Syed Alam opens his Germantown store Rahman Body Oils, Beads and Variety every morning just as he has for the past 13 years he has owned it.  In some ways, nothing much has changed over the years at the store.  In other ways, everything changed last year.  Alam used to run the store with his son, Fakhur Uddin…. Read More

They come in broken and addicted. Twelve months later, they leave as happy, productive members of society.  Teen Challenge, a faith-based rehabilitation program in Germantown, is providing a place where lives are completely turned around.  But there are no twelve steps to overcoming your addiction here.  In fact, little focus is placed on the addiction at all.  The source of the transformation is God and his Word.  And the men and women making their way through the program give testament that it really does work…. Read More

Feltonville was never a neighborhood in Philadelphia that was well known to many people outside of those who call it home until tragedy struck about two weeks ago.  Now the 4500 block of North Third Street has never received more attention…. Read More

Derrick Ford is the self-proclaimed “mayor” of North Philadelphia and he is known as “Rick” in Strawberry Mansion. Not only does he work for the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health, a funding source for substance abuse treatment, but he is also a licensed therapist and a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department’s “Heads Up” program, where he speaks out on the danger and reality of drugs.

In Hunting Park, a neighborhood known for drugs, police officers Matt Dydak and John Teetz claim the majority of the people involved in these criminal activities actually come from outside of the neighborhood.

“It’s a shame for the people that live here…. Read More

Making quality of life for people in prison easier isn’t exactly at the top of many people’s to-do lists. In fact, it probably wouldn’t even be a consideration to many people.

However, a recent trend among quality-of-life advocates has appeared with the use of art therapy for prison inmates, including people with life sentences to the short-term incarcerated…. Read More

On a spring afternoon in 1992, Sultan Jihad Ahmad got into a fight with two youths close to his age. With a shotgun in their possession, the opposing youth shot 15-year-old Ahmad six times–once in each leg, once in his side, once in his back and a final shot in the back of his head…. Read More

Philadelphia’s 35th Police District is as busy as a police district can get. Covering from Cheltenham Avenue to Wingohocking Street and from Wister Street to Roosevelt Boulevard, it entails the areas of East Oak Lane, parts of West Oak Lane, Logan, Olney and the tip of Feltonville…. Read More

Nine years ago, Michael Hayward knew that the neighborhood around his home at 12th and Wingohocking streets was facing tough times.  The “sinking homes” disaster had caused many responsible homeowners to move out of the area, and the strength of the existing Logan community organization had diminished considerably…. Read More