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Statistics

  • 80% of households in Knoxville’s public housing are single-mother families.
  • There are 12,340 single-mother households in Knox County. (That’s 7% of the total number of households.) 51% of those families with children under the age of 5 live below the poverty line. [Source: 2007 American Community Survey]
  • $39 billion dollars is owed in back child support to 29 million children of single parent women in America. [Source: 2000 National Child Support Report]
  • The Restoration House receives an average of 35 calls per month from single mothers (and other referring agencies) seeking a better life for themselves and their children.

Organizational Overview

 Click here to download a PDF of an Overview of The Restoration House

History of The Restoration House

Click here to download a PDF timeline of The Restoration House's history

For a narrative history click here.

A Day in the Life of a Single Mother

You can view more of the amazing stories of the single mother families of The Restoration House by visiting our YouTube Channel.

The stereotypical view of single mothers often miss the mark. Have your perceptions shattered through this powerful look through the eyes of the single moms, children, mentors, and staff of The Restoration House.

Many single mother's feel like just another number stuck in the cycle of social services.

This video takes you from the voices of the 6,000 single mothers living in poverty throughout Knox County into the story of one single mother who doesn't let her circumstances define her!

 

Quotes from Participating Families

“TRH has taught me all things great come with God’s plan that has already been made for you. But, for you to make the right choices you must be patient and listen. It has given me a new family and with them I know I have the empowerment to accomplish my wildest dreams” - Cortny
"The Resotration House is a new start for me and my familiy." - Mary
“I came to their door with nothing left at all. Now, look at all I have.” - Melissa
“TRH brought my family together” – Daniel
“TRH is like a second family to us. The staff are ones I can trust and look up to.” - Sarah
“TRH has opened my eyes to God and the love He truly has for my son and me. I’d be completely lost without my mentors from TRH. They keep me sane in this crazy thing called Motherhood!” – Schylar
“TRH for us was a hand up, not a hand out.” - Jessica

Quotes from Mentors

“Mentoring has given me a new friend and brother. It has taught me the strength of keeping a positive outlook on life.” - Chad
"Life’s most urgent question – what are you doing for others? When you give nothing you receive nothing. Being a mentor is a learning experience for me…The main thing I’m learning is you are not there to fix their lives but to encourage and support their walk." - Pat
“Being a mentor for Malik has been a wonderful growing experience for us as a family...it has provided our family a enjoyable and rewarding experience at which we can give back and be blessed.” - Randy and Betsy
“I can only imagine what transformations are yet to be revealed. For I am the one who is blessed, as I am able to see the good works of all the people who have reached out to touch one mother's life. And I believe this one life will be a testimony to what is good in the world and touch others through this experience.” - Lucy
“Mentoring ...has been a win-win experience. Even though our relationship is newly forming, I am encouraged each time I am around her. She is pleasant, appreciative and seems eager to learn. She willingly considers suggestions presented for improving her situation and for moving forward with her life.” - Diane

Quotes from Partners

“The Restoration House is THE leader in Knoxville when it comes to understanding how to best strengthen single parent families and work for their betterment. We all look to them for guidance, wisdom, practical advice and hope. First Baptist Concord partners with Restoration House financially for over 20K per year, making them one of our highest paid partners. Why do we do this? Because Restoration House is addressing one of the BIG NEEDS in our city and doing it with RESULTS and in collaboration with the rest of us. We love Restoration House and cannot imagine trying to address the issues related to single parent families without them.”
- Andy Rittenhouse, Pastor of Domestic Missions & Evangelism of First Baptist Concord
“The Restoration House gives single mothers the tools, time, support and mentoring they need to change their lives forever. Their children see their moms grow to be strong, self-sufficient people, living lives full of hope and integrity. Consequently, these children learn a new way of life that breaks the bondage of generational hopelessness and poverty.”
- Eva Pierce, Executive Director of A Hand Up for Women
“Daniel Watson’s own experience growing up with a single mom birthed this incredible ministry called The Restoration House. This ministry reaches out to single moms and surrounds them with services and caring people who can help them literally transform their lives. I really believe that this ministry is the best shot that single moms in our community have for becoming all that God created them to be.”
- Carol McEntyre, Community Minister at First Baptist Knoxville
"From the beginning of their work, The Restoration House has been a ministry that others would do well to emulate. After thoughtful and thorough research they have implemented an approach that is a wonderful combination of effective strategy and incredible heart that really changes lives. I am honored to be a supporter and friend of The Restoration House and its forever impact on the lives of single moms and their children, and I am so thankful that this good work is here in Knoxville."
- Grant Standefer, Executive Director of Compassion Coalition
“The Restoration House ministry in Knoxville has been well thought out and carried out from its inception. They have collaborated well with other ministries and had a clear vision concerning its excellent approach to restoring single mothers to God’s best intentions for their lives. I have seen this repeatedly as both a Nonprofit Management professor and as part of a mentoring team to one of their successful young ladies.”
- Dr. Garry Rollins, Director Management of Nonprofit Organizations program of Johnson University
"The Restoration House is the most strategic organization we have had the honor to work with in a long time.  Their ability to think and operate systematically in assisting single mmothers and their children with support, encouragement and accountability while connecting the families to caring others through mentoring is wonderful!"
- Stanley Tayor, Director of Leadership at Knoxville Leadership Foundation
"It is a privilege for Bridge of Hope National to partner with The Restoration House in the wonderful work they are doing of restoring hope and stability to single mothers and their children in their time of deepest despair. The Restoration House staff bring a strong commitment and deep passion to their work with families and are making a lasting difference in the lives of the women and children they serve."
- Edith Yoder, Executive Director of Bridge of Hope National

