In her early twenties, South Philadelphia native and Savage Sisters founder Sarah Laurel worked as a director of sales for a hotel chain, owned a home, had a child, and overall was thriving, writes Patrick Berkery for The Keystone.

However after she began suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, a doctor prescribed an opioid to lessen the pain. That is when her “lifelong sentence” of addiction started.

For the next decade, her addiction robbed Laurel of everything, to the point where she found herself living on the streets.

But she survived, began her journey to recovery, and started to rebuild her life. Laurel put all of her energy into helping others who were fighting their own battles with addiction.

She founded the recovery and outreach program Savage Sisters in 2018. The nonprofit now has nine recovery houses – four for women and five for men – all in her native South Philadelphia. She sees the nonprofit as her true calling.

“The universe delivered it to me and it’s become my divine purpose in life,” she said.

Read more about Sarah Laurel’s inspiring journey from the depths of addiction to her purpose with Savage Sisters on The Keystone.

More about Savage Sisters.