One Day at a Time

ODAAT provides recovery services to over 45,000 clients and community members in Philadelphia each year through our; outreach services, daily recovery group meetings, client case management, transitional and emergency housing, youth programming, BMXlife program and numerous special events for the community.

ODAAT also provides reentry services to individuals upon release from incarceration through our ex-offender employment and transitional housing programs.

ODAAT has the highest HIV/AIDS seropositivity rate in the city of Philadelphia. This means that our testing team continually meets the testing goals set forth by Aids Activity Coordinating Office (AACO).

ODAAT's BMXlife program provide bicycle training and educational programming to more than 30 youth in Philadelphia each summer since the program was founded in 2016.

ODAAT also boasts community driven volunteer and internship programs among candidates from various backgrounds. Our intern and volunteer programs promote community involvement and accountability among our staff whether they are peer support, college interns or youth/high school interns. ODAAT provides these opportunities to 10-15 interns each year.

ODAAT hosts numerous annual events in the Philadelphia community each year. Our largest event, Recovery Week, is a week-long social resource fair and event that includes free games and prizes, food, wellness resources, musical performances and more.

Reverend Henry T. Wells founded One Day at a Time in 1983 as a residential peer counseling and substance abuse recovery program. Being of modest means, Henry did whatever was necessary to survive. This included working in the drug trade. He moved to Philadelphia in 1975 to seek refuge with his mother. There he continued to involve himself in the drug trade, where he watched friends and family overdose and often die. Henry realized this was not the life he wanted to live and began desperately trying to get sober.

After moving to his mother's home, Henry met Margaret who lived across the street. He set out to win her heart, continuing to work on his sobriety daily. They married on November 10, 1979.

Through their marriage, Henry was now eligible for health insurance and enrolled in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. Upon completion, Henry was plagued by the reality that many of those that he had met during his rehabilitation had no place to go after completing the program. This increased their chances of relapse. Henry asked Margaret if individuals from the program could come and stay with them during their recovery. Margaret agreed and ODAAT's legacy began.