"Spiritually bankrupt"
Katrina traces her journey into addiction and chronic homelessness to an early age. “From childhood trauma, then homelessness through teenage years,” she explains. “From … not having the proper trauma therapy, and the proper all-around care.”
Though she held things together for “a couple decades” as an adult, life in Las Vegas wore Katrina down. “I was spiritually bankrupt,” she says. “I just felt empty.”
Katrina wound up homeless for nearly six years. “I was chronically homeless,” she says, “struggling with addiction (gambling, drugs, and alcohol), just trying to get my head above water … I slept in my car, in my friend's driveway with no running water, no AC … ”
Being chronically homeless in Vegas was difficult and draining. “It was so awful,” she recalls. “It was miserable. Especially not being able to use the restroom, take a shower, do laundry. How was I supposed to get a job? If I could find a job, how could I get ready to go to a job? It was a vicious cycle, I tried different shelters, and it didn't work.”
Katrina says her daughter was her motivation to get better. “She was staying at her friend's house while I was trying to get my life together and be able to care for her. It didn't happen.” Her daughter eventually stopped talking to her. At that point, Katrina says, “I didn't have anything to live for really, so I became very suicidal, and ended up in a psych ward (in Seattle).”
Learning a new way
When Katrina left the hospital, she was given a referral to Seattle's Union Gospel Mission's women's recovery program, Hope Place. “I just started crying,” she remembers. “I said, ‘That's all I need.’”
Katrina called Hope Place and was accepted right away. “This is why it's God's plan,” she says. “I got discharged at 9am. At 11am, Hope Place sent an Uber for me. And I came straight here.”
Katrina won’t soon forget her arrival at the Mission. “When I got here, it felt like a huge hug, you know?” she recalls. “And I haven't been hugged in a long time. It was amazing. And it's been amazing. Just the love, support, the spirituality, it's a beautiful feeling.”
During her time at the Mission, Katrina has made tremendous strides. “I've grown in so many areas,” she says. “The recovery spirituality probably is the biggest one for me to overcome and to grow in. That's where I was completely void.”
Today, Katrina has a new life filled with hope. “I have an amazing support group. I have an amazing sponsor, (and) home church,” she says. “I feel content, and I have faith in what the future holds. I'm very excited about it … I've learned a new way.”
