The executive director of the Fayetteville Housing Authority plans to retire next month after 28 years with the agency. Fredia Sawin began as a receptionist for the housing authority in the 1980s. She then managed the Section 8 program before replacing Bromo Wilson as executive director in 2003.
The housing authority helps provide shelter to poor, disabled and elderly residents. It operates four publicly subsidized housing complexes. Sawin says that by offering low rent to the less fortunate, the authority has provided a much-needed service in the community for more than four decades.
The Northwest Arkansas Times reports that in addition to direct housing, the agency provides rental assistance with federally funded Section 8 vouchers and Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers for more than 600 tenants across Washington County.
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