TikTok Star Cooper Noriega's Family Creates Foundation in His Honor After His Death

By Daniel S. Levine

TikTok star Cooper Noriega's cause of death was determined on Monday, about six months after his death. Noriega was found dead in a Burbank, California parking lot on June 9, just three weeks before he turned 19. In the months after Noriega's death, his family has been running the Coop's Advice Foundation. They hope to continue his legacy by raising awareness of mental health and addiction, a cause close to Noriega's heart.

"By following the example set by Cooper and his generation – a generation that has shown us the power of social media to create meaningful and lasting impact – Coop's Advice aims to become a leader in the movement to rethink how our society understands and addresses mental health and addiction, especially among the members of GenZ," reads the foundation's mission statement. "The Foundation will continue to pursue Cooper's unique vision through a combination of social and physical mental health experiences, organized community events, and innovative approaches toward using social influence to empower a mental health movement."

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's office determined that Noriega died from a combination of the effects of fentanyl, lorazepam, and alprazolam, reports PEOPLE. Lorazepam is used to treat anxiety, and alprazolam is also known as Xanax. The coroner noted that Noriega's use of another anxiety medication, clonazepam, was a "significant" factor in his death. Noriega's death was ruled an accident.

Noriega's last social media posts focused on his efforts to raise awareness of mental health. In one TikTok video, he told his followers he was creating a Discord server to discuss mental health and invited others to join. In a June 5 Instagram post, he wrote about struggling with addiction since he was 9. He vowed to use his influence as a social media star to "create a space built on spreading awareness and normalizing talking about mental health."

He set a goal to establish his own rehab facility "where people aren't traumatized at the end of their recovery, and where the staff members are trusted people," Noriega wrote. "One of the things I've [learned] while struggling with addiction was that surrounding yourself with negative people will only bring you down." He hoped the Discord server could bring people together in a "safe space" to "vent and help others through tough times."

In the weeks following Noriega's death, his family launched Coop's Advice Foundation to continue his legacy. On Thanksgiving, his family announced scheduled Cooper's Advice Discord sessions throughout 2023 with medical and clinical professionals discussing mental health and addiction. The foundation is also supporting several other mental health and addiction projects, including EndOverdose, Inspiring Children Foundation, NotAlone Challenge, and Make Sure Your Friends Are OK.

"We lost our beautiful 19-year-old Cooper last evening. He was loved by so many and truly the love of Treva's, Parker's, and my life," Noriega's father, Harold Noriega, wrote on Facebook on June 10. "There are no words to express the grief and loss. It's not supposed to be this way. Your child is not supposed to pass before his parents. Cooper has touched so many people. He recently started a chat on Discord which grew to thousands for those to have a safe place to talk about mental health. My boy was a believer and I know he is in the presence of God. Thank you, everyone. I love you all."

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse or addiction, please call the National Drug Helpline at (844) 289-0879.

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