April is “Second Chance” Month, and there is no one more fitting to honor as VLJ’s Volunteer of the Month than Nydia Benders, Executive Assistant within the legal, compliance, business ethics and external affairs department at Prudential Financial, Inc. Nydia volunteers with the ReLeSe program, where she provides low-income expungement clients with the second chance they so desperately need and deserve.
Volunteering is at Nydia’s core, starting over 25 years ago when she volunteered with legal staff from Prodigal Sons and Daughters at Essex County College. She taught formerly incarcerated individuals important life skills such as financial literacy and character building. “Some people have been away from their families for 20 years, and they come home to nothing. They need housing, jobs, and driver’s licenses,” explains Nydia. After joining Prudential, a company she says is always giving back, she became involved with VLJ after learning that her colleague volunteers at the tenancy clinic. After hearing more about our work, Nydia immediately asked, “Can only lawyers volunteer?”
The answer, of course, was no, and she has been volunteering with VLJ ever since. Her favorite part of working at the expungement clinics is meeting new people of the same mind who all want to make a difference. She recalls one well-dressed gentleman in his 50s, who had a criminal record from when he was just 20 years old. Unfortunately, he didn’t meet the criteria for expungement, and Nydia and her teammates felt very disappointed. “It felt like the system is not meant to enhance, but designed for failure. He was working, but not making ends meet, and on the brink of becoming homeless, jobless or both.” Nydia is hopeful about the recent expansion to expungement law, like Clean Slate, that will help clients like him, saying, “I’m so happy the laws have changed and people can be an asset, not a liability.”
Not only does Nydia volunteer at the clinics, she helps pave the way for more volunteers. She recently shared her experience with VLJ to over 70 administrative executive assistants, and once they heard the opportunity was not limited to attorneys, they immediately wanted to participate. VLJ is hosting another information session for potential non-attorney volunteers this month, on April 21st from 12 – 1 p.m. To register, please click here.
“I just wanted to say that I really appreciate and honor VLJ for stepping up and helping people of all nationalities, but especially minority communities, because we are so overlooked,” Nydia concludes. “That makes me want to work harder in any capacity to help people get their life back.” Thank you, Nydia for working so hard to make a life-changing impact, and congratulations on this well-earned recognition.