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Montgomery City Council gives $12,500 to Center for Addiction Treatment in local mother's memory

Posted at 12:03 AM, Dec 08, 2016
and last updated 2016-12-08 05:13:55-05

MONTGOMERY, Ohio -- Four weeks after her death of a heroin overdose, Lexis Waterman gave a gift that could help other people who struggle with substance abuse find treatment and hope.

The remaining members of the Waterman family joined hands Wednesday as they sat in the front row at the Montgomery City Council and watched council members award a $12,500 grant to the Center for Addiction Treatment in Lexis's name.

Members of both the Montgomery City Council and the Waterman family said they hoped the gift would help other people who battled addiction find what Lexis, 22-year-old a mother of two sons, could not: recovery.

"Our small piece will hopefully be part of a bigger solution to the puzzle," said City Council member Craig Margolis.

Baylee Waterman, Lexis’s older sister, described Lexis as "the light in my world" and said she hoped the donation would spare other families from the pain she and her relatives have experienced in the weeks since her sister’s death.

To others who grapple with addiction in their families, she said the most important thing to do is to stand by your loved one’s side.

"Don’t stop loving them. Don’t stop caring. Don’t stop trying," she said. "Continue to seek help. It may hurt at times; just remind them every day that you love them."