Grays Ferry: Priest Offers Faith-Based Alternatives For Recovering Addicts
Father Douglas McKay buries too many bodies. He received a call after mass on an October morning. It was regarding a 52-year-old woman; she passed unexpectedly in her sleep. As a priest in his home parish, not all the bodies McKay blesses pass so peacefully. “My brother Anthony died in a crack house when he was only 30,” McKay […]
Strawberry Mansion: Drug and Alcohol Treatment Facility Helps Build Better Community
Rochelle Amos sat nervously at a desk in a conference room at Stop and Surrender Inc., a substance abuse treatment provider located at 2522 W. Huntingdon St. In a shaky voice, she talked about what she does for the organization. “I’m the administrative coordinator,” Amos said. “I basically am responsible for all data, all paperwork, […]
Fairhill: Efrain Diaz Has a Plan to Take on Drug Addiction
Efrain Diaz had a bad addiction, a heroin addiction. “I lost my family. I lost my wife,” said the 58-year-old. Yet for the past 30 years, Diaz has been helping people overcome their addictions. This one-time addict is now the pastor of Alcance Victoria church. Pastor Diaz was born and raised in Puerto Rico. He […]
Powelton Village: Local Organization Helps Men in Search of Recovery
At first glance, the 3300 block of Powelton Avenue looks to be just another block filled with student housing for nearby Drexel University students. Every house looks almost identical. The first house on the block is different, however. It does not house students. It houses Re-Enter Incorporated. Re-Enter Incorporated is a free-standing, non-hospital, licensed drug […]
Kensington: A Block of Love Along Kensington Avenue
Tucked in the center of a community that has been battling drugs and violence for generations shines a block filled with hope and love. As of March 23 of this year, the Kensington section of Philadelphia falls in the top five neighborhoods with the highest crime activity with 1,250 recorded crimes thus far, as stated […]
Manayunk: Recovering Comic Book Writer Visits Local Book Store
The last thing Louis Pecsi thought he would be doing after a debilitating car accident was writing comics. At the time, he could barely think at all. “I couldn’t remember anything,” Pecsi said, recalling the moment four years ago when he awoke in an ambulance after another driver slammed into his car. He was just […]