“Ricardo is a walking, talking self-help group,” says ARC’s Sacramento Housing Manager, Tyson Ngyuen.
“Everything he does in life now is to prevent those he works with from going through the suffering he did. His impact in the office is priceless.”
Ricardo London spent 43 years in state prison before coming to ARC seven years ago. After his release at the age of 69, he vowed to help young people in the justice system to build lives beyond incarceration.
“Ever since I met Ricardo, he’s kept his word to help youth in their development to not fall into the same path as him,” says the Director of the Sacramento office, Junior Vargas.
Ricardo regularly goes into juvenile facilities to meet with young people and facilitate groups. He talks to them about choices, consequences, and what it means to imagine a different, better future.
“They want to change, but they don’t want to admit it in front of their peers,” he says. “They think it’s weak.”
Ricardo tells them change is the opposite of weakness. He encourages them to imagine growth through change.
“Changing is about being strong,” he tells them. “It’s about changing your life, doing something better for yourself.”
He knows this because he had to make that choice himself.
Ricardo spent decades involved in a prison gang. Then, during a visit, his young son saw him in restraints for the first time. His son looked at him and asked what had happened.
Ricardo finally told him the truth: he got in trouble because he was in a gang.
His son’s response became a turning point. “Papa, get away from them guys. Do better. Change.”
Ricardo returned to his cell that night and made a decision.
“I’m done. I’m retiring,” he told members of his gang. “I’m not leaving to punk you. I’m leaving to change my life and become something better.”
He eventually left the gang and, after decades behind bars, walked into ARC’s Sacramento office just days after his release.
One young person Ricardo worked with entered juvenile hall deeply involved in gang life. Through their one-on-one conversations, the young man began thinking about change.
“He told me, ‘I would like to change, but I don’t know how,’” Ricardo says.
Ricardo’s answer was simple:
“I’ll help you. ARC will help you. We’ll be there to help you.”
The young man was eventually sent to prison, but Ricardo stayed connected. He sent him a Christmas package and reminded him that people still cared, that ARC was still there for him.
Then, two weeks after the young man was released, Ricardo received a photograph. The young man was holding his newborn baby.
“He’s changed his whole life around,” Ricardo says. “He told me, ‘I’m doing it, OG. I’m making it.’”
That moment, Ricardo says, is what makes the work worth doing.
To him, change is not an abstract idea. It is a young person coming home. It is a father holding his first child. It is someone deciding to help their mother or younger brother. It is a person who once felt trapped beginning to see a future and giving back.
“That’s the enriching part of what we do at ARC,” Ricardo says. “To see someone change their life.”
And now, in Sacramento, and with the support of people like Ricardo, there is a space built to help make those changes possible. A space for support, for community, and for people to find their footing.
