Project Free2Fly celebrates 10th anniversary

By the time she was in her 20s, she had already racked up multiple incarcerations for drug-related offenses, some of them felonies.

“I was a pretty hopeless case,” she said. "A hopeless drug addict … just broken.”

But no longer.

Today, Coats, now in her 30s, is an attorney with the District Attorney’s General Conference in Nashville, where she is a legislative and policy counsel.

Her journey from drug addict to attorney began when she entered Women at the Well's residential program, which assists women in overcoming challenges such as drug and alcohol addictions, depression and helplessness.

Later, Coats continued her recovery by working at Project Free2Fly, an nonprofit organization where women are taught how to sew, producing handmade products such as leather key fobs, handbags, totes, overnight bags, backpacks, jewelry, pillows and other merchandise — all while working with mentors who assist them in setting goals for their future.

The profits are distributed back to the women. They also receive counseling as a "relapse prevention measure," according to Project Free2Fly's website.

When Coats began working at Project Free2Fly while attending Lee University, she said, “She had never sewn a day in my life.”

She still carries a purse she made, which she described as “a little ratty.”

When people suggest she should get a new one, Coats tells them it was one of the first ones she sewed that required the difficult task of assembling a gusset, an additional piece of fabric that expands and adds more space to a handbag.

The learning process was slow and frustrating.

“The bar exam was nothing [in comparison],” Coats quipped.

A volunteer at Project Free2Fly, Joanna, was a patient teacher, spending hours instructing Coats on the procedure.

“I remember trying and trying, and then it would finally be right, and she’d say, ‘OK, now take it all apart and do it again, but better.’” 

When the purse was finished, Coats said she felt relief and pride.

As graduation from Lee University neared, she began considering applying to law school, which elicited surprised remarks.

“You're on felony probation,” she recalled people saying. “You want to get a what?”

Undeterred, Coats moved to the Nashville area, residing in the home of a Mt. Juliet woman, whose daughter was also involved with Women at the Well.

“This lady didn't even know me,” Coats said of Diane Estes. "This lady let me live with her for over a year." 

Before entering Nashville School of Law, Coats worked for state Sen. Mike Bell and state Sen. Ferrell Haile at the Tennessee General Assembly, although she described herself as not really being interested in politics.

“I went there because I needed a letter of recommendation for law school,” she said.

However, she became enamored with the legislative process.

“I thought, ‘This place is great.’”

When she interviewed for a position as a Senate judiciary research analyst, Haile asked her why he should pick her instead of a more qualified candidate with more experience.

“I said, ‘Well, you probably shouldn’t, but if you did, it would be because you can mold me into whatever you want, because I'm teachable,’” Coats told him.

While Haile was doubtful he would hire Coats due to her criminal background, she later learned he changed his mind after divinity intervened.

“His granddaughter told me a year later that he went home and slept on it,” Coats said. “He was not planning on hiring me, but then he woke up in the middle of the night."

His granddaughter later told Coats the Lord told him, “This is the girl you’re going to hire.” 

When Coats wasn't working, she was busy with case and court opinion readings.

“I was terrified that I was going to fail so I probably overstudied,” she said. “That’s probably why I’m still single.”

After graduation, Coats said she was approached by the District Attorneys General Conference, who knew about her work in the Legislature.

Again, her background concerned them. As a result, they convened an executive board meeting where Coats met with 17 prosecutors, “who grilled me like it was my life,” she said.

"But I had an opportunity to share with them what I had accomplished, and I just very honestly looked at them and said, ‘Look, whether you hire me or not, I get it; I totally get it.’”

She got the job anyway.

Although Coats was Project Free2Fly’s special guest during the celebration dinner, she said her achievements were made possible by those at Women at the Well and Project Free2Fly, who had stood by her side as she triumphed over the cycle of addiction.

“It's funny that I'm the one here on the stage, but each one of these women should be here on the stage,” she said. “They always give, and they're always serving. You know, it’s a thankless, thankless job, but you do it, and I thank you.”

However, Coats said Project Free2Fly “is not a place to come and get handouts.”

“You're going to work; you're going to earn it, but they are beside you," Coats said. "They don't just say figure it out — they’ll stay with you and get down into the trenches.”

Haile Johnston, founder and CEO of Project Free2Fly, told the Cleveland Daily Banner that it was humbling to be in the same room with so many who have supported the organization during the past 10 years.

She also thanked the community.

“They really rallied around our organization and said, 'We believe in this dream.'”

She also praised Project Free2Fly’s program participants, many of whom have moved on to leading successful lives.

“We are so proud of them,” she said.

Johnston said her organization stood beside Coats during her eight-year journey from addiction recovery to law school.

“To have such a story like Kati’s that is so inspiring to me and to anybody who hears it; it's just amazing,” Johnston said.

But change doesn’t happen overnight. Instead, Project Free2Fly focuses on the long term. 

“It’s not a quick thing, because life changes take time," Johnston said.