The Lauren Marie LeVert Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization • EIN: 85-2963951 • All donations are tax-deductible
OUR STORY
A Story Rooted in Love. Driven by Purpose.
In 2010, we lost someone we love, Lauren Marie LeVert, to schizophrenia.
Long before that loss, we watched the illness take hold and saw how deeply it changed her life and the lives of everyone who loved her.
Her story became the starting point for a larger question: what could be done differently?
1. LAUREN'S STORY
What We Saw. What We Lost.
Long before Lauren’s passing, her family watched schizophrenia take hold of her life. They witnessed the grief she carried as her life changed, the toll of navigating medication after medication, and the parts of her that never fully came back, even with treatment and support.
Lauren’s experience gave her family a firsthand understanding of how difficult schizophrenia can be. The illness does not affect only the person living with it. It affects parents, siblings, loved ones, caregivers, and everyone trying to find a way forward together.
In 2010, the family lost Lauren to schizophrenia. Her loss would remain deeply personal, but over time it also became the reason for asking what could be changed for the families who would face this illness in the future.
2. A FAMILY'S REALITY
We Were Among the Fortunate
In many ways, we were among the fortunate. Our family had the ability to fight, to access care, to give Lauren a safe place to live, and to advocate for her in court, even as an adult. Those are not things we take lightly.
Having those options made a difference. But it also made clear how much harder the journey can be when a family does not have the resources, access, or ability to advocate that we had.
Because the truth is, most families don’t have those options. For many, supporting a loved one with schizophrenia means trying to navigate difficult circumstances with limited answers and limited support.
3. THE REALITY FAMILIES FACE
When Families Are Left Without Options
Many families are left navigating a system that is fragmented, under-resourced, and often too late to intervene in a meaningful way.
For families facing schizophrenia, the challenges can extend far beyond finding treatment. They may be trying to understand a complex illness, access appropriate care, provide a safe place to live, and advocate for a loved one when that person may not be able to advocate for themselves.
Lauren’s story made these realities impossible to ignore. It showed the family not only what schizophrenia can take from a person, but also how much families are asked to carry while trying to help someone they love.
That experience became part of the reason the family began looking beyond what existed and asking what could be built instead.
4. A QUESTION THAT WOULDN'T GO AWAY
What Could Be Done Differently?
In the years following Lauren’s passing, Michael LeVert carried a question that wouldn’t go away: what could be done differently? What could be built that actually changes outcomes?
The question was not simply about accepting the limitations of the existing system. It was about looking for a different path, one that could help create better possibilities for people living with schizophrenia and for the families standing beside them.
Around the 10-year mark, that question turned into action.
What had remained a deeply personal question began to take shape as a commitment to build something with a clear purpose and a long-term focus.
5. THE FOUNDATION IS BORN
From a Question to Action
That is how the Lauren Marie LeVert Foundation to Cure Schizophrenia was born.
The Foundation was created with a straightforward purpose: to find and fund a cure for schizophrenia and, in doing so, bring real relief, stability, and hope to the millions of individuals and families living with this illness every day.
What began with one family’s experience became a commitment to help change what schizophrenia means for the next family. The goal is not to forget the difficulty of what came before, but to use that experience as a reason to keep pushing for better answers, better possibilities, and meaningful progress.
This story is rooted in love. It’s shaped by hard truth. And it’s driven by a clear purpose: to change what this diagnosis means for the next family.
Help Turn Heartbreak Into Hope.
Because we’ve lived it, we know families affected by schizophrenia deserve more than crisis after crisis. More than waiting. More than simply managing symptoms.
The loss of Lauren changed our family forever. But it also gave us a reason to keep searching for something better: better answers, better possibilities, and ultimately, a cure.
Together, we can CURE the CHAOS for millions.
