What we actually do, day to day.
No-cost to low-cost housing. On-site meetings and peer support. Strategic partnerships with counseling, therapy, and employer organizations. Open to anyone — regardless of resources, identification, or insurance.
Recovery housing in Kensington.
A bed in a sober-supportive house at 2418 Kensington Ave. Men and women welcome. Coming off the street, out of treatment, or home from incarceration — the door is the same.
- No-cost to low-cost beds. We’ll never turn you away for not having money. If you can contribute, we’ll talk about it.
- No time clock. Stay as long as you’re working the work.
- No ID, no insurance required to enter. We’ll help sort out paperwork once you’re inside.
- House structure. Meals, chores, meetings, curfew. Real-house rules, not institution rules.
Peer support, on-site, every week.
Recovery meetings hosted in our space, run by people who’ve done the work. Open to residents and to the neighborhood.
If you’re not ready for housing yet, the meetings are a door. A lot of people walked into our meetings months before they walked into a bed.
See the full scheduleStrategic partnerships across Philly.
We’re a recovery house, not a clinic. For clinical care, we work with esteemed partner organizations who know our residents and trust our referrals.
Individual counseling
One-on-one sessions with licensed clinicians at partner organizations. We make the warm handoff — you don’t have to navigate it alone.
Group therapy
Trauma-informed group programs through partners who’ve been working in this neighborhood for years.
Medical care
We connect residents with medical care through partner providers. We do not offer or support medication-assisted treatment (MAT). Recovery at First Stop means freedom from all substances — MAT is one of the things we address directly in our interview process.
On-site job opportunities and real references.
A paycheck changes the math. We help residents who are ready for work line up real jobs — not make-work, not stipends pretending to be salaries.
That includes on-site opportunities through our partner organizations and the Pizzaologist umbrella, and warm referrals to employers who hire people coming home — including people with records.
- Resume & ID help. We sort out the paperwork that gets in the way of a first interview.
- Trade & culinary pathways. Connections to vocational programs in construction and pizza-kitchen work.
- Real references. Letters that mean something, from people who watched the work.
If any of this is you, you’re welcome.
Active drug users living on the street
You don’t need to be clean to come in. But as Yoda said — do or do not. There is no try.
Returning from residential treatment
Stepping down from inpatient to a sober living environment.
Coming home from incarceration
A bed and a structure for the first weeks back.
Men and women
We serve both. Separate spaces in the house.
Without ID or insurance
We help with documents after you’re inside. Recovery comes first.
Sent by a referring agency
We work with caseworkers, parole officers, hospitals, and community partners. Submit a referral →
“We extend a warm welcome to individuals, regardless of resources, identification, or insurance.”
— The First Stop Door PolicyWalk in. Or fill out a form.
Either works. In-takes are Mon–Fri 9am–4pm. If you have a referring agency, submit a questionnaire and we’ll call you back.