Considering SCHD

I've been doing a lot of homework on SCHD the past couple months and considering opening a position in it. But i still have a lot of questions if its right for me.

Some context.

I am mid 50's and ten years away from retirement.

I recently sold my home in a HCOL and bought a home for cash in a LCOL city for cash.

I have a health issue that is preventing me from working in the next six months, but I also have to prepare for the fact that I may not be employed for longer than that (I have health insurance for the next year). Because of this I've bought some shares in SPYI and QQQi to generate income to pay bills. I also have a sizable amount of cash in a money market at 4%. This is cash i have available for investments.

Can someone explain how SCHD would be preferrable for my situation over a growth fund like VOO over the next ten years? Diversifying between the two a good idea?

I've also been considering just keeping the money in the MM for now in case there is a crash and then using it as a buying opportunity.

If I were to invest in SCHD I would drip and invest more over time.

Also I've read it best to put SCHD into a Roth. But Roth's are capped at 8k a year. That doesn't seem worth it. I've been maxing out my Roth every year in index funds.

Any advice would be appreciated.