"We have more stability... for my daughter to be able to thrive."
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Dawn Swan, pictured here with her daughter in their home in Beaverton, waited nearly a decade to get a Section 8 housing voucher.
Dawn Swan started drinking not long after she was raped at the age of 12. She eventually turned to drugs and developed an addiction that was "completely out of control." She nearly lost custody of her daughter. But she worked hard to overcome her addiction and find a stable home – requirements by the department of children and family services overseeing her case.
Swan got her daughter back after she secured an apartment in Beaverton with a Section 8 housing voucher. She was on the waiting list for a voucher for nearly a decade.
Swan has been drug-free for about four years. She works as a women's jail recovery mentor. "We have more stability, you know, for my daughter to be able to thrive," she said.