The Homies and the Popz

Here’s a truly delightful, heartwarming story of hope for humanity.

Compton is a city of 100,000 on the south side of Los Angeles. It’s one of the most dangerous places in the US - a world of gangsters, drive-by shootings, homelessness and street kids. And it’s also home to the Compton Cricket Club, aka the Homies and the Popz.

When founder Ted Hayes was first invited to play cricket, he asked “What’s cricket?” Film producer Katy Haber replied “It’s the same as baseball but instead of running around in circles, you run up and down.” Inspired by the experience, Ted Hayes formed a team of homeless men, training in alleyways with rubbish bins as stumps. Later, he took a recruiting drive to local schools and ran cricket workshops. So alien was the sport that one kid told his friends his brother was playing grasshopper!

That was 14 years ago. Now the Homies and the Popz brings together former gangsters, homeless men and street kids who see cricket as a model for a purposeful and law-abiding life. It’s the only all American-born cricket team in the world, playing in the Los Angeles amateur league and exhibition matches. They’ve toured England 3 times, and are currently on their first visit to Australia.

According to Hayes “The aim of playing cricket is to teach people how to respect themselves and respect authority so they stop killing each other.” And the Homies’ mission is to:
1.    Curb the negative effects of gang activities amongst the youth of Compton.
2.    Addressing homelessness in the inner city through the principles of ethics and cricket.
3.    Encourage and promote civility, good and productive citizenship.

But Ted Hayes has even bigger ambitions. “We’d like to go to places of conflict and teach the idea through cricket that we can learn civility. We can disagree and compete to win, but let’s not kill each other. The world is big enough for us all to live in peace and have fun competing while making ourselves better human beings.”

Staying Home, Leaving Violence

Domestic violence is a huge issue in most countries. Australia is no exception. A report from the ABC tells the horrific stories of several women, and describes a new project in the state of New South Wales that is bringing them hope. "Staying Home, Leaving Violence" helps women and their children to stay safely in their homes rather than leave. Women's refuges are still seen as important, but those who go there risk becoming homeless. Workers on the project not only give advice and support, but also survey home security arrangements.  New locks may be fitted to doors and windows, and a lockable safety room organised. And the woman may be given a new mobile/cell phone, or a personal alarm button connected to the local police station. So far, the project seems to be highly successful.

The program is available as an audio download, or text transcript.