GETTING IT DONE

PORTLAND - As the saying goes, there's no place like a home.

Just ask Dinah Lamb, a resident of Portland, Oregon. Thanks to some help from Home Forward, the city's housing authority, and from HUD, she's turning her life around.

"One day while riding the bus going to work," she recalls. "I noticed the HUD Section 8 list open information. I went down there 'to Home Forward' and reached out for help. I didn't know if I was going to get the help I needed but I took a leap of faith. When I received my HUD housing voucher right before my daughter was born, I promise you God heard my prayers and answered them. I was overwhelmed with joy and tears when I got the call back with an approval for my first apartment."

"I gave birth to my daughter a week after moving into my first apartment from the motel. The program [Housing Choice Voucher] showed me that I can dream and meet my goals. The help and support are available to make that happen. HUD wants to see every participant succeed and meet all goals. I've proven it can be done and I'm doing just that today."

Dinah was living in a motel while she was pregnant with her first child. She was working during the day and going to school at night to earn her high school diploma. Eventually, she had to drop out of high school to work a second job because she could no longer afford her motel fees with the income from one job. Before moving into her first apartment, she took a "ready to rent" class offered through the public housing authority. The class assisted her with finding her apartment and all the items necessary to successfully move in.

Dinah has since earned her high school diploma and attended community college. She is now working as Medical Specialist, helping to save lives during the coronavirus global pandemic. Dinah considers her job as an essential worker a blessing. She takes pride in helping others, ensuring patients receive the medical care and advice they need from doctors and nurses. HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Program provides safe, decent and affordable housing in the private market to low-income families, seniors and the disabled.

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