In 2011, McDowell, a homeless Bridgeport, CT mom, was arrested and charged with first-degree larceny for enrolling her then 5-year-old son Andrew in a school in neighboring Norwalk. McDowell at the time said she and her son were able to sleep at an apartment in Bridgeport at night, but during the day had to leave, and lived in her van or at shelters. McDowell also had prior drug charges . A police source who worked on McDowell's drug case told Refinery29 once she was picked up for dealing drugs to an undercover officer again after her arrest for the school larceny, she lost a lot of community support. "It was a very unfortunate thing that happened with the education. I'm pretty sure she wasn't the only one who got arrested at that time," he said. "I think she was just dealing drugs to support herself."