Bios of Staff

Daniel Watson, co-founder and Executive Director

I grew up in a single mother home with two siblings. Mom tried the very best with what she had but our family often lacked the support needed to really succeed. As a result life growing up was often chaotic and unstable. At the age of ten I began attending a church in our community on my own and was soon baptized into Christ. But we moved shortly thereafter, and for the next five years I never found myself close enough to a church to attend on my own. After another move when I was 15, I met the McAllister family. Elwood, the father, was a youth minister in town. I began attending the church there and, when things became too damaging at home, I moved in with the McAllisters, who I lived with my senior year of high school.  Upon graduating high school, I attended Johnson University in Knoxville, TN. Shortly after graduating college I married my high school sweetheart, Mandy.  She also attended Johnson University and received her Master’s in Holistic Education and taught eighth grade Bible at CAK for 5 years.  I was soon hired at West Towne Christian Church as the Associate Minister of Outreach where I served for the next seven years. In 2004 and 2005 we adopted two children locally from Knoxville. It was our respective experiences as children of single mothers that prompted the vision for what is now The Restoration House which we founded in 2006. In May of 2010 we brought home our latest child, Silas, from Ethiopia. In 2010 I was honored at one of Knoxville's 40 Under 40 by the Knox News Sentinel Business Journal.  Mandy and I consider ourselves blessed and honored to be a part of what God is doing to restore single mothers and their families through The Restoration House.   

Mandy Watson, co-founder

I grew up in a small community in the New River Valley area of Virginia. Although I was mostly raised by a single mother, my Dad was still active in my life as was my church family. My life growing up is full of wonderful memories of people who believed in me and taught me that anything that I had in mind to do was completely possible. My husband Daniel and I began dating in high school, which eventually led to attending college together. Daniel and I were married the year we graduated college and not long after I completed my Master's Degree in Holistic Education. One of the most treasured experiences of my life was the five years I spent as an 8th grade teacher at Christian Academy of Knoxville. My experience there was a time of great personal growth and strengthening for the time when God would call Daniel and I to begin The Restoration House. While God was stirring in our hearts and preparing us for the birth of TRH, He also called us to adoption. Daniel and I have three adopted children. Atley (7), and Ava (6) are both adopted domestically from the Knoxville area and Silas (2) came home from Ethiopia in May 2010. Adopting children also played a major role in the birth of The Restoration House as Daniel and I experienced first hand the plight of low income single mothers in Knoxville through our journeys with the birthmothers of our children. Today I am a not-so-at-home, stay-at-home mom who is active in the life of The Restoration House as well as my childrens' school classrooms. I am continually impassioned by the work of The Restoration House while also prayerfully seeking out opportunities to help children find their forever homes, whether that be in our home or the home of someone I know. I am in love with this journey and all the opportunities that come with it! I am honored to have been entrusted with this work and all the glory goes to Him who continually, over and over and over again, does immeasurably more than all we have ask or imagine.

