Profile of Clarence
By Peter Aronson
The Practical Altruism Project
December 10, 2025
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This is a feel-good story at a time when we can’t get enough of them.
It’s a story about a relatively young man who lost his way as the result of a poor economy, depression, physical illness, and lost confidence, a bright future that crumbled into joblessness and homelessness.
However, a decade later, in 2023, this man took a simple yet courageous walk through a door that reversed course. In a beautiful twist of life, he’s now in a position where he’s helping individuals avoid or recover from what he experienced himself.
I wanted to share this story because it’s about a friend of mine who gave me permission to tell it.
I met Clarence (not his real name) almost two years ago when I was introduced to him at Broadway Community, the local homeless shelter/soup kitchen in my neighborhood in New York City, where I am a member of the board of directors.
Broadway Community’s Executive Director Isaac Adlerstein likes to pair an individual guest with a volunteer when he thinks the individual will benefit from a mentor.
I think I’ve learned more from Clarence than he’s learned from me.
Clarence and his family moved to the U.S. from Nigeria in 1987, one of five children to a homemaker and a radiation therapist. Education was emphasized in his family, and Clarence graduated from an elite boarding school in New England and then Skidmore College, graduating in 2001 with a B.A. degree in government. He then began a career working as a paralegal at some of the most prestigious law firms in the country, helping with complex corporate and intellectual property litigation, working with lawyers to make sure briefs were properly prepared and filed on time, among other important organizational tasks. He was considering going to law school.
He made a healthy salary, had a nice one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, felt comfortable in his work and life and was looking towards the future.
Then something happened. The 2008 recession caused law firms to offer lower pay and less benefits. Clarence had gone to a new firm and suddenly, a combination of work stress, new surroundings filled with Ivy League grads and deepening depression caused him to lose confidence.
“I began to notice that I wasn’t welcome in a big firm setting. A lot of these places are very traditional, very upper class, white collar,” he said. “And I don’t know if I would call it a caste system, but there is definitely a hierarchy.”
He felt pressure to succeed in a place where he felt unwanted and unappreciated. He suffered panic attacks. He took a leave of absence, amidst ongoing therapy. He lost his job and health insurance. He began temping for an hourly wage. He had to downsize his housing. His depression got worse. More serious health issues arose.
Life snowballed downward. Temp work did not pan out. His unemployment ran out. He recounts the day he moved to a shelter.
“It was a Saturday, my 37th birthday. In the morning, I finished packing my two bags and a backpack. I had already put the majority of my stuff in storage. There was some leftover furniture of mine, which I was able to leave for a later pickup. I left at some point in the evening to head downtown to the male intake shelter, located at 30th street and First Avenue in Manhattan.
“For some reason or other, I wasn’t scared or even sad. I think I just felt indifferent. When I got to the shelter, I was checked into the ‘system’ with a photo and fingerprints. I was then stuck in this waiting room with some others waiting to get assigned a bed. This is when my brother called to wish me a happy birthday.”
For a year he shuffled between shelters in Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx, sometimes working temp jobs, trying to steer clear of trouble while living 4-5 to a room, sometimes with ex-convicts just released from prison.
“I navigated this by minding my own business and not holding eye contact with anyone,” he said.
In 2018, he may have hit rock bottom when he was fired from a temp job he felt unqualified for. Estranged from his family and without a job, his depression deepened.
He struggled for the next few years, until late summer 2023, when his life changed.
He had just picked up his mother’s mail at the post office on 112th Street, just off Broadway. He was walking by Broadway Presbyterian Church, a few blocks north, when he noticed a line out the door. He recognized it as a soup kitchen, and went inside to inquire about volunteer work.
“Sensing the line, I assumed they needed volunteers. I was already primed to do something,” Clarence said. “I needed some structure to my life.”
It just so happened Broadway Community had recently opened a new computer lab for its guests and they were looking for an additional volunteer to assist the volunteer in charge.
Clarence “displayed genuine interest in the work, and volunteered to come several times a week,” said Adlerstein, Broadway Community’s executive director.
“I knew he was serious about helping others, and I felt a warmth about him that I felt would be a terrific asset.”
Clarence was hired as a part-time volunteer, to assist guests with resume prep, a job search or just learning basic computer skills.
“There was a time when I wasn’t able to even fathom working, because I was so down,” Clarence said in winter 2024. “Now, I’ve kind of been lifted up a little bit and I might be ready, but I’m still hesitant.”
By August 2024, Clarence was ready. He was hired as a part-time paid employee doing the same computer work. In January 2025, he was hired as Broadway Community’s Personal and Professional Development Coordinator, and given expanded responsibilities that include reaching out to local businesses to try to pair their employment needs with the guests at Broadway Community.
Adlerstein explained how he knew Clarence was ready to take on this new responsibility.
He “excelled as a volunteer, helping dozens of people create their resumes and find work. I greatly valued how he brought lived-experience to the table and how down-to-earth he was with everyone that he worked with. He is a very kind, compassionate, patient, and capable person -- all traits that are imperative for his role.”
Success at Broadway Community has given Clarence confidence and motivation in other aspects of his life. His depression is now well managed, he has lost 100 pounds, he feels healthier than he has in a long time and his relationship with his mother, brothers and sisters is fully repaired and as loving as it has ever been.
“My life has taken a whirlwind turn in the past few years, two years to be specific. I started working at Broadway Community’s computer lab as a volunteer. I was then hired part-time to run the computer lab with another co-worker. I assisted our guests with building resumes and applying for jobs on a walk-in basis. I was then given the opportunity to become a full-time employee, which I cherished, because it had been many years since I was employed full-time.
“In my new role, I grew our network excel spreadsheet of partner organizations offering employment with or without training. After two years at Broadway Community, I have been able to teach 30+ basic computer classes to our guests. In addition, I’ve assisted almost 90 guests with resume building, and helped about 40% of those individuals get jobs and/or enter what I refer to as the ‘employment pipeline.’ This means that I have met one on one with a guest and we have paired their resumes with potential employers by reviewing our network excel spreadsheet together. I’m proud to say that this spreadsheet functions in perpetuity, and thus is always growing.
“I’m grateful for my experiences at Broadway Community over the past few years, and I impart on our guests the acronym of G.R.O.W. (Goals, Reality, Options and Will) in our meetings. I also keep in mind where I came from, hitting rock bottom almost a decade ago, to now being gainfully employed. To this reality, I say to myself and others - onward and upward. A big thank you to Broadway Community for all they do in the community.”