Katie McCollum remembers a time not long ago when she and her husband were doing fine. They had their own place, and she had a good job working for a real estate company.

Then their addiction to drugs took everything away. She lost her job, and her parents took custody of her baby girl. She wound up living in a tent on the beach, and her husband spent some time in jail.

"We ended up getting hooked on drugs and lost everything we had," said McCollum, 22. "We just went downhill."

This year — after her husband entered drug treatment — she decided it was time to turn her life around.

"I realized I wanted my life back," McCollum said. "I decided it wasn't what I wanted to be doing. My family was more important."

Now things are looking up for the couple. They graduated from substance abuse treatment and are living in clean and sober homes. They also got back their 2-year-old daughter, Sadie, and are expecting a baby girl next year.

But finances have been rough. Virtually all of their welfare assistance goes to paying for rent and other necessities. Sometimes they run out of diapers and McCollum has to ask her parents for help. Her daughter is growing out of her clothes, and McCollum can't afford to buy her new outfits.

McCollum said she and her husband want to work so they can get off welfare but that their drug treatment advises them to focus on themselves for a while first. In the meantime they're preparing for new careers. McCollum's husband, 23, is in a culinary arts program at Honolulu Community College, and she plans to begin school to become a medical assistant after she gives birth.

"I'm just thankful to have my family back," McCollum said. "I'm thankful that my daughter's in good health and I get her back in my life. I'm thankful because I'm clean and sober, I'm alive, and I have my family. I have a roof over my head."

Sadie wears a size 3T-4T. McCollum wears a size 12 pants and large shirt/dress, and her husband wears 38 pants and 2X shirts.

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Elsie Burkart & Mike Van Dyken — $1,000

Christ United Methodist Church-English Ministry — $1,000

3-Fold Craftsman Construction Inc. — $300

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The Kims' grandchildren and great-grandchildren — $200

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Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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