Kim Spoon, Family Advocate

Kim Spoon is a licensed clinical social worker and has been with The Restoration House since 2009. She serves as the Chair for the Knox Branch of the TN NASW Chapter and is on the Board of Directors for the TN Commission on Children and Youth where she serves as Treasurer. She is also a member of the TN NASW Legislative Committee and has served for many years as a Field Instructor for the University of Tennessee College of Social Work.

Kim received her Master of Science in Social Work at UT Knoxville and her Bachelors in Social Work from Arkansas State University. She has over 20 years of experience in various areas of social work such as public health, child welfare, refugee rights, HIV/AIDs and mental health. Kim’s real passion is working with the homeless and more specifically, working to prevent homelessness. By all accounts Kim also possesses a penchant for battling bureaucracies at all levels to advocate for the rights and dignity of her clients!

Lori Haskell, Program Coordinator

Lori Haskell is the Program Coordinator for The Restoration House. Her primary responsibilities include recruiting, training, and managing volunteers for various TRH activities including team mentoring. She also serves as the coordinator for all special events for the Restoration House’s participating families. Lori received much of her training and mentoring experience during the 12 years that she and her husband, Jonathan, spent in cross-cultural ministry, including 9 years in the country of Hungary.

Lori graduated from Cedarville University with a degree in English and a minor in Bible. Lori grew up amid Wyoming's Rocky Mountains, but also loves the hills of East Tennessee. She married a Tennessee boy, her college sweetheart, 22 years ago. Their favorite lifetime accomplishments are their three teenagers, Justin, Ethan and Kayla! Lori is passionate about loving these four special people in her life.

Bios of Board Members

Kelli Thompson, Board President

Kelli is an attorney with Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Berkowitz & Caldwell and has generously donated the handling of all legal matters for TRH since its inception. She has also served on the board for The Arthritis Foundation of East Tennessee.

Craig Covert, President Emeritus

Craig serves as the Communications Manager, Alcoa Growth & Market Strategy for Alcoa, Inc. He just completed three years of service as TRH Board President at the end of 2011. Previous board roles for Craig have included Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of ET, Habitat for Humanity of ET and West Towne Christian Church.

Paul Jaeger, Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair

Paul is the Vice President of The Trust Company of Knoxville. He has used his financial management skills to manage the books for TRH and to provide one-on-one financial counseling to mothers in the program.

Jack Bender, Board Development Committee Chair

Formerly the Chief Executive Officer of Knoxville YMCA, Jack is now an independent consultant in his retirement. He brings valuable experience to TRH in the areas of board development and strategic planning.

Carol Reeve, Communications & Fund Development Committee Chair

Carol is a marketing consultant (Girl on the Roof, Inc.) with 17 years of agency, corporate and nonprofit experience. As an adjunct faculty member at Johnson University, she teaches a course in Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations. Carol has served on several nonprofit boards in Knoxville and in the Greater Cincinnati area.

Misty D. Mayes

Misty is the president of Management Solutions, LLC, which has generously underwritten The Restoration House’s annual Restoring Hope Luncheon. Management Solutions is also donating substantial construction management services to the future TRH expansion project. Misty has also served on the board for The Mission of Hope.

John M. Hall

John is the Market President of Bank of America in Knoxville, where he has a 24-year tenure. He has served previous board roles with the Knox Housing Partnership, Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership, Lisa Ross Birth & Women’s Center and Success By Six (a United Way initiative).

Laura O’Connor

Laura serves on the Communications and Fund Development Committee and was integral in the planning of the 2011 Lunafest Knoxville event benefitting The Restoration House. Laura is also an elder at 2nd Presbyterian Church in Knoxville.

Joe F Griffin, II (Jody)

Jody is a dentist at Cornerstone Dental Arts in West Knoxville. Together with his partners, Jody provides free office space for The Restoration House in the Cornerstone Dental Arts Building.  Cornerstone also provides dental services to the moms of The Restoration House.

Nic Naud

As a real estate agent with Realty Executives, Nic is actively using his connections to locate a prime site for the future expansion of The Restoration House.

Russell Biven

A familiar face to many residents of Knoxville, Russell is a co-host on WBIR’s 10News Today and Live at Five at Four. Russell is on the communications and fund development committee and has previously served a board role with The Butterfly Fund.

 

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Watson Family Photo Gallery

Restoration House Families and Mentors

Restoration House Photo Gallery