By Carol Tannenhauser
The smiles were wide, the cheers and chants were loud and clear on Wednesday night in the Assembly Hall of Riverside Church in Morningside Heights.
“Are you ready? Are you willing? Are you able?” a staff member shouted.
The crowd roared in affirmation. They were there to celebrate 84 men who have demonstrated those qualities by completing the nonprofit Doe Fund’s Ready, Willing & Able (RWA) program, class of 2025.
“That means they got a job, they got a place to live, and they’re sober,” said Felippe Vargas, senior vice president of programs for The Doe Fund (TDF). “That’s a big deal when you consider that, less than a year ago, these men were homeless or incarcerated, often struggling with drug addictions.”
The men came to RWA from the streets, from prison, or from other programs, because they heard through the grapevine that it offered them a real opportunity to change their lives. That opportunity came in the form of a transitional job and transitional housing in one of TDF’s safe, clean, and comfortable facilities. (The food is great.) They are drug tested and offered a range of services: case management, computer and other kinds of training, life skills, job preparation, and resume building. They also get help finding permanent employment and housing, and are offered continuing lifetime support.
Countless times, the phrase “Doe Fund for life,” was chanted, sending the message that if you fall on hard times — or want to share the good ones — you can always come back.
“I thought I’d be selling drugs for the rest of my life,” said Andrew Cruz, the graduate speaker. He had heard about RWA when a Doe Fund staff member spoke at another program he was attending. “He touched and moved me, and I asked him how he got where he was at? He said Ready, Willing & Able, and I said, okay I’m gonna come.”
“The door opened up a little bit and I knew I’d bust my way through,” Cruz said. And he did.
Like all new trainees, he “pushed the bucket” first. Wearing the familiar bright, blue uniform, he swept streets and sidewalks throughout the city, including on the Upper West Side, depositing trash in a big blue bucket on wheels, then bagging it and placing it next to city trash baskets to be picked up by sanitation.
“Sweeping the streets was good,” Cruz told West Side Rag. “It showed me responsibility, showed me how to get up every day for a job, do something, accomplish something, you know?” For his work, he earned minimum wage and opened a bank account. “It’s much better than prison,” he said. “I used to get paid $1.50 a day for, like, 10 years. And I knew the bucket was only gonna be for a few months. It was just a stepping stone to get where I wanted to go.”
After work, Cruz took a course offered by The Doe Fund and became licensed as a recovery coach. He now works as a peer counselor for a small outpatient program and said, “I love it and am really happy. I help a lot of people. I find them jobs and help them get off of drugs. ”
To add to his happiness, Cruz fell in love while he was in the program and married Diana Perez, who sat with him at the graduation. “I feel very proud of him, very, very proud of him,” she said.
A highlight of the evening was a speech by City Councilmember Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated Central Park Five, wrongly accused and convicted of raping a jogger in Central Park in 1989.
Here is an excerpt:
“It’s never a dull moment to be in front of folk who some of us have been way down, but we got back up. We said, stumbling is not falling, and falling doesn’t mean that I’m out. And like Les Brown said to me, I tell people all the time, when you fall in life, try to land on your back, because if you can look up, you can get up.
And while challenges may lie ahead, remember that today’s achievement is a powerful reminder of your capabilities. You, in fact, exemplify that transformation is attainable when access and opportunity are provided with respect and with empowerment.”
Learn more about The Doe Fund — HERE.
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Wonderful. I can never understand why DHS doesn’t follow their model of housing connected to recovery and training for job placement? But perhaps DHS isn’t in the business of graduating their clients to self sufficiency? Why its call Dept of Homeless Services.
Big round of applause to these 84 graduates!
Wonderful article, Carol. It’s a great organization.
Bravo!
Stop and thank them for their work when you see them on Columbus Avenue.
Terrific! Hooray for these wonderful men and women!
What an amazing organization and amazing accomplishment for these 84 graduates!
Congratulations to the graduates!
It’s worth clicking the link at the end of Carol’s excellent article and reading the organization’s annual report, including the financials.
A solid model for rebuilding lives.
I love a success story like this, here’s 84 souls who won’t have to live in misery anymore.
Congrats to the graduates, congrats to the Doe Fund. Well done!
These people are amazing. It takes courage and willpower to want to change your life and they did it every day. Nothing makes me happier than to say hello to these great men of the RWA and also the Goddard Green sweepers’ men & women. during the day. They are working to get their lives better and I wish so many more would follow their lead. I am so happy for them and wish them the best life ever.
What an inspiration! Congratulations to these folks. I can only imagine the struggles they went through to break free from addiction. I’ve seen people in my own life try and try and fail only to try again. Again, what an inspiration.