The ring of sirens and the red and blue glare is not foreign to Anthony Stepney, 19, of Hunters Point, California.
“I live in the struggle,” he said.
Alone in a home in the Bayview area, Stepney has been without parents for as long as he can remember. His mother was never present in his life and his father died of an asthma attack in prison when Anthony was 6 months old.
His grandmother, Shirley Sowell, raised him. In February, however, Grandma Shirley was placed in the City View Post Acute Rehabilitation Center without hope of returning home, leaving Anthony to navigate Bayview on his own.
Being forced to mature earlier than most, Anthony finds himself at a vital stage of life trying to surpass the confines of his neighborhood.
“I’ve got to grow up and stop doing little boy things,” he said.
