Have you looked for her birth certificate? That may answer the first question. Look at census records to see where all of these people were living and what their occupations were. Is this a time of economic distress? Were there other children, did Hellen have siblings? She may have been been born to this couple and then for some reason the couldn't continue taking care of her. Was there an illness or a death. Try newspapers in Spokane during that time period for obituaries, economic information, even listings of births.
Good luck!