TAMPA, Fla. — A survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting said she has found purpose helping other survivors of mass shootings.
Tiara Parker is the Vice President of VictimsFirst.
VictimsFirst provides a network of support to survivors of mass shootings.
Watch report from Tampa Bay 28 reporter Julie Salomone
"I never thought my life would take this turn. I never thought this was the turn, I was going to take so it feels good to see my work, the work that I'm helping other people with and the work from the team from VictimsFirst. It feels good to be able to see this come to fruition and watch everybody say, wow, this organization helped me," said Parker.
Tampa Bay 28's Julie Salomone sat down with Parker three days after the mass shooting at Pulse in June of 2016.
At the time, Julie worked as a reporter at the ABC affiliate, WFTV.
Parker's cousin, Akyra Murray, was one of the 49 people killed at the nightclub. She was the youngest victim.
Parker, Murray and their friend were vacationing in Orlando from Philadelphia.
The three of them became trapped inside a bathroom stall as the shooter barricaded himself inside the bathroom.
Parker was shot in her left side and also suffered graze wounds. She also witnessed the final exchange of gunfire when law enforcement killed the shooter.
"Looking back at 2016 and then looking at myself now, I'm a completely different person," said Parker.
"I was fighting between being a victim and going through survivor's guilt, trying to be my strong self that I normally am," she said.
Parker said growing up, Akyra would always say, "Turn pain into your gain," and those are words Parker lives by.
"A lot has changed, I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve grown a lot. I’ve come out of a dark space, the trauma, all of those things," she said.
She said one of her greatest achievements was receiving the 21 Leaders for the 21st Century award from Women's eNews.
"I was one of ten recipients total. I was one of the recipients to receive the award and it meant the most to me because it was about my hard work," she said.
"It helps me with my healing process being able to help other people," she said.
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