THE FLIGHT to FREEDOM - Katrinia Frierson

nKatrina (Trina) Frierson's story exemplifies redemption. After years of struggling with addiction, Trina experienced life on the streets, periods of homelessness, incarceration, and losing custody of her children. She received the support she needed to establish and maintain her sobriety in order to regain her life. In an effort to pay it forward, Trina felt led to serve women in similar situations. She saw the need for a long-term program that addressed addiction but also offered life-changing support, therapy, and job skills that are crucial to life-long recovery. Trina founded Mending Hearts in 2004. In its infancy, Mending Hearts owned one home and treated seven women. The program has now grown to 15 homes and has served over 5,000 women, becoming a critical resource for treating women in Middle Tennessee. It was essential to Trina to not only help individuals but also to transform her community, and she has played an integral part in revitalizing West Nashville. Trina believes that it is her duty to rebuild a community where she was once part of its demise. Trina has turned inhabitable dwellings into homes filled with hope to bring healing and beautification to her community and the women in it.n