Jan. 2: The human beings who live in McDougald Terrace, with support from advocates and other Durham Housing Authority residents, marched from the intersection of Sima and Ridgeway Avenues to Burton Elementary School ahead of a meeting with DHA and Durham officials where they demanded safe and sanitary conditions in the city’s largest public housing complex. McDougald has faced a carbon monoxide scare in recent weeks, including two infant deaths that residents worry might be linked to CO poisoning. But at the meeting (pictured here), residents also complained about evictions, retaliation, inhumane treatment by property managers, gas leaks, mold, unfulfilled work orders, a disastrous sewage system, and a host of other problems that have long gone unresolved. The next day, the DHA agreed to relocate all McDougald residents to area hotels until the CO problem was fixed. The other issues, however, have been going on for years—and most of the time, residents have fought these battles alone.
Contact staff photographer Jade Wilson at jwilson@indyweek.com.
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