media
Barbara Fant
Fabian Debora
Thomas Vozzo
The Homeboy Way: A Radical Approach to Business and Life: https://www.amazon.com/Homeboy-Way-Radical-Approach-Business/dp/082945456X
Credits:
Hosted by: Tom Vozzo
Produced by: Podify, and Alexa Rousso and Melody Carter of Homeboy Media