Wayne County nonprofit founder shares her journey from two decades of addiction to helping others heal
GOLDSBORO, NC — LaVelle Payne knows firsthand the devastating grip of addiction. After battling cocaine dependency for over 20 years, she experienced what she describes as a life-changing spiritual encounter in 2003 that set her on a path toward recovery and, eventually, service to others facing similar struggles.
Today, Payne operates Haven of Love and Restoration, a five-year-old nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting women in recovery throughout Wayne County. Her ultimate goal is ambitious: establishing a residential treatment facility that offers a two-year program focused on addressing the root causes of addiction.
A Journey Through Darkness
Payne’s story begins in Lexington, Virginia, where she graduated high school in 1985. What started as weekend partying quickly escalated into a full-blown cocaine addiction by 1987. “It was just weekends, and it was, you know, maybe two weekends a month, and maybe every weekend a month, and then the next thing you know it was over twenty years,” Payne recalls.
Her addiction took her from Virginia to Washington D.C., Maryland, and New York, where she lived what she describes as a “double lifestyle” — functioning professionally as a bartender while struggling privately with substance abuse. During this period, she made the difficult decision to place a child for adoption in 1992, recognizing she was unable to provide proper care due to her addiction.
The turning point came in 2003 during what Payne describes as a spiritual encounter while in her Washington D.C. apartment. “I had an encounter in 2003. And I, when I say that that taste was taken out… my bathroom was illuminated by what I say was the—with the Holy Spirit, with an encounter of the Lord. And I heard him tell me, no more, it’s over.”
Building a Vision for Recovery
After moving to Wayne County in 2011, Payne began working at Applebee’s for five years. Then in 2016 Payne started working at Wayne UNC Healthcare in health information management. Her position gave her a front-row seat to the area’s growing addiction crisis. “I would see the overdose rates from the social workers coming in, DSS, the parents, law enforcement coming to get records. And I’m like, what is going on here?”
The crisis became personal when she encountered cases involving children affected by their parents’ addiction. “There was a case like that. It was a woman overdosing in the parking lot at Burger King. And just seeing all of these records that people were needing, it just struck me.”
In 2018, Payne had a dream that would shape her future mission: she saw herself sitting in a semicircle with women in front of a white house, some holding Bibles, others appearing “very broken.” Shortly after, during a church prayer meeting, someone mentioned that “someone in here is supposed to open up a home for women in the community.”
Haven of Love and Restoration Takes Shape
With guidance from a mentor and despite having no prior nonprofit experience, Payne established Haven of Love and Restoration. The name reflects her personal story — LaVelle means “cleansed and restored” in Hebrew. Through faith-based fundraising, including an initial Facebook Live campaign that raised $1,400 in three days, she began building the organization.
Over five years, Haven of Love and Restoration has raised over $20,000 through various fundraising efforts, including annual 5K races held behind Wayne UNC Healthcare and online auctions during COVID-19. The organization currently provides support to women in the community, including transportation to treatment facilities and sponsorships for local recovery programs.
A Comprehensive Approach to Healing
Payne’s vision extends beyond traditional treatment models. As a certified natural health coach and wellness practitioner, she emphasizes nutrition’s role in recovery. “I’m huge on eating well, there will be no sugar in the home, sugar feeds the brain just like cocaine,” she explains.
Her planned residential facility would house women aged 18-35 in individual bedrooms for up to two years. The program would focus on addressing underlying trauma — what Payne calls “pulling up the roots” of addiction. “Everything has a root, and until you pull that root up and get to the core of it, you’re just going to use substances—whether it’s people, places, and things—to kind of just cover it up.”
The facility would include life skills training, job placement assistance, financial management, and spiritual guidance. Residents would be expected to work during their stay, with the organization managing their finances to ensure they leave with housing, transportation, and employment secured.
Challenges and Community Support
Despite community support evidenced by consistent fundraising success, Payne has faced obstacles in securing larger funding sources. She was not initially contacted about Wayne County’s $2.5 million opioid settlement funding, learning about it only through a media interview opportunity in 2024 after the 5 overdose deaths in our community. When later offered a chance to apply for grants with short deadlines, her board declined due to time constraints and existing commitments.
“I recently found out that the funds had been distributed in 2025, to other local nonprofits,” Payne says. She continues to pursue independent funding, while in search of other funding. Payne voiced, “I will continue to keep my hopes up.”
Her approach reflects a desire to maintain autonomy over her program’s structure and values. “No one’s going to tell me how to run what God has given me,” she states, preferring to build slowly with like-minded supporters rather than compromise her vision for larger funding sources.
Current Impact and Future Goals
While working toward her residential facility goal, Haven of Love and Restoration actively supports women in the community. Recent examples include providing transportation for women to treatment centers in Burlington and sponsoring women entering local recovery programs after thorough vetting processes.
Payne also works directly with individuals as a peer support supervisor at Cherry Hospital, where she applies her personal experience and training to help others address mental health and addiction issues. She maintains three women currently receiving her natural health coaching in the community.
The organization’s immediate need is a four-bedroom house donation in a safe area of Wayne County. “I need someone to donate me a home. People donate everything else,” Payne explains, noting that her faith-based approach leads her to believe the right property will be provided rather than pursuing traditional real estate purchases.
A Message of Hope
For Payne, Haven of Love and Restoration represents more than addiction treatment — it’s about breaking generational cycles and providing hope. “I want so desperately to help women, in particular, to pull up the root and to break those generational things that are going on.”
Her own son, Jordan, now 20 and serving as an airman, represents the success possible when addiction’s cycle is broken. “I was very honest with him with the things I did and letting him know this may lay dormant in you… don’t go waking up a demon or waking up a giant that you might not be able to control.”
As Haven of Love and Restoration continues building toward its residential treatment goal, Payne remains committed to her community-centered, faith-based approach to recovery. “I believe that people can become healed if they put forth the effort,” she says. “I just want to help a woman not go through 20 years of addiction that I went through.”
Monthly Meetings
Haven of Love & Restoration hosts monthly meetings at the Wayne County Library in the Auditorium. These meetings assist women in substance use, anxiety, depression, stress, along with all underlying issues that women may struggle with. The next meeting will be August 30th at 11am – 1:15pm The following meetings will be September 27th, October 11th, and November 22nd, same times. Transportation can be provided upon contacting 919-396-5331.
Haven of Love and Restoration can be contacted through their website for donations or volunteer opportunities. The organization continues to accept donations toward their goal of establishing Wayne County’s first faith-based residential treatment facility for women in recovery.
