Billye's Story

They pulled at her heart strings from the very beginning. Twin boys weighing barely four pounds each, born to a drug addicted mom and needing a loving home.

Seven years ago, and at a time when many people would be planning for retirement, the veteran foster mom took the boys in on a temporary basis. She knew that without solid parenting and a stable home, Colby and Casey were at risk for behavioral issues that could ruin their lives.

“I knew that if they put them into someone else’s home they wouldn’t have made it. They would have separated them,” said Billye, a 65 year old widow, mother and grandmother.

So, Billye adopted the twins and moved from her Grant County home to be closer to her adult children in Spokane.

“I have this mother thing. It’s twofold: They need me as much as I need them.”

She purchased a charming but modest home in a Hillyard neighborhood, where the 7-year-old twins enjoy a normal childhood. But feeding two growing boys on a fixed income is challenging. Although Billye is an expert at gardening and canning and freezing produce, food disappears quickly and her Social Security and adoption support only goes so far.

As an agency devoted to fighting hunger and feeding hope, Second Harvest is there to help Billye provide a healthy diet for the youngsters. Billye attends Food Sense nutrition classes at the Northeast Community Center. The budget smart cooking classes, offered in partnership with Washington State University Extension of Spokane County, provide fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy products, along with staples, such as rice and peanut butter, and recipes for inexpensive meals.

The assistance helps Billye balance the family budget and stretch her family’s limited income to pay the mortgage and utilities and purchase medication, clothing and other essential items.

“I’m grateful for everything I get from here.”