CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Princess has a smile that is fit for royalty, but lately, she struggles to wear the crown.
“It’s really depressing,” she shared softly from her Charlotte home Wednesday.
Life hasn’t been the same for the 30-year-old, hard-working woman who once spent all of her free time boxing and hanging out with her friends.
“It was smooth, it was fine,” Princess said, talking about the events Friday and Saturday. She had such a good time that she decided to attend the final night of celebrations on Sunday as well.
“It just took a turn, it did a whole 180,” she said.
Someone in the crowd of hundreds starting shooting.
Cell phone video captures the chaos that ensued, attendees frantically running to escape the sound of the shots.
Princess was one of them.
“I could see my car in the other parking lot,” she said. “I’m like, ‘I can make it to my car.’”
The first bullet tore through Princess’s leg; the second hit her other leg; another pierced her abdomen; a fourth struck her stomach.
“I do believe I could have died,” she said.
Four people did die from gunfire. At least five more were shot but survived.
Princess said she often thinks of them.
“I’ve never met them,” Princess said. “But I know there were others because one rode in the ambulance with me…. I would like to know if they were ok… and how they were.”
Because Princess admits, she knows she is not always ok.
From not being able to stand in the shower, to having to beg doctors for referrals for mental health assistance, Princess said the recovery process has been an uphill battle.
“There is no support, I’m just gonna be honest,” she said.
Princess and her loved ones said they did not receive services from CMPD, victims’ advocates, hospital support staff, or any other people the community looks to for assistance after a traumatic event.
“If it’s not offered, then I don’t know,” she said, comparing her situation to a young child who was hurt for the first time.
“If a kid is hurt and then they’re brought into a house and then they’re cleaned up and there’s Neosporin put on it and then a Band-aid then they’re like ‘oh ok, that’s what’s supposed to happen,” she explained. “Then they understand the next time they get hurt, they’re gonna be like where’s the stuff you put on me the last time?”
For Princess, it opened her eyes that others could feel just as isolated as she did.
“We need to do better with helping each other,” she said. “If we’re not gonna do for each other we can’t expect others to do for us.”
The Compass Project, a local non-profit connected to a holistic beauty and well-being company in Charlotte, is looking to fill that gap in the community.
They are raising money to assist Princess and other survivors like her with both tangible items people need to heal, as well as the intangible help to keep them on the path of healing.
“Any situation that’s dealing with any type of trauma we should all get together and help them get the support they need,” she said.
Because, for Princess, some days survival is enough. But, she adds, in order to become a survivor, you have to know where to start.