Kenny doesn’t think he would be alive today if not for Prevention Point Philadelphia, most importantly his case worker.
“If it wasn’t for Amy, I wouldn’t be here in this place. And probably on this earth,” says Kenny, 25. “She helped me out so much.”
Kenny was living on the streets when he first met Prevention Point outreach workers. He had no family to turn to for support. He was living with HIV, but not taking the medications that managed the virus. He’d attempted to end his life by overdose about seven times.
“I felt horrible,” Kenny says. “It’s embarrassing (living like that).”
Then he connected with Amy, who became his case manager. She showed him where he could get food, shelter, and clothing. She encouraged him to take his HIV medication, and, perhaps more importantly, she encouraged him to live.
“She’d tell me, ‘Don’t think about yourself as someone who doesn’t deserve to be here. You do,’” said Kenny, whose HIV is now undetectable. “They’ve made me feel wanted.”
Kenny, who once thought he didn’t deserve to live, now looks forward to getting his own apartment and finding a job.
“Prevention Point helped me through a lot of tough times,” he said. “They’re there if you need them.”