The History of HOPE
November, 2020
When Hope on Girard was founded in November of 2020, the founders could never have imagined it would become the beautiful space of positive energy and love that it is today.
Present Day
Due to the widespread Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 23, 2020, Health Commissioner of the City of Philadelphia, issued a stay-at-home order. For those of us living a lifestyle of Recovery, our fellowship instantly changed as we knew it.
One thing that did not change was alcoholism and drug addiction. The monster of addiction was not scared in the least, it attacked harder than ever. Components to a successful life in recovery are that, when we find freedom through the 12-Steps, it is imperative that we continue to be involved in service and that we stay connected with other recovering people. This new way of the world made this extremely difficult and, in some cases, impossible. Things that were required for our survival and brought us relief and joy had been snatched from us in the blink of an eye.
Except for a few in-person 12-Step meetings being held outdoors, most meetings moved to Zoom, or just stopped all together. It was a sad and difficult time.
By the fall of 2020, Covid vaccinations became available, and people began to navigate this new way of life, where you stayed 6 feet away from everyone, wore a facemask and even surgical gloves in some cases. We were not out of the woods. Our recovery population had been greatly handicapped, and we were ready to regain control. The founders of Hope on Girard saw an opportunity to recover some of what had been taken from us, and so they did.
On November 17, 2020, Phil Stevenson, was offered the use of a storefront property at 126 W. Girard Ave. as a potential extension for his personal Pet Grooming Salon. He contacted his friend Erika Krauss and asked what she thought of maybe using the space to house their current 12-Step homegroup that was having difficulty keeping their space active in Center City, Philadelphia. With some misgiving, but interest, Phil and Erika made a visit to 126 W. Girard.
What they found was deplorable. The space was a Halal Market that had been abandoned for about a year. The shelves were still fully stocked with what had become rodent food. They were able to donate a very small amount of the canned and jarred items that had not expired to another local 12-Step meeting house, but most of the abandoned inventory was trash. The floor was covered with broken glass from the refrigerated cases that still held a few rotten items, “Oh, that’s what that smell is!” was a phrase repeated for quite a while. What is now our beautiful kitchen that promotes a family atmosphere, had no kitchen appliances at all. The room was being used as a temporary bedroom for a person who was evidently still using drugs. They never returned for the few articles of clothing or drug paraphernalia left behind.
The next day, Phil and Erika agreed to go ahead and start taking out some of the trash to see if it would even be possible to safely invite anyone else into the space. As they loaded the car with some salvageable donations, Phil’s phone rang. He received a call informing him that the building in Center City that housed the 12-Step group of which he and Erika were members, would be closing its doors for the third time due to Covid-19. There would be no news on when they would re-open.
That was enough for Phil and Erika to call everyone they knew and who were willing to come to the Fishtown neighborhood space to get the place inhabitable. The crew worked tirelessly through the night and the next day on what then seemed to be a pipe dream, and on November 19th at 11:30pm Hope on Girard held its first 12-Step Meeting. That group continued to meet in the nameless space every night at 11:30pm for the next 5 months.
Magical occurrences immediately started to happen. People were ready to be a part of something again, they were willing to do whatever they needed to do for their personal health to visit the space and support their recovery. Whether it be attending a 12-Step meeting, talking with other people in recovery, sharing a pot of coffee, or listening to some music. A magical energy quickly began to penetrate the space.
Not only were the Co-Founders willing to put some extra work in, but people who entered the space became willing to do the same. Team spirit and determination began to surface. The self-proclaimed members cleaned, started new meetings, purchased literature, installed heating & air conditioning, made repairs, purchased, and donated supplies. They brought their skills, talents, and resources to Hope, all for one reason-so they could get another day sober. It seemed like a Higher Power sent enough people with hope to perfectly match up with those who needed it, and being that the space is positioned on Girard Ave. at Hope St., Hope on Girard began to take on a life of its own.
For over 3 years, our door has opened to more than 3 thousand guests. At present we accommodate 29, 12-Step meetings per week. This does not include our monthly social events, holiday gatherings, road trips, and outreach endeavors. Free time is regularly spent in the space by members and their Sponsors, friends and families, socializing over coffee, making a meal, or enjoying take-out from one of the wonderful neighborhood eateries.
Word has spread that people at Hope care. It is not an uncommon occurrence for someone to walk in the door who has just had enough with this disease of addiction and needs help finding a new way of life. One may routinely find our members at Hope feeding someone who is hungry or calling treatment centers in search of an available bed. We support each other in these tasks. The “We” has returned. We also have become known for a warm welcome of diversity. We are people who normally would not mix, but our Hope family has become a true melting pot. The members of Hope on Girard proudly stand together on the firing line doing all we can to help, support, encourage and walk hand in hand through what feels like the impossible.
The growth in our past 3 years has been remarkable. We intend to continue to grow and move forward in helping our community.
Footnote: Unfortunately, not too many photographs exist documenting the first few days of Hope on Girard. The Founders had no idea this would become anything worth talking about.
