Lost Dreams Awakening celebrates growth of space, expansion of services in New Kensington

A New Kensington-based recovery community center is celebrating the expansion and growth of its space and services.

Lost Dreams Awakening more than doubled its space in the building the nonprofit has rented at 408 Eighth St. since its founding in 2014. It also has taken on its first paid employees in eight recovery coaches, supported with a federal grant totaling almost $1 million over three years.

“It’s exciting. I have never worked harder at anything else I’ve ever done,” said Laurie Johnson-Wade, co-founding director of Lost Dreams Awakening with her husband, VonZell Wade. “We can’t fail. It’s not an option. People’s lives depend on it.”

Seeking to help those with substance use disorder, Lost Dreams Awakening serves several hundred people a month from Westmoreland and Allegheny counties. It sees about 1,500 people with more than 10,000 visits a year.

Nicole Carson of Harrison City marked six years in recovery Wednesday. She first walked into Lost Dreams Awakening five and a half years ago to become a volunteer, which she continues to do.

“I was blessed to meet Dr. VonZell and Laurie. From the very beginning, they were mentors to me,” Carson said. “I just needed a place to go that somebody understood me.”

Carson now is a regional outreach manager for DreamLife Recovery in Donegal, which works with Lost Dreams Awakening.

“I used in Westmoreland County, I recovered in Westmoreland County, and now I’m part of the solution in Westmoreland County,” she said.

Carson watched as Wade and Johnson-Wade relied on donations and fundraisers to keep Lost Dreams Awakening afloat.

“They worked so hard and they prayed so hard,” she said. “To see this finally come true is a blessing. It’s an unbelievable blessing, and it’s so needed.”

With the bulk of resources concentrated in Greensburg and Pittsburgh, Johnson-Wade said it’s important their organization, available 24/7, is in New Kensington, near the fringe of both counties.

“We need help, too. That’s why we’re here,” she said. “There’s not too many people that do what we do.

“We’re here every day. We are rooted in the community we serve,” she said. “Our mantra is, ‘How can we help you with your wellness today?’ ”

At its location, Lost Dreams Awakening has moved into space previously occupied by Southwest Behavioral Care. That organization moved into Kensington Square, across Fourth Avenue, after New Kensington Council in May 2021 denied its request to use an office building on Industrial Boulevard for its outpatient mental health and substance abuse counseling services.

Wade said they were in need of more space and had been looking at other locations in New Kensington before the space became available in their building.

Johnson-Wade said they are using the new space for a fitness room, a wellness room, a yoga room, coaches’ offices and lounge, as well as a meditation room. There is also a new reception area.

One room in the added space will house a biosound therapy bed, which Lost Dreams Awakening is getting with the help of a $16,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Westmoreland County. The bed will help to decrease a variety of symptoms, including stress, depression, cravings, fear, anger and racing thoughts.

While such equipment might be familiar to those who live in more affluent areas, the grant will help to expand its availability to more people, Wade said.

“We strive to keep our services free, whether you have insurance or not,” he said.

The recovery coaches are funded with an annual $300,000 grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which Lost Dreams Awakening will receive each year for three years.

“We never had employees up to this point,” Johnson-Wade said. “We were all volunteers.”

Johnson-Wade said the coaches will help people develop recovery plans, with day-to-day living by doing things like taking them to grocery stores and medical appointments and helping them find housing.

Stephanie Taylor of Vandergrift is one of the new recovery coaches. An addict for 15 years, she said she has been clean for a little over three years.

Taylor said she started coming to Lost Dreams Awakening for meetings and stayed as a volunteer. She is working toward becoming a certified recovery specialist, using her own experience to help others.

“I want to show people recovery is possible,” she said. “I’m living proof.”

The growth of the organization is exciting, Taylor said.

“This is going to open the door to a lot of different, new and exciting things regarding recovery as a whole,” she said. “We’re going to be able to impact the lives of many more people.”