For Dawna Valdez, 50, voting hasn't been on her mind during the past four years. She gained custody of her two grandchildren in 2015 after her daughter became unwell, Valdez explained, but with only supplemental security income and a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, she couldn't afford their rent in a San Francisco apartment. They became homeless and resorted to shelters in the city, including First Friendship, where every day at noon she had to call to reserve a mat for her family. "I was scared ... I didn't want to lose my grandkids. And it was a big trial for me. It was. But I finally did ask for help. And they said, we're not gonna take your grandkids. So it felt a lot better. But the longer we go through homeless, the more you get stressed out," said Valdez, who received help from the city in getting her registered for and eventually a unit in an affordable housing building in the Tenderloin neighborhood. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

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