From Rehab To Excellence — A Journey Worth Celebrating

Written in partnership with Vishnu Chaudhari

Tune into a news channel, and one might find stories about a person who made their first billion, a baseball player who hit the final home run, or a soldier who led his battalion to victory against all odds. The recognition received was only done after they achieved something remarkable. But does anyone talk about the journey? Not everyone knows the struggles they had to overcome before they reached that podium of recognition. For Katrinia Frierson, the struggles were quite different.

Katrinia, mostly known as Trina, was six years old when her feeble dad had a stroke. This was the time when her woes began! Unfortunately, her father died due to Congestive Heart Failure, leaving Trina with few memories and a mountain of worries.

She took her father’s alcohol addiction but elevated it with crack and cocaine. This wasn’t enough when she got into an unhealthy relationship and had to raise her children in a toxic environment. In 1994, during a shooting incident, a guy in the neighborhood shot her three times, two to her legs and one in between them. Just a year later, Trina was arrested with drugs and cash, and she was headed to CCA detention center for 18 months. Her life was nothing but a train wreck. She needed a reality check. She got that from her daughter, Kenishea. Just like after any other arrest, her then 9-year-old daughter whom she called while she was in prison.

When asked about the call, she said, “Even though she was a little girl, that was my road dog. There were times I was passed out in the house, and people would come by to buy drugs. And my girl would take my money and my drugs and hide them.” Trina remembers the day as it was yesterday when she made another promise for the 100^th time while in addiction or jail, yet this time was an eye opener for Trina when her daughter responded to the promise that her mother was never able to keep. “The reality hit when she said, ‘Mama, that’s what you say every time you go to jail.’ I felt like she was giving up on me.” Her wake-up call was just the reality check she needed, thus began her recovery process.

After spending most of her life on the streets, years of homelessness, incarceration, and losing custody of her children, she was ready for her redemption. She received the support she needed and was able to pull herself out of the ditch of darkness. But unlike most people, she wanted to make amends for what she did and give back to the community of Nashville, who helped her through her worse. So, she started the recovery empire, Mending Hearts, in West Nashville.

Mending Hearts aims to provide shelter, rehabilitation, and healing to homeless women due to addiction or mental health concerns. Trina nearly single-handedly established Mending Hearts with the help of her ex- partner. Mending Hearts only cared for seven women in a single home when it was first set up. After years of struggles, the facility expanded and now it offers shelter and help to over 5,400 women across 16 homes.

The world is filled with people who have spent their entire lives achieving something great. Perhaps, they did, but only a handful of people returned to give back to the community in a similar fashion. Of all the Mark Zuckerbergs, Rihannas, and Bill Gates, out there, Trina is no less than anyone else. Even while she was in custody, Trina was chosen to speak to the middle-schoolers at the Boys and Girls club about addiction and tell her story about the future of this country. Trina also aspires to help these struggling women differently by providing them with skill development and training. She believes that if these women can hone their skills, they can become better role models to the women of the next generation.

People often ask themselves, “what drives you forward?” Ironically, most successful people also ask themselves this question. They already have fame, fortune, and accomplishments. However, being recognized with just fame will only bring people who don’t think deeper. Trina’s journey and success epitomize her struggles as a young woman and a mother and what motivated her to support those who stand where she once stood. She is a living example of what one can achieve by having a greater purpose. Trina has turned inhabitable dwellings in West Nashville into homes with hope and a future. As time passes, one can only imagine what she is bound to achieve and pray for her well-being, as she continues to transform lives and communities.