Body Painting Women Isurance

The 23-year-old and her mother were evicted from their home last November -- a month after winning the pageant -- and have been homeless since, Colorado's 9News reports. They're staying with a family friend after a series of setbacks, including her mother's heart attack and major surgery that caused financial troubles.

What's more, Griffith, a magna cum laude graduate of the Art Institute of Colorado, will be out of a job next month. She works at Saks Fifth Avenue, and her store is closing. Still, she keeps herself

It was just one month after Blair won the title of 2011 Miss Colorado USA.

A series of life challenges led the Morrison native to her current situation. Now, for the first time, she is ready to share her story.

"I hope that people will see this and realize, 'Wow, she is a real person,' or 'Hey, I didn't think there was someone out there going through something similar as me,'" Griffith said.

Griffith's interest in pageants began with a tragedy.

That desire encouraged her to enter her first pageant, competing for the title of Miss Colorado Teen USA. She won in 2006 on her fourth try.

"I cried because I wish that he could've been there to see it," she said.

Griffith's next challenge came when her mother had a heart attack three years ago. The health scare, which led to major surgery, also took a toll on the family's finances.

"Financially, it became difficult for us. The home that we were in, we became evicted from [it] in November of last year," Griffith, a magna cum laude graduate of the Art Institute of Colorado, said.

She had just been named Miss Colorado USA weeks earlier on Oct. 31.

Griffith says her unfortunate experience has given her a new topic to discuss when she makes appearances at various schools and events.

"[People] are going to look and say. 'OK, if she can be Miss Colorado USA and have all this going on in her life and still be focused on her goals and dreams... then I can too,'" Griffith said.

Another challenge that lots of Coloradans can relate to: losing their jobs. Griffith is experiencing that too. She currently works at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center location of Saks Fifth Avenue, which is closing in March.

"I was telling my mother the other day, 'You know, what would be really shocking? To hear great news,'" she joked. "It seems to happen once a month. Something new is being thrown at me."

Griffith practically welcomes the challenges, figuring they will, eventually, make her a better person.

"I feel like these are all just moments that are teaching me how to be a stronger person," she said.

She gets some of that strength from the appearances she makes as Miss Colorado, driving her own vehicle across the state in her spare time to meet the people who live here.

"I met a little girl who had cancer. And she basically grew up in the hospital. But she was so strong and a fighter," Griffith said. "I look at her and go 'Goodness... I don't have a right to complain.'"

Of fulfilling her duties as Miss Colorado USA 2011, Griffith's difficult situation has given her a new goal.