[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 166 (Wednesday, October 25, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2028]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO ASSEMBLYWOMAN CARMEN ARROYO

                                 ______


                          HON. JOSE E. SERRANO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 25, 1995

  Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Assemblywomen Carmen Arroyo, who was honored for her outstanding 
service to the community on October 6, at the 1995 St. Benedict the 
Moor Neighborhood Center's Dinner Dance, in the South Bronx.
  She is one of eight individuals who were recognized for their 
remarkable success in helping rehabilitate individuals who had been 
struggling with substance abuse. The rehabilitation program is being 
carried out at St. Benedict the Moor Neighborhood Center.
  A native Puerto Rican who holds a Bachelor of Arts from the College 
of New Rochelle, Ms. Arroyo overcame many economic difficulties during 
her youth. She had to fight in a world where women were mostly 
relegated to the home. First, Ms. Arroyo was determined to become a 
bookkeeper, and studied to finish a course leading to secretarial-
bookkeeper certification.
  Her studies were interrupted when she moved to New York and started 
working at a factory. Her seven children joined her a year after, but 
unable to find day care services for them, Ms. Arroyo was forced to 
rely on public assistance. This experience moved Ms. Arroyo to help 
those who, like her, were struggling to improve their lives. She 
founded the South Bronx Action Group, an organization dedicated to 
empower women, Latinos and blacks in the community. Later, suitably 
empowered herself, she became president of the Puerto Rican Women in 
Political Action Organization.
  In 1977, Ms. Arroyo became the executive director of the South Bronx 
Community Corporation, an organization committed to aggressive urban 
development in the South Bronx. As a Puerto Rican woman, she understood 
the need to advance the socioeconomic condition of Hispanic women.
  Ms. Arroyo is the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the New York 
State Assembly and the first Puerto Rican woman appointed to the New 
York State Medical Advisory Board.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the 
Assemblywoman of New York's 74th Assembly District, Carmen Arroyo, for 
her lifelong career and dedication in the service of the poor, the 
disenfranchised, women, children, and the elderly.

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