MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Soon, Lauren’s Wish will offer addiction triage treatment from Hazel’s House of Hope. Lauren Cole died in July 2020 of fentanyl poisoning and was working toward her Master’s degree in social work at the time of her death.
Lauren’s father, Michael knew Lauren was battling drug addiction and had been clean for a matter of weeks. During a conversation she told her father about the need for treatment services and he agreed to help her establish something to help those battling addiction.
Then weeks later, Lauren obtained heroin laced with fentanyl from a friend and passed away.
“I made a commitment to her and I’m going to follow it through with her guidance, she’ll help us,” Cole said. ” I’m very fortunate to have a great group of friends that are now the directors of Lauren’s Wish.”
Despite the often mentioned May storm that ripped the roof of the building, a dedicated team of professionals have been working to get the facility ready to open.
“We have 28 beds, we have a community counseling room, individual counseling rooms, an exercise room, television room,” Cole said. “We’re staffed now with peer recovery coaches and counselors.”
Cole explain substance abuse addiction disorder is a mental condition and when people are ready for treatment that moment has to be seized. People who are ready to make the step into treatment need access or they will fall into using again.
“It’s a stop gap between being released from the ER and told your long term bed is five to seven days away,” Cole said. ” That’s where we come in, they’re going to come up and stay with us for those five to seven days in a safe environment.”
The two involved with supplying the deadly drug, Benjamin Shreve and Treymayne Johnson have each been sentenced to 15 years in jail for the death of Lauren. Despite the sentences Cole said there are no winners in this case, but he says the passion her short life brought could lead to life saving change for others.
“Probably one of the most dynamic individuals you’d ever meet- very compassionate and caring,” Cole said. “I have to believe it takes someone like Lauren to lose her life to get involved and make a difference in the worst epidemic the nation will ever see.”