Introduction to WakeUp Carolina’s mission
When 22-year-old Creighton Shipman died of a drug overdose in the summer of 2016, his family made a decision to use their horrific loss to help others. At the time, they had only this promise, but, several months later, his mother, Nanci Shipman, founded WakeUp Carolina, a Mount Pleasant-based organization that’s finding considerable success battling the local opioid epidemic. Through counseling, education and in other ways, they are fighting a crisis that in the first two months of 2025 has seen 168 suspected opioid overdoses in Charleston County, including 19 fatalities, according to the Charleston County Coroner’s Office.
In the past five years, they’ve provided counseling to more than 43,000 individuals and their family members, referred nearly 1,000 to recovery housing and referred 2,800 to recovery services.
Services offered by WakeUp Carolina
WakeUp Carolina offers peer-based support, individual counseling and numerous services to support families, many of which felt alone and confused about what to do, said Family Programming Manager Brenda Nikic. WakeUp Carolina partners with other organizations, including hospitals, and much of the caring and help takes place at Creighton’s House, which, launched in 2018 and named after Shipman’s son, is a community center that provides peer-support services, meetings, training and social functions.
The organization’s services are free to addicts and family members; funding comes from grants and donations, said WakeUp Carolina Business Development Director Dean Stephens. Last fall, second location was opened in Moncks Corner.
The crisis of opioid addiction in South Carolina
Opioid addicts defy a single demographic. They are of all ages and backgrounds, said Stephens, from teenagers to the elderly. Some have previous substance abuse problems, while others become addicted after taking prescriptions for pain management.
A retired teacher, Nikic knows the feeling of loneliness families face; in his late teens and 20s, her son was an opioid addict. During a terrible eight-year ordeal, when they lived in Ohio, it began with other drugs and became meth and heroin, which an opioid. His girlfriend died of an overdose, and he ended up in jail, was homeless and had several serious emergencies.
At 30, he’s been clean for two years and is now a daddy.
That’s why I do what I do. I was alone. I was embarrassed. I was ashamed,” Nikic said, adding that no one should have to feel that way.
To medical experts, opioid abuse is a crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control, from 1999 to 2022 in the United States, deaths due to opioid overdoses increased tenfold, spiking in three separate waves. Seventy-six percent of the 108,000 drug overdose deaths recorded in the U.S. in 2022 were opioid-related, the CDC reports.
The impact of fentanyl on opioid addiction
Fentanyl has been a game changer, Stephens said, and not always in a good way. A terrifying part of it is that users don’t realize how powerful it is, he said. A synthetic opioid, it is 50 times more potent than heroin, Stephens pointed out. Under the supervision of a medical professional, it has a legitimate medical use but is commonly misused, according to an online fact sheet provided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Opioid overdose victims need immediate access to naloxone, a drug that counteracts the overdose by blocking the effects of opiates on the brain. It’s available at drugstores, medical facilities and other locations, and WakeUp Carolina trains medical personnel and others on how to administer it.
Combating an argument that naloxone encourages people to keep abusing, Stephens said, “No. It gives people a chance to breathe again.”
Community partnerships and success stories
Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie praised WakeUp Carolina’s success, noting that those who have overdosed are provided with a referral to the organization by local police officers. This partnership has been in place for the eight years Haynie has been in office.
In 2024, Mount Pleasant saw a 40% decrease in opioid deaths over the year before, something Haynie credits, in part, to the town’s strong partnership with Shipman’s organization.
They have been very successful,” the mayor said, adding that the story behind the organization is inspiring. Shipman, he said, “made beauty out of ashes” by launching WakeUp Carolina after her son’s death.
Stephens said the promise that was made when Creighton died was that “no person, no family should be left behind.”
Stories of hope and recovery
At a fundraising breakfast in 2024, Stephens shared the story of an opioid addict who called Wake UpCarolina the previous week needing help. He had recently overdosed but was now out of naloxone. Stephens asked a team member to take two naloxone kits to the caller’s wife. Nine days later, he was trying hard to stay clean, Stephens said.
Stephens also shared stories of high school students who responded to his talks in schools by admitting they or a family member have a problem.
“There is hope,” Nikic said. “There is hope. If there’s one thing I can say, there is hope.”
Need help? If you or a loved one are struggling with an opioid addiction, or you’d simply like information on the topic, learn more about WakeUp Carolina at wakeupcarolina.org.
By Kevin DeValk
