MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Lauren’s Wish Fashion Show at the Erickson Alumni Center on Thursday was a sold-out celebration of the little over two years the organization has served as an addiction triage center at Hazel’s House of Hope.
The namesake of the organization, Lauren Cole, had battled addiction for years prior to her fatal fentanyl overdose in July of 2020. The triage center provides a bridge between the time an addict decides to enter treatment and gaining acceptance into a program, which can be an extended period of time due to the depth of the opioid crisis.
Lauren’s Wish Director Lind “Coach” Murray said “addiction triage” is when an addict suffers an overdose or a life-changing situation that forces them to change. Lauren’s Wish gives those people a safe place to receive initial therapy before moving to an inpatient treatment program. Murray said they have a more than 85 percent success rate placing those suffering from substance abuse disorder in programs.
“But it’s always different for every person that’s in addiction,” Murray said. “Most of the time when it hits you, it hits you hard, and then you’ll pick yourself up and start moving forward.”
All of the staff members are also in recovery themselves, so they can relate easily to clients in a compassionate manner. All of the services offered by Lauren’s Wish are completely free of charge.
“We understand addiction, and we understand the passion that we have,” Murray said. “And for the clients, our thing is, what do you want out of your life? If you want something out of your life, then our job is to walk with you; our job is to guide you through this, and that’s what we do.”
Attorney General J.B. McCuskey had a dual role at the event—he served as a model and an ardent supporter of the program. He said the program catches people who might otherwise fall through the cracks of the system and become overdose victims. The lessons learned and data collected are extremely important as the opioid crisis continues.
“It really provides insight, not just to PEIA and state legislators but to states all around us who are looking for the best practices on how to get people better, how to get people back into society, back on the job, back with their family, and living a life they can be proud of,” McCuskey said.
McCuskey also said the program has been eyed by other states and in other areas of our state. Soon, this concept could be deployed in other areas of our state or the country.
“I always spend my time and my efforts with the people from Lauren’s Wish,” McCuskey said. “The people are amazing, the success stories are incredible, and I think it’s a replicable idea.”
Murray said the rewarding part of the program is creating an opportunity for others to succeed and make the most of their lives. Some in the program have been placed in treatment programs and have returned to Lauren’s Wish at Hazel’s House of Hope as an employee, not a client.
“We have hired a couple of people that came through Lauren’s Wish. They came back and are doing so well that we hired them,” Murray said. “That’s the blessing of this whole thing—to watch them grow, succeed in life, and see them step forward.”