If you or a loved one are dealing with addiction, help is available. Visit richlandrecoverynetwork.com for resources or call the 24 hour helpline at 419-522-HELP.
MANSFIELD — Lauren Miller’s knee bounced nervously as she sat in the pavilion, microphone in hand.
“I’m not passionate about public speaking,” she admitted. “I’m very, very passionate about recovery and restoration.”
Miller shared her story of redemption Monday night at an international overdose awareness day event at Lexington Community Park.
Miller spent years in active addiction, using to cope with the trauma of sexual abuse she endured as a child.
Her turning point came nearly 10 years ago at a faith-based treatment center called Teen Challenge. Miller said she finally surrendered not just her addiction, but the pain she carried.
“I have been sober for almost 10 years,” she said. “I have two beautiful little girls. I teach them their worth. I teach them their value. I teach them who God says they are, regardless of what the world tells them.”
Monday’s event was organized by Stan and Jen Lemon and the Richland County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board. The Lemons founded the event 10 years ago, six months after the death of their son, Nick.
“It was a way for a grieving mother to make a difference and to have some type of purpose in my life,” Jen said. “Never did I think it would become this, but I would like to think that connections have been made and others realize that they’re not alone.”
Pastor Aaron Rose of Fusion Madison said the event has grown from a handful of people in its first year.
“The reason that we gather together here is not just to look at the loss, but to let people know that recovery does happen,” Rose said.
“We’ve seen people get their kids back, get their families back, get their careers back. We’ve seen people get their life back.”
‘Recovery needs community’
Rex Taylor said he began getting “blackout drunk” in high school and using drugs in college. It started as a way to feel OK and forget the pain of his father’s abandonment and his own insecurities.
He cycled through different substances and recovery attempts, eventually reaching a point where it was no longer about getting high.
“It was just not getting sick,” Taylor said.
The birth of his son ultimately prompted Taylor to enter treatment eleven years ago. He’s been clean ever since. He returned to college, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in human services with a focus in addiction.
Today, both he and Miller work at Redemption Recovery, an outpatient treatment center and recovery house operator based in Ontario.
They credited their faith and community support as integral to their recovery.
“Many times I’ve heard people say that when they had almost given up on themselves, they found that God had not given up on them yet,” Rose said.
“Recovery needs community, and we need people who are willing to encourage us, to challenge us, to pray for us, to walk beside of us and sometimes just to simply sit with us when life hurts.”
Miller said recovery is about more than walking away from an addictive substance. The healing comes when people find their identity, belonging, purpose and worth.
It’s a continuous process. Life’s challenges didn’t disappear when she got sober.
“The hardest years that I have had have been in sobriety, because I have to deal with stuff,” she said. “I have to face it. I have to feel it. I have to go through it.”
“I am so grateful for the ability to be able to do that today and not use — to have my heart broken and have my life feel like it’s in shambles — and be okay,” she said.
Richland County lost 17 residents to overdose in 2026
There have been 677 overdose deaths in Richland County since 2010, according to Dr. Joseph Bocka, the medical director at Catalyst Life Services’ withdrawal unit.
The deceased have ranged from 8 to 80 years old at their time of death.
The annual number of lives lost peaked in 2021, with 82 overdose deaths. Two years later, there were 64.
Seventeen Richland County residents died of overdose in 2025. But the true toll may be higher.
“We know that substance use increases suicide rate suicide risk by 600 percent, and since 2010, there have been 300 suicides in Richland County,” Bocka said.
“Since 2023, when I can get the reports on things, more than half (of those who committed suicide) had mind-altering substances in their system.”
Bocka said treatment professionals and law enforcement have to constantly adapt as new substances make their way into the community.
“We’ve seen 14 different types (of fentanyl) in Richland County,” he said. “We’re just getting hit all over the place from all different new things.”
Despite the sobering statistics, Bocka wore a purple t-shirt with the word HOPE to Monday night’s event.
The evening ended with candles and a prayer as attendees called out the names of loved ones in active addiction.
Robby. Neil. Amanda. Alex. Glenn.
“The average successful person in recovery has had five to seven major relapses. That’s a ton of grace,” Bocka said. “Don’t give up.”
