Carl Pomfret was born at Kensington Episcopal Hospital and grew up bouncing between the Juniata, Kensington, and Frankford neighborhoods of Philadelphia. His childhood was filled with skateboarding, music, and hardcore shows. “That was our life,” he remembers.
Carl describes his path to opioid addiction as gradual. His parents had stable jobs, and he says he “had an all-right life” growing up. He started with cigarettes, then marijuana and alcohol, before trying heroin at 26. “I tried drugs because of curiosity,” he says. “I got hooked on them because I liked them too damn much.”
His first experience with opioids came after a serious bicycle accident. He was on an errand for his cousin when a bus clipped his handlebars on Aramingo Avenue, sending his face into the bus and then onto the pavement. He lost several teeth. Confused and focused on getting back to his cousin, he left the ambulance before he could be evaluated at the hospital. When he got home, the pain became excruciating. For days, he could barely eat, drink, or sleep.
Carl was living with a longtime friend who used heroin. After five days of unbearable pain, he finally accepted his friend's offer.
“I wanna be outta pain now, please,” Carl remembers saying. “I don't know nothing about heroin. … Don't kill me. That's all I ask.”
The drug took the pain away instantly. “It was a miracle,” Carl says. He stopped after about a week, but eventually started up again after moving in with an aunt and uncle who also used. His use escalated until he was living on the street and doing whatever it took to support his substance use.
Carl was consumed by a cycle of addiction and incarceration. During one unexpectedly long prison sentence, he used the time to reflect on how he had gotten there—and how much he missed his children.
Carl first encountered Prevention Point Philadelphia (PPP) years ago and, over time, began accessing housing and other services through them. He got a bed at PPP’s former low-barrier shelter, where he says having a safe place to sleep while also having the flexibility to come and go made a difference. “It gave you freedom that no other place in the world gave you as an addict,” he says.
A housing coordinator helped him navigate appointments, identification, and other steps toward stability. When Carl was incarcerated, she continued to reach out. “Hey, I'm thinking about you,” she wrote. “If I can do anything for you, reach out.” Carl says he would write back whenever he was in jail, knowing someone on the other side was looking out for him.
Today, Carl lives at Philly Home at Girard and is focused on recovery. “What Philly Home has given me, what Prevention Point has provided me is a safe place to lay my head at night,” he says. “A space to think—and to process the things that I constantly gotta do.”
Carl also volunteers with PPP, assisting with outreach and assembling supplies. “100%,” he says when asked whether volunteering helps him in his recovery. “I just love doing it. I love hanging out with people. I love mingling with people. I love talking to people.”
While discovering purpose in helping others, he is also rebuilding his relationship with his son.
“Prevention Point gave me that hope at first,” Carl says. “And from there I plan on going up, up, up.”
He has applied for Certified Peer Specialist training and hopes to work in street outreach. He also wants to share his love of music and art with others.
“I’m gonna do something, man,” he says.
For Carl, the future is about continuing to move forward. “One day at a time,” he says. “If not one second at a time.”