Harlem-based "Ready, Willing and Able" graduates start new life chapter. How the program helps give them a fresh start
NEW YORK - The Harlem-based program the Doe Fund held a graduation ceremony this week for nearly 100 men who have overcome a variety of challenges through the "Ready, Willing and Able" program.
The men at the Doe Fund are all formerly incarcerated, unhoused or substance dependent. Those ready, willing and able to step into a new chapter are identified through individual conversations with case managers in the city's Department of Homeless Services.
After about a year of living together, earning stipends and developing skills, Men In Blue become custodians, cooks, construction crews and more.
"Ready, Willing and Able" graduates earn an average starting wage of $18.59, which is 24% higher than NYC's minimum wage.
"I might have died"
Jerome Richardson has not worn a cap and gown since graduating high school 25 years ago. This week, that all changed. He now wakes up at 2 a.m. every morning to arrive at the Doe Fund's Harlem facility by 5 a.m. to supervise Men In Blue street crews cleaning the city, serving as an example of success.
"I would have been lost," Richardson said. "Either I would've ended up in the system, in jail or I might have died. And they got all that fentanyl and everything going around."
"To have my own place and still making a difference at the Doe Fund, able to inspire other guys, it's good," said Marc Alston, who works in the Harlem building's kitchen.
Seventy percent of staff at the Doe Fund are graduates of the program, sharing their stories and encouragement with others, something that is needed even more under the current affordable housing crisis.
"What used to take someone two to three months after they secured employment is now taking much, much longer," said Doe Fund president and CEO Jennifer Mitchell.
Still, the program reports about 24% more participants have found permanent homes than last year. The Doe Fund is about to open a new 99-unit building in the Bronx to continue bringing about its own solutions.
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