“The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray,” Proverbs 12:26.

Life as DezaRae knew it came to a grinding halt on November 1, 2007 when she was arrested on 101 charges including trafficking in stolen property, identity theft and possession with intent to distribute. What had started almost twenty years earlier as a side business to finance nursing school and buy the extras for her three children had turned into a privileged lifestyle based on a thriving drug business. With her arrest, that all came to an end, and in April 2008, she received a drug offender alternative sentence of 7.5 years – half to be served in prison; the other half under community supervision.

“I might not be alive today if I hadn’t gone to prison,” DezaRae said. “Being there gave me the chance to turn my life around. It opened my eyes. I’m thankful to God every day that I went to prison.”

DezaRae served the last six months of her prison term on work release at the Eleanor Chase House. Her job assignment was at the Union Gospel Mission Thrift Store in the Spokane Valley. She finished her work release term two months ago but continues to work in production at the Thrift Store. She described the support she receives from her job as invaluable – like a safety net. She intentionally chose a clean and sober work environment, as she chose a clean and sober place to live. She wants to be held accountable.

Lisa, her supervisor, went through Eleanor Chase herself. She knows both the challenges and the pitfalls of transitioning back into the community, and she sees it as her life’s mission to come alongside women and men like DezaRae. “This is what God wants me to do,” Lisa said. “It’s my passion – to help them succeed.” She holds DezaRae accountable on the one hand:  knowing the rules herself, she helps DezaRae to walk the straight and narrow. On the other, she accommodates time off for meetings with corrections officials and drug classes; she listens; she prays; she gives rides; she encourages; and perhaps most importantly, she believes in DezaRae, believes she is a new person in Christ.

“That’s the most important thing to me now,” DezaRae said, “who I am today.” At first, she thought about going back to school in the fall, but then she decided to continue working full-time at the thrift store for a little longer. “Right now, it’s not about reaching for bigger things. It’s not about furthering my education. It’s about staying clean and sober. It’s about furthering and healing me.”