Sunshine Stories

Molly came from “a good family,” she says, and has a supportive lifelong relationship with her loving mother. Yet, she had a lot of anger issues when she was growing up, a problem...

In one of Ricky Austin’s earliest memories, he wakes up in his family’s Baltimore home and sees the adults in his life using illegal narcotics, “shooting drugs in their neck.” “I...

In the darkest days of Vincent LeCompte’s addiction, when family and friends distanced themselves, Prevention Point Philadelphia (PPP) provided him with food, clothing, medical...

Larry Colon was seven years old when he started smoking pot with his family because “they thought it was cute,” the Philadelphia native remembers. Surrounded by encouraging loved...

Cherry was featured in a Sunshine Story back in December 2023 , when she was still searching for a job. Prevention Point Philadelphia (PPP) is now proud to call her a staff member...

By: James Sherman When I first came to Prevention Point Philadelphia (PPP), I had abscesses on both of my wrists. I was hesitant to go to the hospital because of a previous...

When, for the first time, Crystal and her husband have a small apartment of their own, they’re having a big party and everyone from Prevention Point Philadelphia is invited: Dee...

I always tell people Prevention Point saved my life because it did. When Cherry was first living on the streets of Kensington about two years ago, she sought safety in numbers...

During the years he lived unhoused and using drugs on the streets of Kensington, Theo was beaten, robbed, and assaulted. He suffered horrible, life-threatening injuries and...

Portrait by Hilary Swift for The New York Times At her lowest point, Tracey was sleeping on sidewalks. She was a frequent robbery victim, having even her belly button ring stolen...