Katie Moses Memorial Donation

UPDATE from the Moses Family:

After a lot of thought and research Joe, Sam, and I have decided that we would like for the recipient of Katie's Go Fund Me memorial fund to be the non-profit organization, North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition (NCHRC).

Quoted from the website, "NCHRC is North Carolina’s only comprehensive harm reduction program. NCHRC engages in grassroots advocacy, resource development, coalition building and direct services for people impacted by drug use, sex work, overdose, immigration status, gender, STIs, HIV and hepatitis. NCHRC also provides resources and support to the law enforcement, public health and provider communities." Here is the link to the website:  www.nchrc.org  and here is the link to a write up of their overdose prevention program in the Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jun/10/north-carolina-harm-reduction-coalition-opioid-overdose?CMP=share_btn_fb - _=_

We are specifically ear-marking the fund to be used in Iredell County by NCHRC's Overdose Prevention Project, which makes Naloxone overdose kits available to lay people and not just EMS or police officers.  Naloxone (brand name "Narcan") blocks and reverses the effects of narcotics in an overdose situation; essentially, it is the antidote to heroin and oxycodone overdoses. NCHRC always provides the Naloxone kits for free.

A heroin overdose robbed our family of our precious Katie. The grief and pain is unbearable at the moment and all we can think about is what if one of the kids who was with her had had a Naloxone kit? What if.

We hope that anyone who is battling heroin will get a kit. We hope that anyone who is the loved one of an addict will get a kit. We hope that the simple act of using something much like an EpiPen will save lives. Period. It's as simple as that. Until these kids and young adults are ready to admit that they need treatment-- until they are READY for it-- they need to be protected against the accidental overdose that is all too common. 

Addiction is a disease. Many people mistakenly believe that it is a moral short-coming and not a disease. As heroin takes more and more people down, I think this way of thinking will end. As more and more people experience first-hand what heroin can do, as more of us who think/thought, "not my kid, he/she would never do that" are hit head-on with IT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYBODY, then, slowly, public perception will change. Believe us; we NEVER SAW THIS IN KATIE'S FUTURE. 

Katie wanted help. She tried. We thought she had won. But since this IS a disease of the brain, and the only current "cure" is for the addicted person to exercise sheer willpower against the open receptors in his or her brain, and because human beings are fallible, she fell down. Naloxone saved her life during the course of her battle-- several times. She tried to beat it, but could not. There are other young people out there who may very well win their personal battles. Their lives matter. Maybe someone who is saved by Naloxone will turn it around and seek help. And maybe they won't fall down. Their parents, siblings, grandparents, relatives, and friends will be grateful that they are still on this earth. That is the hope of this project. That is the hope of this memorial fund.

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Katie Moses died unexpectedly over Memorial Day weekend from complications related to heroin use.

She was only 20 years old.
She leaves behind her parents, Joe and Cathy Gallo Moses, her brother Sam, and family dog friends Kit & Cookie, her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and many other people who loved her.

Kate, Katie, KT, Kathryn Grace, Katy will always be remembered as a bright shining soul to all those who knew her. And to those who hadn't met her because her family spoke so highly of her. She loved her family, her dogs, horses and aspired to become a dentist. It was clear from how people spoke of her that she was funny, smart, and a treasure to be around.

In KT's memory, any contributions to this page will be donated to an appropriate mental health organization in the Mooresville, North Carolina area that deals in preventing heroin use, helping and treating those people already gripped by the addiction, and those families whose lives go through absolute hell because of this drug.

There are so many people under its often inescapable grasp. These are people we all know. They are our family members, friends, loved ones, coworkers. They are the people who we pass in the street every day. They are not just the active users but the families torn apart, who have to deal with what heroin does to their loved ones. Donating to this cause will also help, in part, to erase some of the stigma associated with heroin use and the code of silence that many families endure.

At the moment, we are investigating a few possible organizations. The final choice will be up to Katie's family. As soon as one has been chosen, this page will be updated with that information.

While I am just a friend of Cathy's from high school in Vermont, I have also seen what heroin does to people. It's not pretty. It's very very ugly and disruptive and mind-altering and life changing, pretty much for the worse. And although I have lived in San Francisco for quite some time and seen its effects first hand, heroin use is rampant across the country--not just in big cities but in small towns alike. Your town. My town.

We have to try to make a difference.

Please donate in Katie's memory.

Please feel free to share this post with others - even those who might not have known Katie or her family. Whether we realize it or not, we all are affected by this drug epidemic.

Thank you.