The FBI recognized a Northern Virginia woman Tuesday for her tremendous work and dedication to fighting the opioid crisis with compassion and dedication.
More than a decade ago, Katrina King had a corporate job, two beautiful kids and an injury she nursed with opioid prescription pills.
"Then I was up to 40, 50 pills a day of the 80 mg Dilaudids, you name it,” she said. “Heroin when I couldn't get anything else."
Felony drug charges sent her to prison.
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Once she got out, she found a job at a restaurant until two FBI agents showed up asking for her by name. They wanted her to share her story in a documentary.
In the documentary, King shared how her daughter Kirstyn also became addicted to opioids. Kirstyn was recorded slurring her speech as her addiction spiraled out of control.
She died of an overdose just shy of her 21st birthday.
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"I was told while I was in jail," King said.
King felt she had lost her life's purpose.
Now King works with George Mason University's Empowered Community Opioid Project and partners with the FBI's Washington Field Office to help people transition from prison into recovery.
"To be with someone who is another community member, who has dedicated their time, their effort, their love to others who are struggling, it's truly empowering,” FBI Washington Field Office Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg said. “It helps to reset the compass a little bit, brings us back to work every day."
The FBI honored King with the Director's Community Leadership Award.
"You have to have a sense of purpose,” she said. “Without it, you can't get through these types of things. You just can't."
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