Ryan Welch has watched Kensington change over nearly five decades. Now 47, Ryan was born and raised in the neighborhood, and remembers it being a close-knit, working-class community. But even back then, drugs were ever-present in his childhood and shaped his life from an early age.
"My whole history started when I was younger, selling drugs," Ryan said. "I used to sell heroin and crack... it was in my family my whole life."
Substance use soon became part of his own story, leading to years of addiction alongside his girlfriend. He had periods of recovery, including nearly six years while living in New Jersey and running his own painting company—“I’ve seen a better side of life,” he says. Ryan’s father was a stone mason, and had instilled in him a strong work ethic. But after a head-on collision with a bus, Ryan relapsed. The long healing process left him isolated, and the $80,000 legal settlement proved impossible to resist.
“I had a safe in my room with money wrapped in rubber bands, and it would talk to me sometimes,” he recalls. “That's what started me up again, being bored. I would dib and dab, and before you know it, I would go to Atlantic City to buy heroin.”
His addiction eventually brought him back to Kensington. After he and his girlfriend lost the room they had been renting last year, they spent nearly a month sleeping outside. Exhausted, Ryan wrote a letter to staff at Prevention Point Philadelphia (PPP), hoping they could find them a safe place to stay.
That letter changed everything.
For the past 15 months, Ryan and his girlfriend have lived at Philly Home at Girard, a low-barrier safe haven operated in partnership with PPP, the City of Philadelphia, Project HOME, and Warren E. Smith. While recovery didn't happen overnight, the stability of having a roof over their heads gave Ryan the chance to rest, address health issues with the PPP medical team, and eventually choose to stop using drugs.
"I just got so tired of it," he said. After detoxing at Jefferson Hospital and beginning treatment with Sublocade, Ryan committed to recovery. "I just know that when you're doing right, right things happen."
Today, Ryan has nearly five months in recovery and a full-time job, and he is saving money. He and his girlfriend are soon moving into their own apartment through the City's Rapid Re-housing program.
"Not waking up sick is such a blessing... if it wasn't for Prevention Point, I would probably be in jail or could be dead."
Medical care at Philly Home at Girard played a critical role in his recovery, Ryan says. PPP's healthcare team continued his monthly Sublocade injections, managed his blood pressure medication after detox, and cured his hepatitis C. His case manager helped him navigate the next steps toward housing.
"The nurses were good to me," Ryan said. "Medical was such a big help."
Today, Ryan finds freedom in the little things. On weekends, he walks to the Museum of Art to exercise—doing pushups outdoors clears his mind and helps him sleep better at night.
"I'm so glad that a cup of coffee wakes me up in the morning," he said. "Not waking up sick is such a blessing... if it wasn't for Prevention Point, I would probably be in jail or could be dead.”
As he and his girlfriend prepare to move into permanent housing, Ryan looks forward to the next chapter of their lives together. He hopes others know that recovery is possible.
"Prevention Point's great," he said. "It's a good place if you want to do right."