Cara has lived in Knoxville her whole life but that doesn’t mean she’s stayed put.

Moving from apartment to trailer, to apartment, Cara’s hard working single mother did her best to put a roof over her head and she is thankful for it. But Cara always dreamed of owning a house, a place she could wake up everyday and feel at home with her beautiful daughters.

Cara has always worked hard. Working at a local bank for the past few years of her life she spent long hours, hoping to make her dreams of homeownership a reality. During this time she applied to several different housing programs being turned away repeatedly, she had grown accustomed to hearing the word “no”… But Cara didn’t take “no” for an answer. Her determination and grit has brought her to today, almost a year after moving into her beautiful first home.

Cara was consistent as she diligently worked through the HRP program, relying on her relationship with God to carry her through the ups and downs. Her prayers were answered when she became a homeowner to her beautiful, quiet home with a view of the Great Smoky Mountains. Here she makes her home with her daughters, Amelia and Opal, where they enjoy watching movies together on the couch in the evenings and planting a garden in the sun. Her oldest, Amelia beams with pride over the cherry tomatoes she has grown herself.

Cara tells us that she learned an incredible amount through her process of buying a home with HRP. “Go for your dreams no matter what people say – I heard a LOT of ‘no’s’ and ‘not right nows’…but you have to push through to get to your goals. Never give up.” Today she carries on this mantra and legacy to be passed to her beautiful children as they do life together in their home.