Story: 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.

Caption: Anthony walks down the Bayview Park hiking trail. Overlooking his city, Anthony is able to clear his mind, he said.

Anthony holds Grandma Shirley’s hand at the City View Post Acute Rehabilitation Center. Years before her seizure, Anthony had assumed the role as Grandma Shirley’s primary caregiver due to mobility issues following a stroke. After returning from school, Anthony cooked for her, bathed her and helped move her from place to place. Once Grandma Shirley had a seizure, it became too hard for him to handle alone.

Anthony looks around at the memorabilia in Grandma Shirley’s room. The weeks after Grandma Shirley was put in the hospital, “it was really hard to walk past her room,” Anthony said.

Red flowering gums line the street outside of Anthony’s home in Hunter Point. For decades, Hunters Point has remained one of the most dangerous places to reside in San Francisco. In the Bayview District, there have been 1,192 crimes reported this year through June 2, ranging from arson and assault to homicide, according to the San Francisco Police Department.

Anthony walks home from a bus stop after spending the day around San Francisco. Three weeks into his summer break, Anthony is looking for a job, but said he’s been struggling to find one because, “no one will hire someone who looks like me.” For now, Anthony passes time spending each day with friends and working part-time for a family friend.

Anthony hangs wetsuits as part of his part-time work for MeWater Foundation while Founder Eddie Donnellan watches close behind. In 2015, Donnellan started MeWater, a Bay Area nonprofit organization that aims to expose youth to nature. That same year, he met Anthony through their programs. In the last decade Donnellan has evolved into the only father figure Anthony has known. “It’s been a journey,” Donnellan said.

Anthony laughs at an Instagram Reel while on the 29 Sunset Bus on the way to hangout with friends at San Francisco State University. At SFSU, Anthony is studying kinesiology in the hopes of becoming a physical therapist. After taking care of his grandmother for so long, he realized he wants to continue to help people. “My dream is to be a physical therapist,” Anthony said. “If I can do that, all will be right in the world.”

Jonathan Ji, Shi Zheng Li and Anthony run to the 29 Sunset Bus to make their way to Ocean Beach during their summer vacation. The three boys met during their freshman year at SFSU through a bible study group. None of them have their licenses and rely heavily on the bus system in San Francisco.

Anthony holds Grandma Shirley’s hand as she falls in and out of sleep at the City View Post Acute Rehabilitation Center. “Just like that,” Grandma Shirley said when talking about Anthony growing up.

Donnellan, or “Mr. Eddie,” leads a surfboard back into the ocean while Anthony falls from the crashes of the waves at Ocean Beach. “I want him to become a statistic, but a positive one,” Donnellan said. “To be able to come from a situation that all the cards were against him and he was able to find success and happiness.”

Anthony sings to “Robbery Part 4” by Tee Grizzley in the Hello Kitty room at K-Time Karaoke in San Francisco. Anthony paid 48 dollars for him and Jonathan to play for an hour. They belted songs from Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey,” Justin Bieber’s “Never Say Never,” to Aladdin’s duet of “A Whole New World.” “That’s the most fun I’ve had,” Anthony said after the hour was up.

Anthony runs to catch a late bus back to Hunters Point after spending the day in Sunset District.