Born in Bellflower, Calif., and moving over 1,000 miles away from her birthplace, Brandy Hewitt never would have guessed what life would have in store for her. She never would have guessed that she would one day sell and use crystal meth. She never imagined that she would become homeless.

“My life has been a series of ups and downs,” Hewitt said.

For the time being, Brandy and her fiancé Chris reside in Moscow, Idaho, with their five children and a baby girl on the way. Chris, who only makes $100 a month at his job at Wendy’s, is the primary breadwinner in the family. Because of her pregnancy and need to take care of her children, Brandy stays at home on bed rest.

Moving to Troy, Idaho, from California in her teens and graduating high school at the age of 16, Brandy’s life forever changed when she went to a concert in Ohio. On a whim, she decided to stay there for a year and a half. It was there Brandy was caught within the world of drugs.

Brandy met Chris during this time, and they began to do drugs together. Crystal meth was her drug of choice, but over the course of time Brandy and Chris did “everything else” they could. At one point, they lived across the street from an elementary school and were dealing meth.

“I got involved with some bad things,” she said. “I had changed my life, and it got in the way of the people in my life.”

But eventually, Chris was caught with drugs, and that’s when “everything turned around.”

There was a moment of clarity in their lives that Brandy can clearly recall.

“We were homeless living in a tent on a lawn, but it was the best because I was sober,” Brandy said. “I was happy that I was sober. I didn’t have to worry about getting hurt because of drugs.”

When she was younger, Brandy had ambitions of studying psychology and becoming a social worker. She wanted to help those who would become just like her when she was older: the drug-addicted homeless.

Currently, the Hewitt family lives in a long-term but still temporary shelter provided by Sojourner’s Alliance, a nonprofit organization committed to helping the homeless of the Palouse.

Stephen Bonnar, the executive director for Sojourner’s Alliance, and Tanya Salada, the case manager, work to better the lives of the homeless in the Palouse and are directly invested in the lives of the Hewitt family and others in the area.

“As long as there’s a roof over their head and food in their bellies, it’s a good place to start (for these families),” Bonnar said.

Due to being ex-drug addicts and homeless, Brandy and Chris – and many others like them – aren’t always received well. In her experience, Brandy has always been subject to the criticism and judgment of others. 

“It’s people like Stephen and Tanya who are some of those good people out there,” Brandy said.

Other organizations such as the Community Action Center in Pullman and Family Promise of the Palouse in Moscow also provide assistance to the homeless in the area. However, many of these individuals and families don’t always get happy endings.

“(Sojourner’s Alliance’s) success rate is only about 35 percent,” Bonnar said. “About six of every 10 are forced to leave because of drugs and alcohol… it’s the nature of the beast.”

As a part of Sojourner’s Alliance’s program, Brandy and Chris must follow certain criteria. They must participate in meetings with housing management and drug testing, and they must be in an alcohol, drug and violence free environment.

Brandy has been clean for more than seven months, in part because of Sojourner’s Alliance, but also because of her family.

“We want to make a home, especially for our new child, and we have our lives on track,” Brandy said.

Despite her family’s circumstances, Brandy is an advocate for homeless and drug awareness. Small towns are not typically thought of as a place where drug culture would be expected, Brandy said.

“The community has to stop being blind and ignoring what’s happening,” Brandy said.

In her own household, she has been entirely honest with her children about why they live the way they do and why they are homeless. She wants them and others to know what the drug lifestyle can really lead to.

“Make your kids know you are not perfect, not a saint,” Brandy said.

One day, Brandy wants to return to school and receive her degree in psychology. She hopes to make that home for her unborn child. But for now, she just wants the world to know that her past choices don’t define her.

“There are good people out there, despite the choices they’ve made,” she said.