On a couple of occasions since a Christmastime fire last year, Tiwan Lewis has found herself and her family homeless.
Born in Still Hospital 41 years ago, Lewis has come and gone from the city.
The Jefferson City native says she struggles sometimes to keep her head above water.
"I grew up on Dulle Street," Lewis said. "It is what it is - coming from poverty. Perseverance."
Her family always told her not to stop. Not to quit.
When she was in third grade, her family moved to Texas. She ended up back in Columbia and graduated from Hickman High School.
"You don't give up. Life happened," the 41-year-old woman said. "I lost my mother seven years ago and my oldest daughter (now 20) got pregnant at an early age."
The mother of four said her children are the most important thing in her life.
She's learned to try to keep them heavily involved in activities - such as athletics.
"I had to regroup after my mother passed away and find a way to be self-sufficient," Lewis said.
It has been almost a year since the home she rented at 312 Case Avenue burned. About 4:50 p.m. Dec. 27, a fire broke out and she called 911. Firefighters responded to the home, where they found flames pouring out a second-story window. Lewis and her two boys, ages 5 and 2 at the time, were out on the street.
The fire was extinguished in a couple of minutes, but the family was displaced.
About the same time as the firefighters, a volunteer from the American Red Cross of Central and Northwest Missouri arrived.
"What happened?" Lewis giggles. "I have been through everything."
The next thing Lewis knew, she had been processed, had a card in her hand (loaded with funds for housing and food) and the family was in a hotel.
As the money ran out, Lewis - on her last $80 - went to Oklahoma to live with her father. She felt like there was nowhere else to go. That didn't work out, and the family returned.
Between the Red Cross and When the Yellow Ribbon Fades, Missouri's Joining Forces - an all-volunteer organization that assists veterans through advocacy, education, navigation of resources and coordination of benefits and financial resources - the U.S. Army Reserve veteran was able to find another home.
"When you've worked all your life and you've made ends meet your whole life, you go into complete shock," Lewis said. "Now that I've had a year to reflect on it, I see that better follow-up or a shelter could have helped."
Boots and High Heels, Samaritan Center, Common Ground Community Building, Solid Rock Family Church and Concord Baptist Church have helped her, she said.
"They went out of their way to help me because of the whole situation," Lewis said. "They were able to help us to get through this."
She got an apartment in May, but was evicted again.
"I've had to start over all over again with the homelessness," she said. "This time, I know how to handle it better. I had never gone through anything like this before. When that house fire happened, it was like a ripple effect."
Her family has slept in a lot of hotel rooms and on a lot of generous people's floors.
Although she continues to struggle to find a permanent home, Lewis said she feels more positive because her (now) 3-year-old son has been accepted to a Presbyterian Church day care. Her other young son is in school. A daughter, 17, is staying with friends.
Lewis has to use the bus system to get around. Changes to routes that went into effect Monday have been helpful, she said.
Also, during the summer - after hurricanes struck the Southeast United States - when the Red Cross held a telethon for victims, Lewis volunteered to answer the phones. She had to take the bus more than an hour each way (with several transfers).
"They helped me," she said. "If I hadn't had that house fire, I wouldn't understand the Red Cross.
"When it comes to disasters, if it wasn't for agencies like the Red Cross, what would people do?"