A lifelong New Kensington resident has been recognized for helping people recover from drug and alcohol addiction. Pittsburgh-based Staunton Farm Foundation announced that VonZell Wade received its Albert B. Craig Jr. Award for this year. He was selected from seven nominees. Wade, a licensed professional counselor, co-founded Lost Dreams Awakening
Falling into a coma didn’t quell Brooke Damore’s craving for heroin. Neither did sitting in jail. “I was doing 10 bags a day at one point,” said Damore, 30, a Leechburg native who attended Kiski Area High School. “I had to learn to walk and talk again after I was
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
An upcoming Back to School Bash in New Kensington will be open to grade school children in need from anywhere. “We’re going to give them a stocked book bag,” said Laurie Johnson-Wade, a founder of Lost Dreams Awakening, one of the event sponsors. “Our theme is: Positioning Them for Success.”
A New Kensington substance use recovery organization 
is participating in a national virtual block party Monday 
celebrating Black History Month. The free event from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Lost Dreams Awakening will include food, music and dance, said Laurie Johnson-Wade, a co-founding director of the organization that specializes