Kensington is a region of Philadelphia that lies about four hours southeast of Port Matilda. If you’ve seen Kensington’s streets today, you may have noticed the stark signs of substance use, economic hardship, and street-level health crises. This reality didn’t happen overnight. Adversity in Kensington is generations in the making. Policy gaps, economic shifts, and social and systemic neglect in Pennsylvania’s residential care have left many without the resources they need to thrive and recover from fentanyl dependence.
Whether or not you’re a Kensington resident, you may be struggling with opioid use and can’t find safety or recovery in your immediate surroundings. Our Port Matilda location offers a treatment option outside a major Pennsylvania city—far enough to find peace yet close enough to stay connected to loved ones. Keep reading to stay informed about treatment options for opioid dependence, fentanyl’s role in the opioid crisis, and how it might affect you.
A History of Kensington, PA
Kensington is a northern neighborhood with deep roots in Philadelphia’s story of hard work, industrial strength, and, more recently, the American opioid crisis. Seeing how Kensington has changed over time might help explain why the area presents challenges and insights into fentanyl’s devastating effects.
Long before factories, the original area of Kensington, now known as Fishtown, was home to indigenous people who lived along the East Coast. When European settlers arrived, they established working communities that would later attract shipbuilders and fishermen. These blended communities went on to help establish a riverside economy that Pennsylvania remembers to this day.
By the 1800s and into the 1900s:
- Kensington and the nearby Fishtown area became centers of American industry.
- Jobs in carpet manufacturing were the primary economic draw for people seeking employment, offering opportunities for working-class families to live near their workplaces.
- People came from Irish, English, German, and Scottish backgrounds, seeking opportunities in a booming economy.
But by the mid-20th century, things began to change. A significant portion of Kensington’s industries began relocating to other regions, and local workers suffered as a result. Many families who had arrived earlier had more time to build wealth and move to other neighborhoods. Those who remained in Kensington may have started to face limited options and fewer resources.
Social services attempted to fill the gap when jobs disappeared, but underfunded schools and a lack of healthcare slowly became the norm. With that, vacant buildings and underutilized infrastructure became increasingly common.
Today, Kensington is one of Philadelphia’s most economically challenged neighborhoods, but it’s also one of the most diverse. In the foreground, long-term residents often face stress from rising housing costs and rapid redevelopment. In the background, the area’s location and abundance of abandoned spaces have guided it toward illegal substance sales and widespread problematic substance use.
How Fentanyl Is Changing the Opioid Crisis in Philadelphia
In recent years, fentanyl has shifted the face of opioid-related deaths in America. Previous views may have held that the crisis centered solely on prescription painkillers or heroin dependence. But now, it may be that the opioid crisis is morphing into an overdose epidemic, with fentanyl being the main culprit.
Here’s how:
- Fentanyl is a lethally potent synthetic substance that often gets mixed with stimulants, like cocaine, without the knowledge of the person using it.
- Contaminated fentanyl has led to a steep increase in lethal overdose cases, many of them involving people who didn’t think they were using opioids and never considered themselves part of the opioid crisis at all.
- Death rates have risen significantly in groups that historically had less access to treatment and harm reduction services.
- People, especially those using substances socially or sporadically, can face similar risks as those with long-term dependence.
- Overdoses have been reported in nearly every part of the city, showing that no neighborhood is immune.
Lately, the city’s public health response has recognized fentanyl’s deadly power. In 2023, city officials emphasized that the issue was no longer just an opioid problem but an overdose problem stemming from an unpredictable, contaminated opioid supply. Not only can you find fentanyl mixed with cocaine or heroin, but it could also appear within an even wider range of substances, making it harder to avoid.
The response so far includes:
- More access to naloxone, a medication that can reverse opioid overdoses.
- Expanded public education around the dangers of fentanyl contamination.
- Increased efforts by health departments and community groups to reach people across all neighborhoods with fentanyl testing tools and wound care services when possible.
Philadelphia’s evolving fentanyl problem shows how innovations in opioid manufacturing and sales can shift a public health emergency into overdrive—and how important it is to meet people with compassion, accurate information, and real, evidence-based treatments.
Philadelphia Residents Can Look Statewide For Help
Just four hours from Philadelphia, we offer a chance to recover in a quieter, more stable environment while staying in-state. Whether you need inpatient care or find value in an intensive outpatient program (IOP) in the Wexford area, there are places you can go in Pennsylvania to get help. We hope St. Joseph Institute can be the place you come to for support and healing. Contact us today to get started.
