In a quiet office tucked inside the Southwestern Oklahoma Development Authority (SWODA), DeShawna Smyth spends her days working toward a future that once seemed impossible. She’s not just the coalition coordinator for SWODA’s marijuana and opioid prevention programs—she’s also a mother, a wife, a relentless advocate for public health, and a survivor.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Southwestern Oklahoma State University and is currently pursuing her master’s in Nonprofit Administration from LSU Shreveport. If all goes as planned, she’ll walk the stage this fall.
“I’ll be the first in my family to earn a master’s degree,” DeShawna said. “Most of my family didn’t even graduate high school. My generation was the first to start doing that—and I didn’t even finish in the tradi- tional way. I got my GED. But I got there.”
She smiles when she says it, but there’s a quiet gravity behind her eyes. The woman she is now—confident, articulate, hopeful—is a long way from the girl she once was.
“I drank alcohol for the first time when I was five years old,” she recalled. “My family was playing quarters at a reunion, and they thought it was funny to let me take sips. I was drinking everybody’s drinks. They didn’t realize I was completely drunk until I climbed in my grandpa’s lap and slapped him across the face.”
What followed was a childhood marked by addiction, instability, and pain. By 11, she was smoking cigarettes. By 13, marijuana had become a regular habit. She tried opioids, cocaine, and meth by 14.
“By the time I was 18, I would take anything someone handed me, just to feel something—or to feel nothing. I had been through abuse, trauma… things I don’t even speak about.”
Homeless for a time, bounced between households, and eventually placed in foster care, DeShawna spiraled deeper into addiction. By age 19, she had a full-blown cocaine habit.
But then, everything changed.
“I found out I was going to have a son,” she said. “And that was it. I quit everything. Cold turkey. I stopped drinking, I stopped smoking, I stopped using. I didn’t want my son to ever have to recover from his childhood the way I did.”
That moment became her turning point—her lifeline.
“He became my whole focus. I never thought I’d be a mother, and now, it’s everything to me.”
She doesn’t claim the journey was easy, and she’s candid about the cravings that still come.
“There are days I still wake up and crave,” she admitted. “But I’ve built a life. I’ve found purpose.”
A big part of that purpose is her family. She speaks with deep appreciation about her children and the quiet strength of her husband, Alex Smyth.
“He’s never given up on me,” she said. “I met him right after I decided to get clean, and he’s stood by me for over 18 years. Through everything. The good days and the bad.”
Her voice softens when she talks about the weight of grief she still carries.
“My brother didn’t make it,” she said. “He died by suicide in 2019. My mom passed the same way 11 months later. They couldn’t pull themselves out of it like I did.” She paused. “That’s why I do this. Not everyone has someone to hold on for. I want to be that someone, if I can.”
Today, DeShawna travels western Oklahoma distributing Narcan, medication disposal kits, lockboxes, and fentanyl test strips. She speaks at schools and community events. She builds coalitions. She offers harm-reduction training and prevention services in both formal and informal settings. But above all, she listens—with compassion, without judgment.
“If someone wants to get clean, if they want help, if they just want to talk to someone who’s been there— I’m here,” she said. “They can call me anytime. If I’m not in bed, I’ll answer.”
DeShawna is widely known across Beckham County not only for her public advocacy, but for her transparency, her warmth, and her refusal to give up on others.
“This community saw me at my worst,” she said. “A lot of people here watched me grow up, watched me struggle, watched me fight to come out the other side. And so many of them supported me anyway. That means everything.”
She knows addiction is still stigmatized in many circles, but she’s working to change that.
“Addiction doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, young or old, black or white,” she said. “It just takes. But recovery is possible. I’m living proof.”
HOW TO GET INVOLVED OR GET HELP
If you or someone you love is struggling with substance use—or if you’re interested in volunteering or coalition work—DeShawna Smyth welcomes your call. You can reach her directly at (580) 562-5039 or by email at dsmyth@ swoda.org. SWODA’s main office is located at 420 Sooner Drive in Burns Flat, Oklahoma.
You can also follow De-Shawna on Facebook, where she regularly shares photos from local events, prevention resources, and updates about her outreach work across western Oklahoma.
Upcoming opportunities to connect with DeShawna or access free resources include: - Beckham County Health Department Open House in Sayre on April 17 - Beckham County Community Baby Shower at the Civic Center on April 25 - Free Drug Takeback Day at the Arrowhead Center in Elk City on Friday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Community Unity Day in Cordell, also on April 26 - Caddo County Community Baby Shower in May Community members are also invited to join SWODA’s regional prevention coalition, which meets monthly at Great Plains Regional Medical Center in Elk City. Meetings are free, open to the public, and typically last one hour. In-person and virtual options are available. To join the coalition or receive updates, email DeShawna at [email protected].
“It’s about giving people hope,” she said. “Because if someone like me can turn it around, anyone can.”
