2022 Success Story: Benjamin Arroyo
On April 30th, 2022, we celebrated our 2022 Graduation Ceremony at the iconic Apollo Theater. Benjamin was one of over 200 men we recognized for securing housing, obtaining employment, and earning professional certifications. Read our previous Success Stories here.
“I knew everything but my own ignorance.”
That’s how Benjamin Arroyo describes his youth, or as he calls them, “the turbulent years.” Growing up in poverty in the crime-ridden Harlem of the 70s and 80s exposed him to drug abuse, violence, and crime.
It’s a far cry from the man he is today — one who has broken a vicious cycle that ensnared him for decades.
At 15, Benjamin dropped out of school to sell drugs. The court cases started coming, and though he fled the city, he couldn’t escape the cycle. “I left New York only to do the same thing in Pennsylvania,” Benjamin said. “I did two years for selling drugs. Then I came back to New York, and did the same thing. I couldn’t work since I had warrants, so I got deeper into it. Once you’re there, it’s so hard to get out.”
In 1993, he had been incarcerated at 23. “I received a 435-year sentence with no parole because I was classified as a three-strike offender,” said Benjamin. “I was pretty much dead.”
It was in prison where he realized that, even with no apparent hope of release, Benjamin could still change, grow, and conquer his inner demons.
“I was in a Literacy Intensive Program,” he recalled. “I remember one day I asked my teacher for some information on the universe. My teacher said, ‘Mr. Arroyo, why are you asking questions about the universe when you’re reading at a 5th grade level?’ He said that in front of the class in prison. I felt so ashamed.”
Out of that discomfort came a revelation. “That was my wake up call,” said Benjamin. “I turned my life around, got my GED, and a few trades under my belt.”
Undertaking this difficult, soul-searching work — an “enlightenment and awakening” — as Benjamin calls it, led to opportunity when the parole board of Virginia said he had been mis-classified under the three-strike law. They gave him the opportunity to appeal his ruling and granted him parole eligibility in light of his accomplishments.
After 25 years of incarceration, in 2019 Benjamin was put on parole. He was released at 49 years old and returned to New York.
Back in the city, he learned about a program that could help him, one that had only just begun when he was locked away all those years ago: Ready, Willing & Able. His Parole Officer quickly gave him a referral, and in less than a week, he walked through the doors of our Peter Jay Sharp Center for Opportunity.
Ready, Willing & Able provided everything he was looking for in his journey reentering society: paid work, safe housing, support services, and a community he could rely on to help him. But the most important thing, to Benjamin, was the structure: “When you’re coming out of prison you’re coming out with structure,” he told us. “It helped me finish the program. I came out on top of my game.”
Benjamin continued, “Long story short, I rocked the program — especially the street cleaning. It was a beautiful experience working the routes. So many people encouraged us, giving compliments and free coffee, and thanking us for keeping the city clean. And I was proud to be out there at the beginning of the pandemic, helping us all stay safe.”
Ready, Willing & Able also gave Benjamin another opportunity: the opportunity to start fresh. He voluntarily submitted his fingerprints in order to address anything that was on his record. When his report came back, he saw his two open cases in New York from decades ago.
But the Benjamin in Ready, Willing & Able was a new man, no longer the tortured boy who turned to the streets out of desperation. He took responsibility for his actions, and the next day, he turned himself in. “For one case, the judge dismissed it right there,” he said. “For the other, they had to verify where I was for 26 years — in prison. It took 8 months, because of the delay from the pandemic. But they’ve dismissed that case, too.”
Benjamin continued, triumphantly, “Now everything is behind me. I graduated from the program, and I’m in a good place right now. I built close relationships while I was there.”
Benjamin signed his first lease in 2021, finished the program in 12 months, and now has two jobs: “I work as a home health aide — a caregiver for the elderly. One of my jobs is working full-time with my mom because she stood by me throughout all my years in prison, so this is me giving back.”
He also takes the time to sit down and talk to current trainees. He tells them the same advice that led him to success: “Be patient and trust the process. The program gives you the opportunity to make money, save money, and get some trades under your belt. Focus on yourself and why you’re in the program. The time goes fast and you’ll come out with new opportunities. I ate Ready, Willing & Able up. After 26 years in prison, one year was nothing to me. I’m at peace, and I’m happy. Life is good.”
