SUMNER COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — Turning your life around can be difficult, but for one Middle Tennessee woman, the hard work has been worth it. Katie Israel is celebrating after regaining custody of her children and becoming a first-time homeowner.
“It’s still surreal, but it’s a great, good feeling,”Israel said.
“I was going through a rough time in my life and hanging out with the wrong people. My life became unmanageable, and I went to jail. My kids got put into foster care,” Israel said.
Despite feeling hopeless at times, Israel found support through a program called Renewal House, which placed her family in a transitional home.
“I let my kids have the bedrooms, and I literally had my bedroom in the dining room,” she said.
Determined to change her life, Israel worked on her credit and saved money to become a homeowner.
“A lot of times, I thought I wasn’t going to be able to do it. It would’ve been easier to give up, but my kids needed me. I need them, so that’s what I did it for,” Israel said.
Her twins, a boy and a girl, keep her on her toes. She also has a 16-year-old son, who she says is proud of her progress.
“I’ve put him through a lot, and he even tells me, ‘I’m proud of you. Thank you for doing better, and thank you for getting us a house,’” she said.
Finding a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home within Israel’s budget was challenging, but her Realtor, Jessica Tammaro, was up for it.
“We all have hard days, and you look at someone like Katie, who has overcome these obstacles and done the work,” said Tammaro, of JeTy Homes.
Israel is looking forward to building new memories in her home, and especially to having her own room.
“I got my own bathroom,” she said.
She hopes her story will inspire others to not let past mistakes hold them back.
“It’s never going to be easy, but it’s worth it in the end. If I can do it, anyone can do it,” Israel said.
Israel and her family are still gathering furniture for their new home, but they have enough to start out. They plan to move in this weekend.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at aaron.cantrell@newschannel5.com
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
