Park Morton has been slated for redevelopment for now 13 years since 2007. The District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) has now decided to start pushing residents from the site to gentrify the community when there are working families on this site. The Resident Council President, Shonta' High sent a letter to HUD asking for the chance to avail ourselves for an opportunity to purchase & develop our property ourselves & were ignored by HUD at which time DCHA rushed their Demo/Dispo Application so that they can begin to voucher families off the property as swiftly as possible. The solution I presented was the Park Morton Equity Plan (PMEP). DCHA ignored that plan too! I gave them a viable working plan that would give residents homes, jobs, & even create opportunities for entrepreneurship, but DCHA ignored that as well. They are now using parts of the PMEP to benefit certain programs for the Southwest Family Enhancement Center & their Envision Center that does not help Park Morton Residents at this time as DCHA stopped Ms. High from having these exact same programs that were included in her equity plan at Park Morton to assist her residents in bettering themselves & preparing for this redevelopment.

As for myself, I've fought for, cried for, bled for, cared for, lost sleep for, & literally died for & healed in this community. I've lived here 19 years & I'm raising 2 daughters. My oldest daughter who has come through the trenches of this place when it was the worst of the worst, yet she is shining like a diamond. She was age 12 when she traveled with People to People Student Ambassadors, she graduated middle school as Salutatorian, she graduated High School as class Historian & at the top of her class, she received 18 college offers, 10 automatic Acceptances, 7/10 were HBCU's, all 18 of them with Full-Ride Scholarship offers, & now she is finishing her Sophomore year of college at a school of Science & Tech studying Forensic Science. Why shouldn't we stay here after all we've been through? Why can't we own after she has worked so hard to achieve all of that & to prove all the stereotypes, stigmas, & naysayers wrong? We are not like what people think comes from the "projects," "the ghetto," "the hood," &/or "the slums." It only looks like this because DCHA has allowed it to become this way from the decades of neglect. We're good people stuck in a bad situation. 

Last year, I was hit by a car on Rock Creek Church Road NW & while healing from my crash, I still called to conduct an "Interim Controls" (Lead Abatement) meeting that DCHA decided to host thinking that I wasn't going to find out about it. Yes, that's how much I love & care for my community. DCHA was not going to do anything to my residents without me knowing about it. I stayed on the phone listening while my entire Resident Council Board was present to watch & record everything DCHA was doing in my absence. I will continue to fight for my people, so please help me fight for them.

DCHA has made it clear that they want Park Morton empty by December 2020. Where are we supposed to go? We're not leaving. Shonta' High, President of The Council @ Park Morton protested on 2-25-2020 & made the ABC 7 Live 5 pm evening news when protesting against being pushed out of the community. Sign this petition to help us prove to all of the government entities that we want & deserve to exercise our rights to have TOPA/DOPA Rights with homeownership with the 1st Rights to Return to our community when the redevelopment is completed. Support us in our fight. Make DCHA & our Gov't officials implement the Park Morton Equity Plan. You may see the PMEP pinned to the top of my Twitter @AmplyHigh. They displaced the Barry Farms families! Don't allow DCHA to displace us too! 

DCHA = Displacement! Park Morton Is Ours! We Want To Stay! Build 1st, Not Later! TOPA Rights Are Our Rights!